Opa-locka is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. Spanning roughly , it is part of the Miami metropolitan area of South Florida. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 16,463,
Opa-locka was founded in 1926 by American aviator and industrialist Glenn Curtiss, who was inspired by the Middle Eastern folk tales of the One Thousand and One Nights. As such, the city is noted as having one of the largest collection of Moorish Revival architecture in the Western Hemisphere, and many of its roads bear names such as Sharazad Boulevard, Sinbad Avenue, Sabur Lane, Sultan Avenue, Ali Baba Avenue, Perviz Avenue, and Sesame Street. meaning "wooded hummock", "high, dry hummock", or "a big island covered with many trees and swamps".
History
Opa-locka was founded in 1926 by aviation pioneer Glenn Curtiss, who had retired to become a real estate developer during the nascent Florida land boom. The city's unique "Arabian" or "Moorish" architectural theme was executed by American architect Bernhardt E. Muller, who had designed several Mediterranean and Spanish-style homes in nearby Miami in 1923. There are various accounts regarding how Opa-locka came to adopt its iconic architectural style. Curtiss had met Muller in 1925 at the suggestion of Curtiss' mother, Lua Andrews Curtiss. Muller is said to have viewed Opa-locka as an opportunity to create a new community based on an architectural theme from a literary work; he was particularly inspired by the exoticism and splendor of the One Thousand and One Nights, also known in English as the Arabian Nights. By some accounts, Muller met with Curtiss on the site of the future city to describe his concept for an architectural design inspired by individual stories of the Arabian Nights; other sources indicate that Curtiss was inspired by his own reading of Arabian Nights, or by the 1924 film The Thief of Baghdad, which was adapted from the story. Opa-locka became a self-contained community with a hotel, zoo park, golf course, archery club, swimming pool, airport, and train station. On May 14, 1926, it was officially chartered as a town by 28 registered voters, although much of it remained under construction. of which twenty are listed on the National Register of Historic Places as part of the Opa-locka Thematic Resource Area.
On January 8, 1927, as part of an effort to drive growth and generate interest, Opa-locka held its inaugural "Arabian Nights Fantasy", which included dignitaries such as Florida Governor John Martin. Many residents dressed in Arabian-styled theatrical costumes shipped down from New York. The festivities also marked the opening of Opa-locka train station—billed as the "grand Vizier of the Sheikdom of Opa-locka"—and the inaugural run of the Seaboard Airline Railroad's famous "Orange Blossom Special", a deluxe passenger train that would run from New York to Miami in winter. Though largely promotional in its origins, the Arabian Nights Fantasy has since become an annual event centered on promoting civic pride and community.
In 1933, the U.S. Navy opened a base at the Opa-locka Airport, which helped drive the city's growth. With the closure of the base in the 1950s, Opa-locka experienced a decline.
In the 1980s, Opa-locka transitioned from majority white to majority African American and was seen as a pioneer in black empowerment in northern Dade County, where neighboring cities (North Miami, North Miami Beach, Miami Gardens, and Golden Glades) were undergoing a similar racial shift. In 1943, Opa-Locka hired its first black police officer. who then went on to serve as the first black mayor of Opa-Locka in 1975.
Opa-locka was the first community in the United States to commemorate the election of Barack Obama as the country's first African American president. A mile-long section of Perviz Avenue—from Oriental Boulevard to Ali Baba Avenue—was renamed "Barack Obama Avenue" on February 17, 2009.
In addition to the unique buildings, Opa-locka has a large general aviation airport, three parks, two lakes and a railroad station which is currently the tri-rail station. The city is a mixture of residential, commercial and industrial zones. Opa-locka was the backdrop for several films, including Salesman, Living Dreams, Texas Justice, Bad Boys II, and 2 Fast 2 Furious. The article also reported that this financial emergency was the second declared for the city since 2002.
Just over a week earlier, Opa-locka Commissioner Terence Pinder apparently drove his SUV into a tree at high speed, killing himself. He was scheduled to turn himself over to prosecutors the next day, having faced bribery charges.
On June 10, Rick Scott named the Financial Emergency Board. The City of Opa-locka does not have an Audit Committee to help select the public accountant to perform the independent audited financial statements, as required by Florida Statute 218.391(2)
Geography
Opa-locka is in northern Miami-Dade County, north of downtown Miami and west of North Miami Beach. It is bordered to the north by the city of Miami Gardens, to the east by unincorporated Golden Glades, to the south by unincorporated Westview, and to the southwest by the city of Hialeah.
According to the United States Census Bureau, Opa-locka has a total area of . of it are land and of it (3.90%) are covered by water.
Surrounding areas
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: Miami Gardens
: Miami Lakes 20px 30px 20px Golden Glades
:Unincorporated Miami-Dade County 30px 30px Golden Glades
: Hialeah 20px 30px 20px North Miami
: Hialeah, Westview
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