This podcast episode features the father of Miami Beach, Carl Fisher and one of his most notable hotels. Carl Fisher was a serial entrepreneur who made his fortune marketing technology to provide headlamps for early automobiles. After he and his partner, James Allison, sold Prest-O-Lite to Union Carbide, Fisher was in search for his next project.

As fate would work its magic, Fisher ended up “retiring” in Miami at home he bought sight unseen in Miami’s upscale Southside neighborhood. Southside is now referred to as the Brickell neighborhood. After meeting John Collins and agreeing to help him finish a wooden bridge to an unnamed barrier island, Fisher found his next project. Fisher was given land on the island as part of the agreement with Collins.

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This podcast episode features Miami’s first luxury hotel. As part of his agreement with Julia Tuttle, Henry Flagler built the Royal Palm Hotel on the north bank of the Miami River in an area that became downtown a few decades later. Shortly after the signing of the agreement between Tuttle and Flagler, Joseph A. McDonald and John Sewell got to work to build the iconic hotel.

The structure was a five-story, wood-frame building with an observation tower at the top and a wrap-around veranda on the first level. The hotel was painted in the customary Flagler yellow. For the better part of thirty-three years, the place was the focal point of social activities and celebrity sightings during the winter months. During the summer, local-residents got to enjoy the pool attached to the hotel.

This podcast episode focuses on Miami’s pioneer physician. Dr. James Jackson was the son of a doctor who grew up in Bronson, Florida. Although his father wanted him to manage the family orange grove business, James wanted to follow in his father’s footsteps as a doctor.

He got his medical degree from Bellevue Hospital in New York City and joined his father to practice medicine back in Bronson. However, the freezes of 1894 completely changed his fate when he had to leave Bronson to continue practicing medicine. A chance meeting with an FEC executive led to a job offer in what would become Miami.

The eighth episode of the Miami History Podcast discusses the Burdine family and their namesake store. Opportunity brought William Burdine and his family to Miami in 1898. Having heard about the influx of soldiers deployed to Camp Miami during the Spanish American War, William dispatched his son, John, to the two-year old Magic City.

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The seventh episode of the Miami History Podcast discusses the history of Bayfront Park. Built with bay bottom fill in the mid-1920s, the park has been the front porch of the City of Miami since it opened in 1925. It has been a location for many of Miami's most notable events for large gatherings. While it has been considered for conversion from a park to other uses, it has remained the most important green space in downtown Miami.

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The sixth episode of the Miami History Podcast features the story of the iconic Orange Bowl. Long before it was known as the “Orange Bowl” it was a baseball stadium on land provided by the Tatum Brothers. During the early 1930s, several prominent Miami pioneers came up with the idea to have the city host a New Year’s Day football game. In the game’s third year, the same committee of men facilitated the move to what become the Orange Bowl’s permanent home.

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The fifth episode of the Miami History Podcast continues the story of the Brickell family. Part two discusses the Brickell family’s impact on Miami from the turn of the twentieth century to modern day.

Following the death of Bill Brickell in 1908, Mary Brickell assumed the role as leader of the family business. While she was a tough business woman, she was considerably more tactful than her late husband. During her time managing the family’s real estate affairs, Mary sold tracts of land to Miami pioneers and industrial giants alike.

She began a project near and dear to her heart when she platted and sold lots in The Roads neighborhood. However, prior to the completion of the project, Mary passed away. Her daughter Maude and other surviving family members ensured the project got completed.

While there are no known Brickell descendants in the Miami area today, and while there are no family constructed buildings that remain standing, the family legacy is very enduring. Brickell is as much a brand as it is a family surname. The brand is internationally known and property in the neighborhood is always in high demand. This podcast episode concludes with Dr. Paul George discussing the impact of the Brickell family on the development of Miami after more than one hundred forty-eight years after their arrival to the banks of the Miami River.

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The fourth episode of the Miami History Podcast begins the story of the Brickell family. This is a two-part series explains what brought the family to the banks of the Miami River and their impact on the development of the City of Miami. William Brickell was considered a soldier of fortune who traveled the world to find his fortune. During his travels, he met his wife Mary Bulmer. By the time the couple arrived in South Florida, they had six children and added two more after settling along the south bank of the Miami River. The family ran a trading post while accumulating land around South Florida. Listen to part-one of this two-part series to understand what brought the family to the banks of the Miami River and how the family built their land empire when the area was merely a scarcely populated frontier.

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The third episode of the Miami History Podcast features the story of Julia Tuttle. She is considered by most the “Mother of Miami”. Although she was unable to cast a vote for the incorporation of the city on July 28. 1896, there was no bigger catalyst for the founding and development of Miami.

Julia was a young woman when she first visited the banks of the Miami River. From the moment that she saw the pristine beauty of the area, she began to envision what it could become. Long before she convinced Henry Flagler to extend his railway and invest in the city, she articulated her dream of the area becoming a “great southern city”.

Although she died only two years after incorporation, she did see the beginning of her vision for Miami. She passed away in September of 1898 and was one of the first interred into the Miami City Cemetery. Please click play to learn more about this fascinating woman.

The second installment of the Miami History Podcast continues the story of Henry Flagler's journey through Florida. The hosts discuss Flagler's negotiation with Julia Tuttle and the Brickells. In addition, the podcast tells the story of Flagler's Oversea Railway that terminated in Key West in 1912.