Morningside Real Estate

SEARCH FOR PROPERTIES IN MORNINGSIDE

The area now comprising the Morninside Historic District has a history as solid as the City of Miami itself. Today's Morningside occupies land at the southern boundary of Lemon City, a pioneering community once larger than the neighboring city of Miami. Natural channels in Biscayne Bay provided access through shallow bay waters to a bight in the shoreline at what is now N.E. 61st Street. Then called Lemon Avenue, the main street of Lemon City grew up around the dock located at this street's terminus at the bay.

In 1922, a mostly undeveloped bayfront tract just to the south of Lemon Avenue and north of the then Miami city limits, was platted . Bounded on the west by the railroad tracks, the south by present-day N.E. 59th Street and on the north by present-day N.E. 60th Street, this area, called Bay Shore, was subdivided by the Bay Shore Investment Company. These few blocks constituted the first of three phases that would be developed by the company between 1922 and 1924. By 1925, Bay Shore's limits had been extended southward to present-day N.E. 55th Terrace. That year also saw the area of Bay Shore, as well as Lemon City, annexed into the City of Miami.

James H. Nunnally, president of the Bay Shore Investment Company, envisioned Bay Shore as an exclusive residential community, planned for every modern convenience. In designing Bay Shore, the architects and landscape designers adapted the best of the "garden city" movement of England, as well as contemporary suburban planning concepts, to this bayfront
location.

Before the first lots were offered for sale, the subdivision was fully developed. Streets, which bore names like Toxaway, Hibiscus, Cocoanut, and Poinsettia were paved and curbed, parkways were curbed and planted with foliage, street lighting was laid in underground conduits, and fresh water was distributed in underground pipes from Bay Shore's own water pumping station. At a time when many lots in other Miami subdivisions were being sold undeveloped and unimproved, Bay Shore was notable for its carefully conceived and executed plan of development.

The character of the area was also guaranteed by the deed restrictions that the developers attached to the sale of each lot. These restrictions specified the minimum construction cost of each house, ranging from a low of seven thousand dollars for inland lots to thirteen thousand dollars for lots abutting the bay. Only single family houses were allowed - duplexes, apartments, and hotels were strictly prohibited. Construction materials were regulated so that no house could be constructed solely of wood. Building set backs and lot frontage were controlled and the developer required that all building plans be submitted
to the company for approval prior to construction.

Although Bay Shore developed steadily during the boom years of the 1920's and even during the Great Depression, the area experienced its greatest building expansion between 1936 and 1942, with many  of the district's finest houses built during this period. In 1936, the neighborhood was enlarged; the blocks along present-day N.E. 55th Street and the south side of N.E. 55th Terrace were subdivided as Bay Shore Plaza by the company of Islands, Incorporated. Deed restrictions similar to those of Bay Shore guaranteed a continuity in architectural development. Following the United States entry into World War II, construction in the district, and the city as a whole, virtually stopped. Building resumed after the War, with approximately one-third of the district's homes built since 1946.

The expansion of Biscayne Boulevard in the 1940's and 1950's divide the original Bay Shore tract, separating the area to the west from that lying between the Boulevard and the Bay. During this time the name Bay Shore faded from popular usage and the eastern portion of Bay Shore became known as Morningside.

In the ensuing years, Biscayne Boulevard separated and buffered Morningside from areas to its west. As surrounding areas suffered economic decline, Morningside survived as a multi-ethnic, multi-racial, middle class community.

Morningside remains today one of Miami's most intact historic neighborhoods. Realizing its historic and unique character, residents petitioned the City of Miami for recognition as an historic district in the early 1980's. Many hours of hard work in documenting the area's historic structures paid off, as in 1984, Morningside was designated as the City of Miami's first historic district. The Morningside Historic District is comprised of the houses located in the portion of Morningside from N.E. 55th Street to N.E. 60th Street, between Biscayne Boulevard and the Bay.

*The Historic Houses of Morningside - The Morningside Preservation Society