The Morningside Historic District (officially the Bayshore Historic District) runs from NE 55th Street to NE 60th Street; it was the first historic district to be designated as such in the City of Miami by the Miami City Commission in December 1984. Wikipedia designates it as a sub-neighborhood.
Platted in the early 1920′s by James Nunnally, a candy baron from Atlanta who founded the Bay Shore investment Co. the neighborhood was envisioned as a carefully conceived community that would include every modern convenience – natural gas lines, sanitary sewers, fresh water from the company’s own water plant, elegant street lighting fueled by underground conduits, wide medians, curbed parkways and streets names Kennesaw and Towaway Drive. Before the first house was sold, Nunnally planted 4,000 trees to guarantee a lush environment and a sense of place. To further enhance the air of stateliness, he insisted that the only building materials be rock, stucco, or brick. He was part and parcel of Miami’s greatest building boom that saw, in 1925 alone, Miami’s Freedom Tower, Coral Gables Biltmore Hotel, Trinity Episcopal Cathedral and Hialeah Race Track open.
Among the early dignitaries, in Morningside were Miami Mayor Perrine Palmer, who lived at 5928 NE 6 CT; city manager Frank Wharton, 550 NE 59 ST; Mayor Leonard Thompson, 546 NE 57 ST; Cushman School founder Laura Cushman, 589 NE 57 ST; thoroughbred breeder Tilyou Christopher, 5945 N. Bayshore Dr., and Sidney Meyer, who founded Wometco with Col. Mitchell Wolfson, at 5600 NE 6 Ave.
Approximately 41 houses were built from 1922-1926, during Miami’s population roughly doubled and land prices could double or triple within 24 hours. All that ended September 17-18, 1926 when a category 4 hurricane struck with little warning in the wee hours. Overnight, Miami’s boom went bust.
References
- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Upper_Eastside
- http://historicmorningsidehometour.com/about-us/
