Miami Fl
At the turn of the 20th-century, Miami, Florida began as a small settlement on the southeast corner of the Florida peninsula. Beginning as an area where citrus fruit was grown, Miami soon developed as a haven for Americans who wanted to escape harsh northern winters. With the advent of airconditioning in the 1950s Miami continued to grow. The ideal weather and new opportunities offered by this rapid growth attracted thousands, including my father from Rochester NY (after World War II) and my grandmother from Chattanooga TN (she brought my mother with her after a divorce). I was born in Miami in 1958. Growing up in the 1960s I watched Miami begin a dramatic transition, due in part from the Cuban Revolution in 1959, from a medium-sized city with the majority of the population from the northeastern states to, by the 1980s, a city with a majority Hispanic population. By the 1990s Miami was a banking and commerece center for the Western Hemisphere. Although I no longer have a close link to Miami, I do have hold an affection for where I grew up as Miami helped make me who I am.
