Experience Miami’s Black history in Historic Overtown

A Black heritage neighborhood with a rich history and culture, as well as some delicious restaurants, Historic Overtown is a legendary district just west of Downtown Miami. Its cultural growth and development mirrored the artistic awakening of the Harlem Renaissance in the 1930s, and Historic Overtown’s busy entertainment destination was known as Little Broadway. Stars such as Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday all played at the Lyric Theater and other venues in Historic Overtown.

Legendary Visitors

Because of segregation during the Jim Crow era, Overtown is also where Black artists and celebrities often spent the night while visiting Miami, as they were not allowed to stay at the Miami Beach resorts where they performed. Today, visitors can stay in one of the vintage 1940s rooms at The Copper Door B&B and get a feel of what Historic Overtown was like during its original heyday.

From Rubble to Renaissance

The construction of two major freeways in the 1960s displaced thousands of Historic Overtown’s residents and demolished swaths of the community. But today, the neighborhood is experiencing a modern-day renaissance, one in which Miami’s Black history is honored and celebrated at museums such as the Black Police Precinct and Courthouse Museum, the Ward Rooming House and the Black Archives History & Research Foundation, which is housed inside the restored Lyric Theater. Historic Overtown also nurtured Miami’s original street artist, Purvis Young, whose evocative murals span from the 1970s to 2010 and can still be seen today.

Soulful Food

You can also get a taste of Miami’s Black heritage through the food in Historic Overtown. Since 1946, Jackson Soul Food has served up some of Miami’s best Southern fare, with a menu featuring collard greens, fried catfish, biscuits and other soul food classics. Celebrity chef Marcus Samuelsson has added to the neighborhood’s appeal with an outpost of Red Rooster, his revered Harlem restaurant.