1956 Map of Miami

About this map

The vast wetlands of Everglades National Park and The Everglades dominate this mid-century portrait of South Florida. While the Atlantic coast shows the intensive development of Miami, Hialeah, and Hollywood, the western gulf side remains defined by the intricate labyrinth of the Ten Thousand Islands and remote outposts like Everglades City and Chokoloskee. The Tamiami Trail serves as the primary artery through this landscape, passing through isolated points such as Monroe Station and Forty Mile Bend. Along the southern tip at Cape Sable and Whitewater Bay, the map captures the transition from freshwater marshes to the saltwater environments of Florida Bay. Researchers will find significant infrastructure of the era, including the Homestead Air Force Base and the extensive network of drainage canals like the Miami Canal and Tamiami Canal that fundamentally reshaped the region's hydrology.