Project Type: Historic Preservation
Project Status: Completed
Dates: December 2019 – October 2021
Site Area: 17th Avenue between NW 20th Street and NW 36th Street
Team: Plusurbia Design
Client: Dade Heritage Trust
Dade Heritage Trust partnered with the Allapattah Collaborative to bring attention to the unique character of this thriving Dominican neighborhood of Allapattah and to support the small, locally-owned businesses along 17th Avenue. Through their efforts, 17th Avenue was designated as a National Trust for Historic Preservation Main Street program. In support of Allapattah’s Main Street initiative, Dade Heritage Trust commissioned Plusurbia Design to create a building inventory study of NW 17th Avenue between NW 20th Street and NW 36th Street.
This study provides a snapshot of history for each property along 17th Avenue, including a historic photo, a current photo, and a history of the various businesses that were located on the site from the 1920s until the 1970s. This picture in time provides information for property owners and neighborhood stakeholders to make informed decisions about the future, based on a better understanding of the history of Allapattah’s “Main Street.”
This investigation into Allapattah’s history revealed the hard-working, industrial character of 17th Avenue throughout the 20th Century, and the cultural transformation of the neighborhood as waves of Dominican immigrants arrived in the neighborhood by way of the Miami River.