The Magic of Miami Beach

By Lea Nickless Before celebrities, nightclubs, and luxury resorts, Miami Beach was a shifting world of mangroves, coral, water, and extraordinary biodiversity. On this narrow barrier island, sand and limestone formed a dynamic ecosystem that would later be transformed through the labor of countless workers whose names rarely appear in official histories. Taking Collins Park as its point of departure, this exhibition looks beyond the familiar story of one of America's best-known tourist destinations to explore the intertwined histories of nature and human labor. It considers how geology, ecology, and the work of largely invisible laborers shaped the city that emerged during the early twentieth century. As John Collins, Thomas Pancoast, and Carl Fisher pursued their vision for Miami Beach, mangrove forests were cleared, sand was dredged from Biscayne Bay, and limestone fill was transported to create roads, homes, hotels, and public buildings. Fossilized coral limestone quarried at Windley Key became a defining architectural material, cladding landmarks such as today's Bass Museum, while coconut palms and monumental baobab trees helped construct the tropical environment they…