North Miami

North Miami is a suburban city sandwiched between Aventura on the north, Miami Shores on the south, Biscayne Bay on the east with the majority of the city on the east side of Interstate 95. The city lies approximately 10 miles north of downtown Miami. The city is home to the Oleta River State Park which is the state's largest urban park. The city hosts the Biscayne Bay Campus of Florida International University and the North Miami campus of Johnson & Wales University.

The United States Army soldiers in 1856 cut a Military Trail through nearly impassable thickets and rivers connecting Fort Lauderdale to Fort Dallas at the mouth of the Miami River. This eight foot trail, Dade County’s first roadway, crossed a unique natural bridge -- a natural limestone bridge spanning 40 feet across the creek that no longer stands in Arch Creek Memorial Park -- in an area that would attract a settlement that early on would be known as "Arch Creek". Even before 1890 a handful of adventuresome pioneers spent brief periods around the Arch Creek Natural Bridge, a centuries-old Indian settlement. At the end of World War II in 1945, the large and constant influx of former military veterans and their young families changed the face of North Miami by ushering in a great growth period. Homebuilding, road building, shops, stores, and office business construction now continued for decades almost without stopping. Partially to meet this challenge of fast growth, the voters of North Miami in 1952 voted to adopt a new charter and a new name which was approved by the Florida Legislature on May 27, 1953. The new and present name officially introduced on this date - the City of North Miami. Today North Miami is known for its diverse cultural community including one of the largest Haitian-American populations in the US.