Miami Lakes used to look like that? See the Shula home, cows and early shopping centers
In 2012, the late U.S. senator and Florida governor Bob Graham shared the evolution of Miami Lakes from farmland to suburban enclave. Graham was the son of Ernest Graham, the founder of Miami Lakes.
"The planners had the vision of what Miami Lakes would be — a highly desirable community that began with six people," Graham said at the time.
His father started a dairy business called Graham Dairy with a 7,000-acre lot in 1932. By the 1950s, Ernest Graham's children, most notably sons Philip, William and Bob, launched their first development company using the family land as the foundation for what would become the family business.
In 1962, the idea was to develop the community around the area's lakes — each of which was named after a Graham woman. Lake Patricia, the first built, was named after William Graham's wife.
"The town grew in the way we wanted," Patricia Graham said in 2012. "It's a recognition to our family and the fact that we are still here."
The developers wanted the city to have a unique flavor. They purposely surrounded the lakes with curved sidewalks and cul-de-sacs, a contrast to the straight-lined streets and sidewalks that were then the norm in urban planning.
The town's relatively high elevation made it safe from flooding, adding to its attractive qualities.
"We hoped Miami Lakes set the standard model for other communities," said the former senator.
But in the beginning, Lake Patricia was not the beauty it is today. Its construction coincided with the Cuban missile crisis, and the ditch was filled with troops and weaponry.
"It was a parade of tanks, aircraft and military tents," Graham said.
But soon it drew a famous resident: Miami Dolphins Don Shula, who not only lived in the community but whose name graced a hotel and restaurant there.
Miami Lakes, formerly part of unincorporated Miami-Dade County, became a municipality in 2000, gaining economic and political autonomy.
Let's take a look at Miami lakes through the years from the Miami Herald photo archives:
