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In a city where the town hall is a sheik’s palace, the Chamber of Commerce is a Turkish harem, and the train station is a mosque, you would probably expect to be somewhere in the Middle East. But no, this is Opa-Locka, Florida, a diminutive city northwest of Miami with the nation’s largest and strangest collection of Islamic Revival architecture.
Opa-Locka was built during the Florida Land Boom of the 1920s, when films like Rudolf Valentino’s orientalist fantasy The Sheik and Douglas Fairbanks’ The Thief of Baghdad had harnessed the sultry and romantic appeal of the Middle East into a full-blown cultural fad.
Florida was hot and tropical enough to feel exotic, so when developer Glenn Curtiss built Opa-Locka, he did so around an overt One Thousand and One Nights theme. In addition to the orientalist architecture, the streets were given names such as Ali Baba Avenue and Sabur Lane.
Though the Great Miami Hurricane of 1926 destroyed a number of Opa-Locka buildings, several of the Moorish buildings survived and have since been added to the National Register of Historic Places. The crowning jewel is the former Opa-Locka City Hall building, an onion-domed and minaret-sporting marvel inspired by the description of the palace of Emperor Kosroushah in One Thousand and One Nights.
Opa-locka is currently in a state of advanced decay as the cash-strapped city faces financial collapse. Many of the Arabian-inspired buildings are falling apart, and the former City Hall itself is boarded up and in a state of advanced disrepair, but a walk through the little town still offers a look at the 1920s’ idea of exotic luxury.
The building is at the intersection of Fisherman Street and Sherazad Street, about two blocks from the current (modern) city hall; the old city hall is clearly visible from the new one. There is ample free parking in the Sherbondy Park lot.
Credit for the data above is given to the following website:
Survival Status: endangered. Lifespan: up to !0 years in the wild. Height: 5ft. (150 cm). Weight: 990lbs. (450 kg.). Habitat: Semi and arid grasslands and savannas Grévy's zebra is limited to the Ethiopia and Kenya in the Horn of Africa, although it is possible they also persist in Sudan.
The City of Opa-Locka was the vision of aviation pioneer, Glen Curtiss. Opa-Locka is an urban community occupying 4.2 square miles in the North-Western area of Miami-Dade County, Florida. The city boundaries are as follows: on the North-NW 151st Street, on the South - N.W. 125th Street, on the East – NW 45th Avenue on the West. On May 14, 1926, Opa-Locka was chartered as a town by twenty-eight registered voters.
The area was originally named by the Native Americans “Opa-tisha-wocka-locka” meaning “a big island covered with many trees and swamps” but the name was quickly shortened to Opa-Locka. The City was developed based on the Arabian Nights theme which is evident by the large collection of Moorish architecture throughout the city and with street names like Sabur, Sultan, Ali Baba, Sharazad, Aladdin, and Sesame. Mr. Curtiss and architect, Bernhardt Muller, built 105 buildings with an array of domes, minarets, and outside staircases. By the time Mr. Curtiss completed his vision for Opa-Locka he had built a self-contained city with a hotel, zoo park, golf course, archery club, swimming pool, airport, and train station.
The September 1926 hurricane badly damaged the City, destroying many of the structures, but the surviving Moorish-style buildings continue to give Opa-Locka its unique appearance. Opa-Locka currently has twenty buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The U.S. Navy opened a base at the Opa-Locka Airport shortly after the hurricane which allowed the City to thrive after the hurricane but the base closed in the 1950s. The City experienced a decline and was labeled a "struggling community" in South Florida. Despite the challenges, the City has regained the spirit it was founded in 1926. Under the direction of Mayor Myra L. Taylor, city officials have vowed to turn the city around by focusing on crime prevention, cleaning up the city, and maintaining financial stability. This drive has generated an increased sense of community, pride among Opa-Locka residents, and a major drop in crime. In keeping with that vow and to advance community pride, the city became the first community in the United States to commemorate the first African-American President of the United States by renaming a mile-long section of Perviz Avenue from Oriental Boulevard to Ali-Baba Avenue, Barack Obama Avenue on February 17, 2009.
In addition to the unique buildings, Opa-Locka has a large general aviation airport, three parks, two lakes, and a railroad station which is currently the tri-rail station. The City is comprised of a mixture of residential, commercial, and industrial zones. Despite its limited resources, the City was the backdrop for the making of movies such as Texas Justice, Bad Boyz II, and 2 Fast 2 Furious.
Credit for the data above is given to the following websites:
www.opalockafl.gov/facilities/facility/details/Opalocka-M...
Two firework shots for the price of one because I seemingly never uploaded last year's shot. And now here's this year's shot, too.
7533 Hispanola Ave, North Bay Village, FL 33141, built in 1951, 30 second exposure - December 29, 2019.
Lying at the foot of Lookout Mountain in North Georgia, Cloudland Canyon State Park is bristling with things to do. Its namesake, a picturesque gorge, is easily viewed from the parking area, but those more adventurous types have a plethora of trails to enjoy which provide access to numerous scenic locales. The best of these can be accessed on the waterfall trail, a short but steep hike down into the canyon floor which visits two waterfalls and also provides picturesque views of the canyon floor. Though the length of the trail would seem no challenge to experienced hikers, the ascent, a nearly vertical and containing hundreds of steps, is nothing to be trifled with, as I found out the hard way while hiking before I had properly hydrated myself.
I am curious as to why the spectacular falls of Cloudland Canyon are numbered rather than given a name. This is known as Waterfall 1.
A rainbow begins to take shape over the Miami skyline. Miami, Florida, USA.
Un arcoiris comienza a formarse sobre la ciudad. Miami, Florida, EEUU.
This is a gorgeous waterfall in Cloudland Canyon.I love to just hang out here, but for some reason Matthew hates this spot and wont give me any peace to shoot. There is a another waterfall barely visible upstream in this shot that I guess would be waterfall 3. I cant get to the base of it or get a very good view of it to shoot it at least not with the kids with me.
Survival Status: critically endangered. Height: 4-51/5ft. Weight: up to 440lbs. Habitat: forests of Cameroon, Central African Republic the Democratic Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon and the Republic of Congo.
Yesterday at dawn, all of us die-hards were waiting for the gate to open at the Deering Estate for an equinox sunrise image... this is about all the color I got, but it is always beautiful there, and the company of my photographer friends was marvelous...
Modern shapes dominate, even in Coconut Grove, the city's oldest neighborhood. Miami, Florida, USA.
Formas modernas predominan, hasta en Coconut Grove, el barrio más viejo de la ciudad. Miami, Florida, EE. UU.
The condos of Key Biscayne, which are just under 15 miles away, as seen from the Black Creek Trail - March 20, 2019.
A typical summer storm gathering over Miami, as seen from the Lowe's Hotel. This shot was actually taken by my dad on June 2, 2010.
It's tail was straight-up while walking - Spring 2016
South Florida - Dade County - Miami, Florida U.S.A.
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The ring-tailed lemur is a large primate and the most recognized
lemur due to its long, black and white ringed tail. Like all lemurs it
is endemic to the island of Madagascar. It inhabits gallery forests
to spiny scrub in the southern regions of the island. The animal is active exclusively in daylight hours.
It is highly social, living in groups of up to 30 individuals. It is also female dominant, a trait common among lemurs. To keep warm and reaffirm social bonds, groups will huddle together. The ring-tailed lemur will also sunbathe, sitting upright facing its underside, with its thinner white fur towards the sun. Like other lemurs, this species relies strongly on its sense of smell and marks its territory with scent glands.
As one of the most vocal primates, the ring-tailed lemur uses numerous vocalizations including group cohesion and alarm calls. Experiments have shown that the ring-tailed lemur, despite the lack of a large brain, can organize sequences, understand basic arithmetic operations and preferentially select tools based on functional qualities.
Dade County, Florida
© 2010 Kevin Barry, All Rights Reserved.
This photo may not be used in any form without written permission from the photographer.
This image was chosen as a finalist in the 2010 Photographer's Forum Magazine Photo Contest.
To see more of my work, go to www.kevinbarryphotos.com
The historic art deco Clay Hotel Room 162 with an afternoon backdrop of palm trees along Washington Avenue in South Beach Miami all seen through the wide open white wooden windowsill.
The Clay Hotel
1438 Washington Ave.
Miami Beach, Florida 33139
USA
305-534-2988
November 20th 2008
Lying at the foot of Lookout Mountain in North Georgia, Cloudland Canyon State Park is bristling with things to do. Its namesake, a picturesque gorge, is easily viewed from the parking area, but those more adventurous types have a plethora of trails to enjoy which provide access to numerous scenic locales. The best of these can be accessed on the waterfall trail, a short but steep hike down into the canyon floor which visits two waterfalls and also provides picturesque views of the canyon floor. Though the length of the trail would seem no challenge to experienced hikers, the ascent, a nearly vertical and containing hundreds of steps, is nothing to be trifled with, as I found out the hard way while hiking before I had properly hydrated myself.