The 1926 Miami Hurricane Didn't Kill the Florida Boom

1926 Miami Hurricane documentary: real 1926 footage and photographs of the Great Miami Hurricane and the Florida land boom. The usual story says the storm killed the boom. The records of 1925 and 1926 tell it differently. On September 18, 1926, the Great Miami Hurricane passed straight over the city. But the Florida boom was already dying before the storm arrived. In 1924 and 1925, Miami provided homes for more families, in proportion to its population, than any other city surveyed. Lots were sold from billboards, and in October 1925 the city issued building permits worth more than ten million dollars. Then the cracks appeared. In August 1925 the railroad down the coast placed an embargo on nearly all carload freight. In January 1926 a sailing ship capsized in the harbor channel and blocked the port for almost four weeks. By August 1926, Miami's building permits had fallen by nearly two-thirds, and banks were closing. On the night of the storm, the Weather Bureau's barometer in Miami fell to 27.61 inches — the lowest ever recorded in the United States at that time. A 35-minute lull drew people into the streets before the second half of the hurricane. By morning, boats lay in the streets and Miami Beach had been under water. A forgotten chapter of Florida history and Miami history: the boom and bust of the 1920s, told through Miami, Miami Beach and Biscayne Bay. CHAPTERS 0:00 The Magic City 0:34 A city for sale 1:39 Cracks 2:44 The night 4:09 Morning 5:57 The city on film 6:57 An answer in the records 7:45 What remained The Gilded Shore tells the stories of America's coastal places that rose and fell — with real photographs and film of their time. Subscribe for the next one. Photos under CC BY 2.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0): "Florida Hurricane 1926 Rose Mahoney washed ashore 1of11" by Richard from USA "1926 Miami hurricane 18 September 1926 2" by Richard "1926 Miami hurricane 18 September 1926 3" by Richard "Meyer Kiser Building Downtown Miami After 1926 Hurricane Downtown Miami" by Phillip Pessar "Meyer-Kiser Building Downtown Miami 1925" by Phillip Pessar "Entrance to Central Miami Wayside Park 1925" by Phillip Pessar #Miami #1926Hurricane #FloridaHistory