- Miami High School
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This article is about the high school in Miami, Florida, USA. For other similarly-named high schools, see Miami High School (disambiguation).
Miami Senior High School Location 2450 SW 1st Street
Little Havana, Miami, Florida, 33135
United StatesInformation School type Public, high school Motto Non verbis sed operis (Not by words, but deeds) Established 1902[1] School district Miami-Dade County Public Schools Principal Benny Valdes Grades 9-12 Enrollment 3,124[2] Color(s) Blue and Gold Mascot "Whippy" the Stingaree 
Yearbook The Miahi Website mhs.dadeschools.net Miami Senior High School
Coordinates: 25°46′14″N 80°13′34″W / 25.77056°N 80.22611°WCoordinates: 25°46′14″N 80°13′34″W / 25.77056°N 80.22611°W Area: 19 acres (7.7 ha) Built: 1928 Architect: Kiehnel and Elliott Architectural style: Late 19th And 20th Century Revivals [3], Mediterranean Revival with Moorish elements. Governing body: Local NRHP Reference#: 90000881 Added to NRHP: June 18, 1990 Miami Senior High School is a public high school located at 2450 SW 1st Street in Miami, Florida, United States operated by Miami-Dade County Public Schools. Miami Senior High School was founded in 1902, making it the oldest high school in Miami-Dade County. The high school is famous for its historic architecture, and the school building is considered a Miami historic landmark. As the oldest high school in Miami, Miami Senior High School has a rich alumni base with many graduates of the high school going on to varied, prominent careers. The high school originally served the earliest settling families of Miami in the first half of the 20th-century. By the late-1960s, with an increase in Miami's Cuban American exile population, its student body grew, and today's student body reflects the demographics of the surrounding Little Havana neighborhood where the high school is located.
Contents
History
Miami Senior High School is a historical Miami landmark and the first high school in Miami-Dade County, having been established in 1902, and opening its doors in 1903. The school's current campus opened in 1928 and was designed by the architect Richard Kiehnel of Kiehnel and Elliott, one of the great early Miami architects.
It is listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. Groundbreaking occurred early in 1926 but due to the Great Miami Hurricane of 1926, the school's opening was delayed for over a year. The original school was established as a two-story wooden structure, for 15 students, on Northeast First Avenue. The school was first opened in early 1903 with an enrollment of 264. Miami High changed locations three times before it finally settled on its current four-story, 2,792-student campus. 1968 was a significant year for Miami High School. Structural changes were made to accommodate a newly installed air conditioning system. The original windows on the building were sealed with bricks before the completion of the work and students suffered in hot classrooms for a large portion of the year. It was also the year of the major Florida statewide teachers' strike of 1968, which caused students classes to be in chaos due to all the newly hired substitute teachers while regular school teachers walked picket lines for weeks.
The original building, the first that housed Miami High School in 1902 was abandoned after the new, permanent home opened in 1928 in Little Havana. That original, wooden building was found in 1983 in Brickell, being used as a private residence. It was eventually moved to nearby Southside Park in Brickell, carefully restored, and opened in 2009 as a community center. The current building from 1928 is the fourth home of Miami High School.[4]
Historic architectural renovation
As of 2010, Miami Senior High is currently undergoing a historic restoration, renovation and remodeling project at the cost of approximately $50,265,000. This project commenced March 2010 and is targeted for completion November 2013.[5][6]
Notable alumni
- Atari Bigby - NFL, Green Bay Packers
- Steve Blake - NBA guard, Los Angeles Lakers
- Eddie Brown - NFL, Cincinnati Bengals
- Jeff Coopwood - Emmy nominated Actor/Broadcaster/Singer
- Robert L. Floyd - former Mayor of Miami, State Representative, Judge, and Miami Sheriff
- Christopher George - (1929–1983) actor and former Marine [7]
- Edmond J. Gong - Florida Senate and House of Representatives - first Asian American elected to Florida Congress
- Bob Graham - Florida Governor and US Senator
- Philip L. Graham - Publisher of The Washington Post.
- Anthony Grant - Head Basketball Coach University of Alabama
- Udonis Haslem- NBA Miami Heat
- Steve Hertz - MLB player and Israel Baseball League manager
- Lindy Infante - NFL head coach, Green Bay Packers and Indianapolis Colts
- Jamaal Jackson - NFL center, Philadelphia Eagles
- Donald Justice - Pulitzer Prize-winning poet
- Andre Johnson - NFL wide receiver, Houston Texans
- Veronica Lake - actress
- Gardnar Mulloy - tennis player
- Alfred Browning Parker - architect[8]
- Roscoe Parrish - NFL WR, Buffalo Bills
- Ed Roberts - Designed the first commercially successful personal computer in 1975.
- George Smathers - U.S. Senator
Also movies such as The Substitute, Porky's, and Music of My Heart, were filmed at MHS.
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George Smathers, U.S. Senator, 1920s
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Veronica Lake, actress and model, 1930s
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Christopher George, actor, 1940s
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Donald Justice, Pulitzer Prize-winning poet, 1940s
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Bob Graham, Florida Governor and U.S. Senator, Class of 1955
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Ed Roberts, "Father of the PC", computer engineer, 1950s
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Steve Blake, NBA basketball player, Class of 1998
See also
References
- ^ http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/10/19/2470343_p2/miami-high-school-a-moorish-palace.html
- ^ http://www.publicschoolreview.com/school_ov/school_id/17608
- ^ National Register
- ^ http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/10/19/2470343_p2/miami-high-school-a-moorish-palace.html
- ^ http://www.zyscovich.com/project.cfm?pid=252#
- ^ zyscovich
- ^ Boxoffice Magazine, 'Former Miamian Chris George has been at the Four Ambassadors Hotel in Miami to Plug his latest Film,' page SE7, 12 March 1973
- ^ http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/10/19/2470343_p2/miami-high-school-a-moorish-palace.html
External links
Categories:- Miami-Dade County Public Schools
- Educational institutions established in 1903
- High schools in Miami-Dade County
- National Register of Historic Places in Miami-Dade County, Florida
- Mediterranean Revival architecture in Florida
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