Opa-locka, Florida

City of Opa-locka, Florida Opa-tisha-woka-locka
—  City  —
Opa-locka City Hall
Seal
Location in Miami-Dade County and the state of Florida
U.S. Census Bureau map showing city limits
Coordinates: 25°54′4.39″N 80°15′2.96″W / 25.9012194°N 80.2508222°W / 25.9012194; -80.2508222Coordinates: 25°54′4.39″N 80°15′2.96″W / 25.9012194°N 80.2508222°W / 25.9012194; -80.2508222
Country State Counties	United States Florida Miami-Dade
Incorporated	1926
Government
- Mayor	Joseph L. Kelley
Area
- City	11.6 km2 (4.5 sq mi)
- Land	11.2 km2 (4.3 sq mi)
- Water	0.4 km2 (0.1 sq mi)  3.13%
Population (2007)
- City	15,376
- Density	1,333.2/km2 (3,451.9/sq mi)
- Metro	5,422,200
Time zone	EST (UTC-5)
- Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
Zip Codes	33054
Area code(s)	305, 786
Website	http://www.opalockafl.gov/

Opa-locka is a city located in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. As of the mid decade census, the population was 15,376 as recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau.^[1]

Opa-locka has an area of 4.2 square miles (11 km²) and is located in the northeastern area of Miami-Dade County, Florida. The city was developed by Glenn Curtiss and was based on the One Thousand and One Nights theme, with streets that have names like Sabur Lane, Sultan Avenue, Ali Baba Avenue, Parviz Avenue and Sesame Street. Opa-locka has the largest collection of Moorish Revival architecture in the Western hemisphere.^[2]

The name Opa-locka is a contraction of a Native American name for the area, "Opa-tisha-woka-locka", meaning "The high land north of the little river on which there is a camping place."^[3]

History

Opa-locka was founded by aviation pioneer Glenn Curtiss in 1926. Curtiss originally called the city Opa-tisha-woka-locka, but quickly shortened the name to Opa-locka. Curtiss developed the city with a Moorish architecture theme. While the 1926 Miami hurricane badly damaged the city and brought the Florida land boom to a halt, several Moorish-style buildings survived.^[4][5]

Amelia Earhart launched her historic trip around the world from Miami Municipal Airport, just south of Opa-locka.^[6] The famous German dirigible Graf Zeppelin visited the NAS Miami, which later became Opa-locka Airport, as a regular stop on its Germany-Brazil-United States-Germany scheduled route.^[7]

Geography

Opa-locka is located at 25°54′04″N 80°15′03″W / 25.901218°N 80.250824°W / 25.901218; -80.250824.^[8]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 4.5 square miles (12 km²). 4.3 square miles (11 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.26 km²) of it (3.13%) is water.

Surrounding areas

•   Miami Gardens, Florida
• Unincorporated Miami-Dade County Golden Glades
• Unincorporated Miami-Dade County   Golden Glades
•   Hialeah, Florida North Miami
•   Hialeah, Westview

Demographics

As of the census^[9] of the 2007 mid-decade census, there were 15,376 people, 5,190 households, and approximately 4,000 families residing in the city. The population density was 3,451.9 inhabitants per square mile (1,333.2/km²). There were 5,407 housing units at an average density of 1,248.4 per square mile (482.1/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 22.83% White (3.1% non-Hispanic Whites),^[10] 69.64% Black or African American, 0.35% Native American, 0.21% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 3.60% from other races, and 3.35% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 28.55% of the population.

There were 5,190 households out of which 41.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 28.4% were married couples living together, 35.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.7% were non-families. 24.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.97 and the average family size was 3.52. Documented is the city's emphasis toward homeownership, where the homestead exemption has increased with construction of a planned townhouse community in the city. Also available is reasonable availability of rental units throughout the city.

The city's population is spread out with 34.6% under the age of 18, 12.3% from 18 to 24, 26.8% from 25 to 44, 17.7% from 45 to 64, and 8.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 27 years. For every 100 females there were 85.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 77.1 males; this being consistent with most bedroom communities in South Florida.

An increase in the median income is projected wherein a household in the city will move from $25,000 to $32,000 and the median income for a family from $27,420 to 32,000. Males had a median income of $22,347 versus $19,270 for females. The per capita income for the city is approximately $15,000. About 31.5% of families and 35.2% of the population are rising above the poverty line, including 42.3% of those under age 18 and 40.8% of those age 65 or over.

As of 2000, speakers of English as a first language accounted for 68.44%, while Spanish made up 28.29%, French Creole 2.77%, and French was at 0.47% of the population.^[11]

As of 2000, Opa-locka had the forty-sixth highest percentage of Cuban residents in the US, with 9.58% of its populace.^[12] It had the forty-ninth highest percentage of Dominican residents in the US, at 2.59% of the city's population,^[13] and the fifty-second highest percentage of Haitian residents in the US, at 2.9% of the its population (tied with four other areas, including Palm Springs, Florida).^[14] It also had the forty-third most Jamaicans in the US, at 3% (tied with Margate,)^[15] while it had the nineteenth highest percentage of Nicaraguans, at 2.22% of all residents.^[16]

Government

The city of Opa-locka was incorporated in 1926 and operates under a Commission/City Manager form of government. The City Commission consists of the Mayor and four Commissioners, who are responsible for enacting ordinances, resolutions and regulations governing the City; and appointing the members of various advisory boards, the City Manager, City Attorney and City Clerk. As Chief Administrative Officer, the City Manager is responsible for the enforcement of laws and ordinances, and the appointment and supervision of the City's department heads. Municipal services include police, sanitation, water and sewer services, storm water services, maintenance of streets and infrastructure, and recreational activities. The financial reporting entity, under which the financial statements are prepared, includes all the activities and functions for which the City is financially accountable. The Opa-locka Police Department (OLPD) protects the city.^{[citation needed]}

Calvin Godfrey of the Miami New Times said that the police department had been "steadily deteriorating" for the twenty year period leading up to 2009. The police force decreased from 50 to 16. The Miami New Times received memorandums which, in Godfrey's words, "reveal an agency rife with controversy." In January 2005, after negative Florida Department of Law Enforcement evaluations of the Opa-locka police force surfaced, the Miami-Dade Police Department sent county commissioner Barbara Jordan a report that stated that it would cost $7 million per period to take over the Opa-locka police duties. In 2005 Opa-locka allocated $3.5 million to its officers. Jannie Beverly, the city manager of Opa-locka, fired James Wright, the police chief, in January 2008 after people accused Wright of corruption.^[17]

Crime

In 2004 Opa-locka had the highest rate of violent crime for any city in the United States.^[18] Calvin Godfrey of the Miami New Times said in a 2009 article that Opa-locka was "mired in crime and sinking fast."^[17]

Religion

By 1996 Opa-locka became the site of 30 houses of worship. During that year Oscar Musibay of the Miami New Times said "Like South Beach has hotels, Opa-locka has churches."^[19]

Transportation

Opa-locka is served by Opa-locka Airport.

In popular culture

• Opa-locka is featured in the landmark documentary film Salesman.
• In the 1991 film Soapdish, the leading character played by Kevin Kline is a down-and-out actor reduced to drunkenly performing the role of Willy Loman in Death of a Salesman at the fictitious "Opa-Locka Dinner Theater."
• An instrumental song on Hawkwind's 1976 album Warrior on the Edge of Time is named "Opa-Loka", but any connection to the town is unclear. The song eventually had lyrics added to it on a later album (PXR5) and morphed into "Uncle Sam's on Mars".
• In 1970, Mary Ann Vecchio a teenage runaway from Opa-locka, was in Kent, Ohio on the day of the Kent State shootings on May 4, 1970. The image of Vecchio, kneeling by the body of a slain Kent State student by Pittsburgh Tribune-Review freelancer John Filo, which later won a Pulitzer Prize, was transmitted worldwide after the event occurred.
• Opa-locka is mentioned in the 1995 action movie The Substitute by a black student who is being disciplined by Tom Berenger.

References

1. ^ http://www.census.gov/popest/cities/tables/SUB-EST2004-04-12.xls
2. ^ History of Opa-locka Architecture
3. ^ Miami Herald | Special Sections | Where We Live Miami Gardens - Opa Locka | Page 6
4. ^ MiamiHerald.com Opa-locka -Town a "Dream" Come to Life - accessed 2 September 2008
5. ^ Opa-locka Community Development Commission - History of Opa-locka Architecture - accessed 2 September 2008
6. ^ History of Miami area airports - URL retrieved April 8, 2006
7. ^ Miller, Alicia Momsen. From Rio to Akron aboard the Graf Zeppelin, 1933: A flight aboard a dirigible, as seen through the eyes of an eight year old girl. - URL retrieved April 8, 2006
8. ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2011-02-12. http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/gazette.html. Retrieved 2011-04-23. 
9. ^ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
10. ^ "Demographics of Opa-Locka, Florida". MuniNetGuide.com. http://www.muninetguide.com/states/florida/municipality/Opa-locka.php. Retrieved 2007-10-29. 
11. ^ "MLA Data Center Results of Opa-locka, Florida". Modern Language Association. http://www.mla.org/map_data_results&state_id=12&county_id=&mode=&zip=&place_id=51650&cty_id=&ll=&a=&ea=&order=r. Retrieved 2007-10-29. 
12. ^ "Ancestry Map of Cuban Communities". Epodunk.com. http://www.epodunk.com/ancestry/Cuban.html. Retrieved 2007-10-29. 
13. ^ "Ancestry Map of Dominican Communities". Epodunk.com. http://www.epodunk.com/ancestry/Dominican-Republic.html. Retrieved 2007-10-29. 
14. ^ "Ancestry Map of Haitian Communities". Epodunk.com. http://www.epodunk.com/ancestry/Haitian.html. Retrieved 2007-10-29. 
15. ^ "Ancestry Map of Jamaican Communities". Epodunk.com. http://www.epodunk.com/ancestry/Jamaican.html. Retrieved 2007-10-29. 
16. ^ "Ancestry Map of Nicaraguan Communities". Epodunk.com. http://www.epodunk.com/ancestry/Nicaragan.html. Retrieved 2007-10-29. 
17. ^ ^{a b} Godfrey, Calvin. "Opa-locka Boots the Boss." Miami New Times. January 30, 2008. 1. Retrieved on September 28, 2009.
18. ^ Garcia-Roberts, Gus. "The Curse." Miami New Times. February 10, 2009. 2. Retrieved on February 11, 2009.
19. ^ Musibay, Oscar. "God Damned." Miami New Times. 1. May 30, 1996. Retrieved on September 28, 2009.

External links

Miami portal

• City of Opa-locka