History Miami is truly getting better with time.
This museum and its archives has always been invaluable to history buffs, educators, students and anyone who lusts details and facts for inspiration and authenticity.
But lately, they're operating on another level.
It started last year at the opening of Messenger, their Bob Marley exhibit; it's continuing with American Sabor, an installation currently on display highlighting the contributions of Latinos in popular music; and it absolutely culminated Thursday night at the premier of Ladies and Gentlemen... The Beatles!
This museum is so inspiring it simply must be written about.
The Beatles exhibit is awesome. On display are more than 400 items from private collectors and The GRAMMY Museum including memorabilia, records, photographs, tour artifacts, video footage, as well as correspondence and instruments. The correspondences are so nuanced your heart will skip a beat. I'm telling you. Go to this exhibit. You'll learn things. It's fun. And who doesn't love the Beatles? Did you know the Beatles only toured live for 2 ½ years because they couldn't play over the loud screams from the crowd. Did you know they were the first band to play in a stadium?
The Beatles exhibit aside, History Miami is truly evolving into a world-class destination. Since the Miami Art Museum moved uptown, our history museum has expanded its space while maintaining the home they moved into in 1984, downtown by the main library in the Miami-Dade Cultural Center. The new space currently has a long-running exhibit downstairs called History & Ourselves, which is interactive, fun and gives off the vibe that Miami is growing. Upstairs, they have their rotating exhibits, which right now (until October 26th) are simply amazing with the musical juxtaposition between American Sabor and Ladies and Gentlemen... The Beatles!
Meanwhile, the old space has its permanent exhibit upstairs, Tropical Dreams, a People's History of South Florida, which covers our history dating back a measly 12,000 years. And downstairs they are building a permanent education center.
Within the next 20 years, this museum will educate tens of thousands of people and should become a must-go road-trip destination for every school within 20 miles.
Mind you. No one is paying me crap to write this. It just needs to be said.
Credit their management; their curators and marketers; credit their innovative thinking and vision; credit fate for affording them the opportunity to expand into Miami Art Museum's space; just give them their just and due credit because our museum of Miami history is making the most of its existence.