VISUAL MATERIALS

Visual resources are a signature feature of the Research Center. The picture archives contains over 2 million photograph prints and negatives of southeast Florida, the entire state, and the Caribbean dating from 1883 to the present. Additional visual holdings include maps, prints, posters, and postcards.

ARCHIVES AND MANUSCRIPTS

The manuscripts collections contain the papers of individuals and families and the records of organizations and businesses in the Miami region and Florida. Some examples are family letters, diaries, minutes, personal correspondence, and oral history tapes and transcripts.

WOODROW W. WILKINS ARCHIVES OF ARCHITECTURAL RECORDS

The Wilkins Archives contain archival records, especially architectural drawings, pertaining to the built environment of Miami-Dade County. The Wilkins Archives is a joint project of several local organizations, including Dade Heritage Trust. It is named in honor of professor Woody Wilkins, who taught many to appreciate southeast Florida’s architectural heritage.

CHARLTON W. TEBEAU LIBRARY

The Research Center houses a non-circulating library pertaining to South Florida and the Caribbean. It holds books, pamphlets, brochures, city directories, yearbooks, ephemera, magazines, and newspapers, including a selection of scarce local newspapers. The library was named in 1976 in honor of Florida historian Dr. Charlton W. Tebeau, in recognition of his many years in support of local history research.

MUSEUM ARTIFACTS

HistoryMiami’s Object Collection consists of three-dimensional artifacts related to South Florida. The collection contains artifacts ranging from pre-Colombian pieces to contemporary items, such as tools, furniture, boats, aviation materials, clothing, musical instruments and religious objects. The collection includes over 37,000 items, mostly from the twentieth century, and an additional 550 cubic feet of archaeological material. Significant sub-collections are listed below. If you are interested in donating artifacts to HistoryMiami Museum’s collections, please click here for more information.

Researching and consulting artifacts requires advanced notice and will depend on the size, location, and condition of the objects. HistoryMiami Museum reserves the right to limit or deny access to an artifact should such access be deemed detrimental to the object. Please contact us for more information.

ARCHAEOLOGY COLLECTION

HistoryMiami is the official repository for all archaeological materials collected by Miami-Dade County and also houses artifacts collected from archaeological sites in Broward, Collier, Miami-Dade and Monroe Counties.

SEMINOLE COLLECTION

The Seminole Indian artifacts include patchwork, dolls, beads, silverwork, basketry and wooden dugout canoes.

TECHNOLOGY AND HOME FURNISHINGS COLLECTION

This collection includes a cross-section of early to mid 20th century objects that reflect typical furnishings and appliances in South Florida homes, as well as tools and equipment used in businesses and trades in Miami.

AVIATION COLLECTION

HistoryMiami houses one of the largest collections of Pan American Airways material in the U.S. The collection includes airplane models, uniforms, dinnerware, uniform insignia and airplane radio equipment.

MARITIME COLLECTION

This unique collection includes motors and motorboats used for outboard motor racing in the region, dugout canoes, an early 20th century Bahamian sloop and rafts and boats used by Haitian and Cuban immigrants to travel to South Florida.

COMMUNITY LIFE

HistoryMiami has been documenting the traditional culture of the region for over 25 years. This collection contains, among other things, large holdings in musical instruments, ritual items and accompanying documentation related to the Afro-Cuban Orisha religion (Santería) and the Haitian religion of Vodou, as practiced in Miami.

DONATING TO HISTORYMIAMI MUSEUM’S COLLECTIONS

If you are interested in donating materials and artifacts to HistoryMiami Museum, please

Click Here for more information