HistoryMiami Museum collects, preserves, and provides access to materials that document the Miami region, South Florida and the Caribbean. The Research Center houses HistoryMiami’s archives and non-circulating library and offers a reading room in which researchers can consult the archives and object collections. If you are interested in donating materials to the Research Center, kindly click here for more information.
Hours
COVID-19 Update: In the interest of safety for our visitors and staff, and following guidance from local, state, and federal officials, the Research Center is closed to the public. The Museum will continue to monitor the situation and update our website accordingly – as well as post updates to our social media platforms – regarding our plans to reopen.
- Open by appointment only.
- To make an appointment please visit our online booking page.
- Appointments can be made during the following hours:
- Tuesday – Thursday, 12:00pm – 4:30pm
- Friday, 10:00am – 4:30pm
HistoryMiami Museum and the Research Center are closed on select holidays.
Search Tools
The Research Center staff are the most valuable effective tool available to researchers and are ready to help make your research experience a success. Please contact us at 305-375-1623 or archives@historymiami.org for assistance
Researchers can learn more about our holdings using the following digital search tools:
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- Finding Aids: these guides describe archives and manuscripts in our collections, including personal and family papers, business and organizational records, and format-based collections of photographs, maps, prints, historical and literary manuscripts, recordings, and ephemera.
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- Online Catalog: includes information about our holdings, including visual materials, books, magazines, and recordings.
- Online Publications: HistoryMiami’s publications—journals, magazines, exhibition catalogs and books—tell South Florida’s story.
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Interested in purchasing a digital image? The Research Center offers hi-resolution digital reproductions to meet your personal, display, publication and advertising needs. For more information on the costs associated with obtaining and licensing images, please view the following price sheets:
- Photo Personal & Non-Profit Pricing
- Photo Display & Publication Pricing
- Photo Advertising & Film Pricing
Collection Highlights
Visual Materials
Visual resources are a signature feature of the Research Center. The picture archives contains 1.5 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 & 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
Objects from the Museum’s artifacts collection may be consulted in the Research Center. Artifacts held by the Museum range 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.
Consultation of artifacts require 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.
Donating to HistoryMiami Museum’s Collections
If you are interested in donating materials and artifacts to HistoryMiami Museum, please click here for more information.
