Overtown

Overview

Overtown sits just northwest of Downtown Miami. It is one of the city's oldest Black neighborhoods. When Miami was founded in 1896, Black workers who helped build the city were made to live here, in what was then called Colored Town.

Shut out of much of the city, residents built their own: churches, schools, hotels, shops and clubs. By the mid-1900s, Overtown was the center of Black life and business in South Florida.

Little Broadway

NW 2nd Avenue was known as Little Broadway. Black stars who played Miami Beach hotels at night often could not stay there, so many came to Overtown's hotels and clubs to stay and perform. The neighborhood was also called the Harlem of the South.

Starting in the late 1950s and 1960s, Interstate 95 and other highway and urban renewal projects cut through the neighborhood. Many homes and businesses were torn down, and thousands of residents were forced to move. Overtown is still recovering from that loss.

Places to visit

• Historic Lyric Theater. Built in 1913 by Geder Walker, a Black business owner, at 819 NW 2nd Avenue. It was a showplace of Little Broadway and is now run by the Black Archives as a theater and cultural center.
• Black Police Precinct and Courthouse Museum. At 480 NW 11th Street, in the building that once served Miami's first Black police officers and a Black court. Visiting details vary, so check before you go.
• Ward Rooming House. A restored 1920s rooming house at 249 NW 9th Street, now used as a gallery space. Access depends on events and exhibits.
• D.A. Dorsey House. The home of Dana A. Dorsey, a Black developer often called Miami's first Black millionaire.

Places to eat

• Lil Greenhouse Grill. A Black-owned restaurant at 1300 NW 3rd Avenue, known for soul food and Southern dishes.

Overtown today

New towers, offices and rail stations are rising on Overtown's edges. Some residents see jobs and investment. Others worry about rising rents and losing longtime neighbors. Visiting historic sites and spending at long-standing local businesses is one direct way to support the people who kept the neighborhood going.

Getting around

• Metrorail. Historic Overtown/Lyric Theatre station sits in the neighborhood.
• Nearby. Downtown Miami and Brightline's MiamiCentral station are just to the east.