3/31/2024 0 Comments Kairos dmr netcontrol software![]() ![]() However, very few people know the full history of this neighborhood that dates back to 1917. While Wynwood nears its 100 th year, it is time to share its story of humble beginnings, diverse demographics and modern day gentrification. The Wynwood area was originally sub-divided and sold by a couple of early Miamians: Josiah Chaille and Hugh Anderson. The land that Chaille and Anderson purchased in 1917 was farmland and part of the Pulaski Estate. At the time of the purchase of this tract of land, the estate was being managed by the law firm of Robbins, Graham and Chillingsworth. The land may have also included part of the Waddell and Johnson tract, but it isn’t clear how much of this tract would have been a part of the transaction. Prior to the annexation of this land by the city of Miami in 1913, it would have been a part of North Miami. North Miami was defined as land north of today’s fourteenth street, which was just north of the original Miami city limits. North Miami did not have alcohol restrictions, so it was a haven for saloons and raucous behavior in the early years following the incorporation of Miami. What is clear about the Waddell and Johnson tract is that there were already lots sold long before 1917. EA Waddell was Miami’s first real estate agent and was focused on selling lots on this tract as early as early as 1896 to his friends from Key West. Therefore, Chaille and Anderson may have inherited some lots that were already sold and built as part of their purchase in 1917. ![]() Josiah Chaille was one of the founders of Wynwood Miami. Josiah Chaille was the son of a William Chaille who opened up a store called The Racket Store on Avenue D (later named Miami Avenue), after relocating from Ocala to Miami. The Chaille family arrived in Miami in 1900, shortly after the incorporation of the city. Josiah would work with his father in the retail business until his father’s retirement in 1912. Josiah would continue to run the business until 1916 at which time he chose to sell the store to the Burdines and go into the burgeoning real estate business. Josiah Chaille may have been best known for his work on the Miami City Council. In 1920, the city council enacted a new street name and numbering system in a plan provided by Josiah Chaille. The modern day street names and numbers in downtown Miami and the surrounding areas are directly from this plan. The plan was adopted in October of 1920 and called the Chaille Plan. Hugh Anderson was a charismatic opportunist who went from a hotel clerk in Chattanooga, Tennessee, to a millionaire promoter during boom time Miami in the nineteen teens and nineteen twenties. In addition to being a part of the founding of Wynwood, Anderson also was involved with the development of Miami Shores and the Venetian Islands. He also was one of the builders of Biscayne Boulevard. Unfortunately, Hugh Anderson lost his fortune and died in 1941 at the age of 59. The partners took out the first plat in Wynwood on January 7 th, 1917. However, the men originally called this area Wyndwood. Three months after the two men took out the first plat, the City of Miami built a park on the northern end of this new area and dropped the “d” from the name. It wasn’t until much later that people dropped the “Park” and just referred to the area as Wynwood. Originally, the Wynwood Park boundaries were defined by NW 20 th Street to the south, NW 36 th Street to the North, the FEC Railroad tracks to the east and NW 7 th Avenue to the West. After the building of Interstate 95 in the 1960s, the Wynwood neighborhood border was unofficially changed. The western border of Wynwood was now considered Highway 95. This unofficial change eliminated a set of small blocks that were east of NW 7 th Avenue and west of Highway 95, between NW 20 th Street and NW 36 th Street. Since its inception, the neighborhood became an area for working class families. My grandmother and her family lived just inside the boundaries of Wynwood, on NW 23 rd Street and just east of NW 7 th Avenue. The house she resided would have been in the portion of Wynwood that was isolated during the building of I-95 in the 1960s. She, and at least one of my great uncles, graduated from Robert E Lee Middle School in the late 1920s. Also, she worked nearby at Don Allen Chevrolet on NW 20 th Street and Miami Avenue. Most of the families in the area would have been considered middle class at that time. ![]() The Coca-Cola bottling plant at 301 NW 29th Street in Wynwood, Miami. ![]()
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