Restoration of the Freedom Tower in the heart of downtown Miami is scheduled to be completed in May. Photo credit: R.J. Heisenbottle Architects
DOWNTOWN MIAMI – From serving as the home to Miami’s first newspaper to becoming a vital center of refuge and aid for Cuban immigrants, the Freedom Tower has stood in downtown Miami as a landmark of American history. Under the stewardship of Miami Dade College, the historic edifice will mark its centennial and a new purpose.
Scheduled to be completed in May following a two-year, $25 million restoration, the tower, 600 Biscayne Blvd. on Miami Dade College’s Wolfson Campus, will become a museum highlighting the building’s full history dating back to 1925.
Exhibits will highlight the Freedom Tower’s remarkable journey as a landmark of public service and the various ways in which it has been a cornerstone of Miami’s history for generations, said Maria Carla Chichuen, executive director of cultural affairs at Miami Dade College and a leader in the Freedom Tower restoration project.
“We are thrilled, for the first time, to develop exhibits that tell the full history of the building from its very beginnings, when it opened as the home of the Miami Daily News as Miami’s first skyscraper,” Chichuen said.
The Miami Metropolis, Miami’s first newspaper, was founded in 1896, and was renamed the Miami Daily News-Metropolis in 1923. The new owner, former Ohio Gov. James M. Cox, had a new building erected in 1925 for the paper, which was renamed the Miami Daily News. That name was shorted to The Miami News in 1957, the same year the newspaper moved out to a more modern facility on the Miami River.
The restoration of the Freedom Tower in 1987, led by Richard Heisenbottle, right, tackled structural damages. Photo credit: R.J. Heisenbottle Architects.
Five years after the Miami News moved out, the building became the Freedom Tower, a center for the new federal Cuban Assistance Program created to aid the scores of Cubans fleeing the 1959 communist revolution. But when the program ended in 1974, ownership of the building changed frequently with long periods of abandonment and neglect, according to Miami Dade College history of the tower.
A Saudi Arabian consortium bought the tower and renovated it in 1987 but dropped the venture in 1992. In 1997 Jorge Mas Canosa, leader of the Cuban American National Foundation, converted the building into a monument to the Cuban American experience. But in 2004, the Mas family sold the tower to prominent Cuban American business leader and developer Pedro Martin, who donated it to Miami Dade College in 2005.
Inside the tower’s renovation
The restoration – not a renovation – refers to a complete replication of the tower’s original form, said head restoration architect Richard J. Heisenbottle, president of R.J. Heisenbottle Architects, P.A., the firm conducting the makeover. Heisenbottle also worked on the tower’s 1987 restoration that focused on structural damages sustained from the structure’s various stints of abandonment.
Financed by the state of Florida and multiple competitive historical grants, current preservation efforts include exterior painting, detailing and hand replicating decades-old murals. The details, though microscopic and tedious, are each crafted with the utmost intention and care, down to the tiles, Heisenbottle said.
Project manager Stephanie Michell is an integral part of the attention to detailnecessary to uphold the Freedom Tower’s original charisma, Heisenbottle said. When searching for a tilemaker who could create a replica, Michell located a shop in Seville, Spain, which had possession of the original collection dating back to the early 20th century.
The 1924 Schultze & Weaver “New World 1513” mural tile will remain in the reconstructed Freedom Tower. Credit: R.J. Heisenbottle Architects.
Exact replica tiles, 2020s. Credit: R.J. Heisenbottle Architects.
“So, they had the original Freedom Tower collection in their studio, which was incredible,” Michell said. “They knew exactly the colors, exactly the designs, and they managed to do that for us.”
Architect’s family ties to tower
Michell said her family has historical ties to Freedom Tower. At the first signs of Fidel Castro’s regime in Cuba, they immigrated to Miami and soughtaid at the tower, she said.
“My grandmother and grandfather had to take their English lessons there to even be considered for work,” Michell said. “Those are the stories and the history that make us who we are in generations to come. Those are the stories that I’ll still pass down to my kids knowing exactly where they came from, who we are, what we stand for.”
Because the tower holds such historical and cultural significance, preservation architects said they feel a sense of pride in upholding the integrity of its original design.
“We have a very vocal community that sees this as a home and as a refugee center that provides so much to them for generations,” Michell said. “The reason why many of them are still here and many of them have prospered throughout the years is because of something as significant as the Freedom Tower and everything that came from it.”
Circulation department of the Miami Daily News at work in the Freedom Tower, 1925. Photo credit: R.J. Heisenbottle Architects.
Oral histories sought
Chichuen emphasized the Freedom Tower’s enduring role as a symbol of hope, opportunity and resilience for generations of Miamians. The museum will include engaging exhibits that present a mix of digital technology, art and photography, storytelling, archival documentation, through the first two floors, in an exhibit called the “Libertad” (Freedom), Chichuen said.
The museum also will feature an oral history collection showcasing the experiences of hundreds of Miami families who have immigrated to the city. Participation is open to those wanting to share their experiences. Residents who want to contribute should email freedomtower@mdc.edu
“We really wanted to tell the community stories through their own voices,” Chichuen said. “It’s so important that these stories are told; that they’re not lost.”
Parallel purposes
And just as the Freedom Tower represents the struggles and triumphs of Cuban exiles seeking freedom and opportunity, Miami Dade College serves the community as a beacon of education and empowerment for those striving for a better future, Chichuen said.
“The same way that the Freedom Tower opened its doors to Cuban refugees in the early 1960s and ’70s, Miami Dade College has been that institution that has welcomed its doors to every single member of our community,” Chichuen said. “We are available for everyone to grow and achieve their own American dreams, through the power of education.”
More than a feat of historical architectural preservation, more than a resurrection of the past, the Freedom Tower’s ongoing enhancements honor generations of families and their histories that are integral to the vibrant hub that Miami is today, Chichuen said.
“Beyond preserving the history of the tower, we will also be reflecting the broader story of Miami as a place of new beginnings, where so many people, not just the Cuban exile community–who is so deeply connected to the tower, and which we will be honoring– but so many others that have come to Miami in search of a better life,” Chichuen said. “We hope that all of them will feel seen, represented and honored.”
