South Florida Real Estate and History

By Alexandra Tarallo

Does your South Florida home have a lot of history? What year was it built? If you don’t live in one of the plentiful new developments in our area, your house may have many stories to tell.

One of the best ways to tell what year your home or condo was built is its architectural style. Miami Beach condos built in the roaring 20’s, and in the early 30’s many times feature an architectural style of sleek, geometric, and modern lines called Art Deco.

Old-Florida style homes in Delray Beach resemble homes in Key West and Saint Petersburg. These wood frame homes typically revolve around porches and feature corrugated metal roofs and voluminous ceilings. The style is also known as “vernacular architecture.” If you live in a home like this, it may be holding much history of the past families who inhabited it long ago when Florida was mainly an agricultural state.

The oldest known home in Florida is located in Saint Augustine, and dates back to the early 1700’s. The Spanish Colonial house is now a museum and features evidence of the Spanish, British, and American occupations of Saint Augustine covering 400 years of history. Florida’s history encompasses various sagas including the exploration and settlement, Christian missions, treasure fleets, and pirate raids led sometimes by the infamous Sir Francis Drake.

Perhaps your home is built on an archeological site. Florida’s natives inhabited the area since approximately 10,000 B.C. The Miami Circle in the Brickell area of downtown Miami is an archeological site said to be a Tequesta town once located at the mouth of the Miami River. It is believed to be between 1,700 and 2,000 years old, though there is some controversy on the sites age and authenticity.

Wherever you live, your South Florida home probably has much to teach you.