Miami Florida or the 'Gateway to the America's is just over 100 years old and is the only municipality conceived and founded by a woman, Julia Tuttle. Julia was a local citrus grower and a wealthy Cleveland native and after the Great Freeze of 1894–1895, when only crops in Miami survived, Julia convinced Henry Flagler, a railroad tycoon, to expand his Florida East Coast Railroad to the Miami. For this she got her name as mother of the city, which became so in 1896 with a population of just over 300. By the start of the 1900's this number grew to 1,700. Today it is a city rich in cultural and ethnic diversity with 362,470 residents, 60% of them born in foreign country.
Miami suburbs stretch from the Florida Everglades to the west and Biscayne Bay to the east that also extends from Florida Bay north to Lake Okeechobee. Business, commerce and infrastructure have become extremely important to Miami. In the last ten years building has been priority in the city with more than 50 skyscrapers being built rising over 400 feet, making Miami’s skyline one to be envied like New York and Chicago.
With over 3,000,000 people a year passing through, The Port of Miami is the now busiest cruise ship passenger port in the world. Miami shores are where most things happen for the city of Miami. Biscayne Bay, which contains hundreds of natural and artificial barrier islands. Two of the largest of these islands are Miami Beach and South Beach. Miami’s climate is warm all year round as a result of the Gulf Stream running northward just 15 miles (24 km) off the coast.
The film and television industry has been riddled with Miami influence over the last thirty years. Television shows set in Miami are Nip/Tuck, CBS's CSI: Miami, Dexter, The Golden Girls, the legendary Miami Vice and reality show Miami Ink. The video game Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, which became one of the best selling video games in history was set in Miami along with movies such as There's Something About Mary, Marley & Me, Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, Bad Boys, The Birdcage, Blow, True Lies, Police Academy 5, The Bodyguard, and the James Bond films Goldfinger, Thunderball, Casino Royale.
The annual December ‘Olympics of Art’ exhibition, is the world’s largest art exhibition and brings thousands of visitors each year to admire. Miami Downtown is full of culture and museums such as the Bass Museum, Frost Art Museum, Historical Museum of Southern Florida, Jewish Museum of Florida, Lowe Art Museum, Miami Art Museum, Miami Children's Museum, Miami Science Museum, Museum of Contemporary Art, Vizcaya Museum and Gardens, Wolfsonian-FIU Museum and the Miami Cultural Center.
Many young hopefuls come to Miami to see if their reams of being a fashion model can come true. Miami is full of fashion influence and some of the world’s top modeling agents are based here. The city embraces fashion at ever turn. Miami Fashion Week and the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week are major fashion events in the year and are held Miami held at the Wynwood Art District.