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The Miami Stories initiative collects stories about Miami’s past, present, and future. Through this oral history project, HistoryMiami Museum documents life in the Magic City through written stories, video submissions, and audio recordings, which are preserved in the museum’s archive, and shared online and through local media outlets.
HistoryMiami Museum accepts written stories and video submissions on a rolling basis. We welcome written stories between 500-1,000 words and video stories under 5 minutes about life in Miami. We encourage storytellers to submit a photo with their written story. To submit a written story, complete the Miami Stories Submission Form. To submit a video story, click on the video story link.
How did you or your family get to Miami?
When do you feel like a Miamian?
What would you miss if you left Miami?
What makes Miami, Miami?
What do you see for Miami’s future?
In collaboration with the Cuban Heritage Collection at the University of Miami Libraries and as a part of the program El efecto Mariel: Before, During, and After, HistoryMiami Museum is collecting stories related to the Mariel boatlift of 1980. Members of the community are encouraged to share their personal memories, stories, and reflections related to Mariel. Stories will be collected virtually on a rolling basis and a series of prompts give participants ideas from where they can begin their story. Submitted stories will become part of the permanent collections of the HistoryMiami Museum and Cuban Heritage Collection and featured on both online platforms.
The Miami Stories Recording Booth allows the museum to capture audio stories at local events.
For more information about booking the Miami Stories Recording Booth, see the Recording Booth Information Sheet or contact us at miamistories@historymiami.org.
As part of the 2020 10 Days of Connection, HistoryMiami Museum invited South Florida residents to share a story about an item that reflects an aspect of their cultural identity and build a community exhibit. We continue to collect these stories and invite you to share yours. Either by yourself or accompanied by your loved ones, submit a video explaining how this object represents your cultural identity. Feel free to submit your story in the language of your choice.
Click here to access the Miami Stories Audio Archive
It feels like a high speed chase west on the ironically named Dolphin Expressway, veering south on what follows as a seamless string of highway on the “Palmetto,” the Don Shula expressway, and the Ronald Reagan Turnpike, all certifiable assaults on the nervous system. I pass hurling arcs of overpasses… Read More
It was the depths of the Depression, 1937, when my parents Manny and Grace LaCalle pulled into Miami with their two girls in the back seat of the car. After many jobs and homes in five other states, my father had an offer from Schenley Distillers. They shipped all their… Read More
n 1963, I made my first trip to Miami. I had just graduated from college and was invited to visit by the man who would become my husband, Richard Rosichan. At the time, he lived in Bay Heights with his parents, Arthur and Claire Rosichan. I was young and had… Read More
I’ve been trying to leave Miami for a long time now. Miami was my home after I left Haiti. Creole was in every corner, familiar faces spilled out of supermarkets and Quick Marts, and botanicas haunted every jitney bus and crowded every small church between businesses. I felt at home,… Read More
I started my life insurance career in Norfolk, Va., then transferred to South Florida in early January 1964 to manage my company’s Miami district office. I had previously rented a small, new house in Coral Gables for my wife Barbara and two young daughters, Jane, 7, and Margaret, 5. What… Read More