SEABOARD AIR LINE OPA-LOCKA RAILROAD STATION

The Seaboard Air Line Railroad was a passenger and freight line that connected Florida to Richmond, Virginia beginning in 1900. In 1925, Opa-locka founder and aviation pioneer Glenn Curtiss, among other local leaders, successfully lobbied Seaboard President S. Davies Warfield to extend the rail down from West Palm Beach to Miami. This decision convinced Curtiss to establish the Opa-locka Company, beginning construction of the community in 1926. Opa-locka’s station was Miami’s northernmost main-line station, serving as a critical link for the movement of agricultural goods and aviation activities. Designed by the Seaboard's architectural firm, Harvey & Clarke, and supervised by Opa-locka chief architect, Bernhardt Muller, the building was the only station along the new route that featured a Moorish design to blend with Opa-locka’s Arabian motif. On January 8, 1927, two months before the station was completed, the Orange Blossom Special train arrived here for the grand opening of the Seaboard’s line. Passengers enjoyed a show of over 70 Opa-lockans dressed in themed attire. The station is listed in the National Register of Historic Places, individually, and as part of the Opa-locka Thematic Resource Area.