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Hialeah [hahy-uh-lee-uh]

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Hialeah

[hahy-uh-lee-uh]

Hialeah, city (1990 pop. 188,004), Dade co., SE Fla., NW of Miami; inc. 1925. Its industries include printing and the making of metal and plastic goods. Nearby Miami International Airport is a major employer. The city's population has grown substantially since the 1970s, and a vibrant Cuban community has added to its economic development. Hialeah Park racetrack, now closed, is in the city.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia Copyright © 2004.
Licensed from Columbia University Press

Hialeah

City (pop., 2000: 226,419), southeastern Florida, U.S. Settled in 1921 by aviation pioneer Glenn Curtiss and cattleman James H. Bright, the town took its name from a Seminole Indian word meaning “pretty prairie.” The city serves mainly as a residential suburb of Miami. It is the site of the horse-racing track Hialeah Park (1925).

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Encyclopedia Britannica, 2008. Encyclopedia Britannica Online.

Hialeah, Florida

Hialeah is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 226,419. As of 2006, the population estimate by the U.S. Census Bureau had the city's population reduced to 209,971, making it the fifth largest city in the state. Hialeah is part of the Miami metropolitan area and the Greater South Florida metropolitan area.

The city's name is most commonly attributed to Muskogee origin, "Haiyakpo" (prairie) and "hili" (pretty) combining in "Hialeah" to mean "pretty prairie". Alternatively, the word is of Seminole origin meaning "Upland Prairie". The city is located upon a large prairie between Biscayne Bay and the Everglades.

Hialeah is a large city with a well established cultural character, containing a diverse population from all over Latin America and the Caribbean. It is mostly a working class city, with bustling gritty commercial and industrial sectors. The city has been well known for its Cuban community since the late 60's and early 70's. Today the city is more diverse and known for its multi-cultural population from not only Cuba but all over the Caribbean, north and south America, and other smaller communities from around the world.

Geography

Hialeah is located at (25.860474, -80.293971).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 19.7 mi² (51.1 km²). 19.2 mi² (49.8 km²) of it is land and 0.5 mi² (1.3 km²) of it (2.53%) is water.

Surrounding areas

Miami Lakes, Unincorporated Miami-Dade County, Opa-locka
Westview, West Little River, Gladeview, Brownsville
Miami
Miami Springs, Medley, Hialeah Gardens
Unincorporated Miami-Dade County

History

The Seminole interpretation of its name, "High Prairie", evokes a picture of the grassy plains used by the native Indians coming from the everglades to dock their canoes and display their wares for the new comers of Miami. This "high prairie" caught the eye of pioneer aviator Glenn Curtiss and Missouri cattleman James H. Bright who saw its great potential in 1921.

In the early "Roaring 20’s", Hialeah could have been considered a party city. Entertainment was plentiful. Sporting included the Spanish sport of jai-alai and greyhound racing, and media included silent movies like D.W. Griffith’s The White Rose which was made at the Miami Movie Studios located in Hialeah. Although the great hurricane of 1926 brought to an end many things, it could not quench the spirit of those who knew what Hialeah could be.

In the years since its incorporation in 1925, many historical events and people have been linked with Hialeah. The opening of Hialeah Park in 1925 (which was nicknamed the "Grand Dame") as a horse track received more coverage in the Miami media than any other sporting event in the history of Miami up to that time and since then there have been countless horseracing histories played out at the world famous park. It opened as one of the most grand of thoroughbred horse racing parks with its majestic Mediterranean style architecture and was considered the Jewel of Hialeah at the time.

The Park’s grandeur has attracted millions, included among them are names known around the world such as; the Kennedy family, Harry Truman, General Omar Bradley, Winston Churchill, and J.P. Morgan. Hialeah Park also holds the dual distinction of being an Audubon Bird Sanctuary due to its famous pink flamingoes and being listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The famous aviatrix Amelia Earhart in 1937 said her final good-byes to the continental U.S. from Hialeah as she left on her ill-fated flight around the world in 1937.

It was once envisioned as a playground for the rich, but Cuban exiles, fleeing Fidel Castro's 1959 revolution, finished the work started by World War II Veterans and city planners and turned it into a working-class community. Hialeah historian Fernandez-Kelly explained "It became an affordable Eden." She further describes the city as "...a place where different groups have left their imprint while trying to create a sample of what life should be like." Several waves of Cuban exiles, beginning right after Castro's takeover in 1959 and continuing through to the Freedom Flights from 1965-1973, the Mariel boatlift in 1980, and the "balseros" or boat people of the late 1990s, have created the most economically successful immigrant enclave in U.S. history as Hialeah is the only American industrial city that continues to grow.

From a population of 1,500 in 1925, Hialeah has grown at a rate faster than most of the ten largest cities in the State of Florida since the 1960’s and holds the rank of Florida’s fifth-largest city, with more than 236,000 residents. The city is also one of the largest employers in Dade County. Predominantly Hispanic, Hialeah residents have assimilated their cultural heritage and traditions into a hard-working, diverse community proud of its ethnicity, as well as its family oriented neighborhoods.

Demographics

Population History
1950	19,676
1960	66,972
1970	102,452
1980	145,254
1990	188,004
2000	226,419

As of the census of 2006, there were 209,971 people, 69,700 households, and 54,147 families residing in the city. The population density was 4,543.7/km² (11,767.3/mi²). There were 72,142 housing units at an average density of 1,447.7/km² (3,749.3/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 90.01% White (4.1% were Non-Hispanic White,) 2.41% African American, 0.13% Native American, 0.40% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 5.47% from other races, and 3.55% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 92.17% of the population.

There were 70,704 households out of which 36.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.4% were married couples living together, 17.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 18.7% were non-families. 14.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.15 and the average family size was 3.39.

In the city the population was spread out with 23.0% under the age of 18, 8.2% from 18 to 24, 29.4% from 25 to 44, 22.9% from 45 to 64, and 16.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 92.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.6 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $29,492, and the median income for a family was $31,621. Males had a median income of $23,133 versus $17,886 for females. The per capita income for the city was $12,402. About 16.0% of families and 18.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 22.2% of those under age 18 and 22.4% of those age 65 or over.

As of 2008, Hialeah had the second highest percentage of Cuban and Cuban American residents in the US, with 75.12% of the US populace (with Westchester, Florida at 75.69%, the highest in the US.) It had the forty-third highest percentage of Colombian and Colombian American residents in the US, at 3.16% of the city's population, and the eighty-fifth highest percentage of Dominican residents in the US, at 1.81% of the it's population. It also had the thirty-eighth highest percentage of Hondurans in the US, at 1.15%, while it had the eighth highest percentage of Nicaraguans, at 4.07% of all residents.

Hialeah ranks #2 (nearby Hialeah Gardens ranks as #1) in the list of cities in the United States where Spanish is most spoken. As of 2000, speakers of Spanish as a first language accounted for 92.14%, while English made up 7.37% of the population. All other languages spoken were below 1% of the population.

Other large pressence in its population are other Central American countries and South American countries as well. Hialeah has a historically Black population in neighborhoods like Seminola and the eastern edge of the city. Asians also have a small but growing presence in the city along with other smaller present ethnicities from around the world.

Transportation

"All Ways Lead to Hialeah" was one of the city’s first slogans. At the time, Glenn Curtiss and James Bright could not have imagined the important link in the transportation chain provided by Hialeah’s location. Sitting in the heart of northwest Dade, Hialeah has access to every major thoroughfare linked by:

I-75
the Palmetto
Florida Turnpike
US 27
Hialeah also provides direct economical access to both Opa-Locka Airport and Miami International Airport
Amtrak
Tri-Rail
Metro-Rail 3 stations located in the city

Major Thoroughfares

These are the major thoroughfares for Hialeah, Florida. In parenthesis are the names or numbers for the thoroughfares these streets may coincide with in Miami-Dade County, as Hialeah has its own numbering and naming system for streets.

North

84 St (NW 138th Street)
68 St (NW 122nd Street)
60 St
49 St (NW 103rd Street)
44 St
37 St
33 St
29 St
25 St (NW 79th Street)
21 St (NW 74th Street)
Hialeah Drive (NW 54th Street, separates South Hialeah from North Hialeah)

East

E 8 Ave (NW 42nd Avenue, Le Jeune Road)
E 4 Ave
Palm Avenue (separates East Hialeah from West Hialeah)

West

Palm Avenue (separates East Hialeah from West Hialeah)
W 4 Av (NW 57th Avenue, Red Road)
W 8 Av
W 12 Av (NW 67th Avenue, Ludlam Road)
W 16 Av
W 28 Av (NW 87th Avenue, Galloway Road)

South

Okeechobee Road (US 27)
Hialeah Drive (NW 54th Street, separates South Hialeah from North Hialeah)
9 St (NW 62nd Street)

Education

Miami-Dade County Public Schools serves Hialeah. Two high schools serving the Hialeah community, Mater Academy Charter High School and Miami Lakes Educational Center, were named as "Silver" award winners in U.S. News & World Report's "Best High Schools 2008 Search".

High schools

Middle schools

Henry H Filer Middle School
Hialeah Middle School
Jose Marti Middle School
Palm Springs Middle School

Elementary schools

Amelia Earhart Elementary School
Ben Sheppard Elementary School
Ernest R Graham Elementary
Flamingo Elementary Middle School
Hialeah Elementary School
J.W Johnson Elementary School
James H Bright Elementary School
John G Dupuis Elementary School
Mae M Walters Elementary School
Mater Academy Charter Elementary School
Meadowlane Elementary School
North Twin Lakes Elementary School
Palm Lakes Elementary School
Palm Springs North Elementary School
South Hialeah Elementary School
Twin Lakes Elementary School

K-8 centers

M.A. Milam K-8 Center

Charter schools

Private schools

Edison Private School

Baptist

Dade Christian School - the largest private school in the area (unincorporated Miami-Dade with a Hialeah zip code). It is a ministry of New Testament Baptist Church.

Catholic

Secondary

Monsignor Edward Pace High School - the main Catholic high school serving the area (although it is technically located in adjoining Opa Locka). Alumni include actress Catherine Keener and baseball pitcher Alex Fernandez.

Primary

St. John the Apostle School serves mainly southern and south-central Hialeah
Immaculate Conception School serves mainly north-central and northern Hialeah

Colleges

Miami-Dade College Hialeah Campus has served as the city's academic center since 1980. Besides its academic mission, the campus also sponsors numerous cultural and community events.

Religion

Hialeah is the headquarters of the Church of Lukumi Babalu Aye, a Santería church. Hialeah contains the largest Santero Community outside of Cuba. A city ordinance restricting the Santería practice of animal sacrifice was ruled unconstitutional in Church of Lukumi Babalu Aye v. City of Hialeah. Roman Catholicism is overwhelmingly the majority religion of city residents.

Facts

Telemundo, The second largest Spanish language TV network is headquartered in Hialeah and has several studios where its programming is taped along with its talk shows, news program, and telenovelas.
Hialeah is also ranked as the most dense city in the United States without a skyscraper. The city's tallest building is 14 floors and is only considered a mid-rise building.