The Power of Urban Ethnic Places by Jan Lin

Author:Jan Lin [Lin, Jan]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Social Science, Anthropology, Cultural & Social, Sociology, General, Urban
ISBN: 9781136909856
Google: QW_FBQAAQBAJ
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2010-10-18T03:39:05+00:00

abandonment, however, in the 1980s. The Tower Theater, located at SW 8th Street and 15th Avenue in the heart of Calle Ocho, was their initial focus.

This historic theater was built in 1926 and transformed into an Art Deco gem with a prominent 40-foot steel tower for the Wometco Theater chain by architect Robert Law Weed in 1931. In early 1960, it was the first theater in Miami to show movies with Spanish subtitles. Many immigrants have fond memories of going to the theater for their first exposure to American popular culture. The theater eventually added movies completely in Spanish. As the Little Havana neighborhood began to decline with the outmovement of residents to suburban locations, the theater started to decline. It was closed by 1984, and preservationists in the community worked with the City of Miami to protect the building and raise funds for a $3 million restoration as a center for art, film, and culture for Cubans and other Latin American immigrants to Calle Ocho. The efforts of Jack Luft, director of the City of Miami Planning Department, and planner Jose Casanova were crucial during this period. The site earned National Register of Historic Places status in 1993 and the renovation was completed in 1997. In March 2002, the City entered an agreement with Miami Dade Community College (now Miami Dade College) authorizing it to manage and operate cultural and educational programming at the theater. From June 1 to 3, 2007, for instance, there was a photographic exhibition, Havana Today in Images, of high-definition huge-scale images of buildings and streetscapes in Havana, Cuba. On the evening of June 2, there was a screening of a documentary film critical of the Castro regime. There are periodical artistic exhibitions, poetry and book readings, film screenings, and theatrical productions on Cuban and Latin American culture and politics throughout the year. Some events are held in the Latin Quarter Cultural Center, across the street, which opened up new offices at 1501 SW 8th Street.

Calle Ocho has been redubbed the “Latin Quarter” to recognize the growing presence of Latin American immigrants from beyond Cuba, such as the Nicaraguans, who have established a “Little Managua” in

Figure 5.10 Latin Quarter Cultural Center. Photo by Jan Lin.

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