More historic than 3% of U.S. towns · #593 of 638 in Florida. What drives it
Most of Bal Harbour was built recently: 0.5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1981. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1956 on, and the census since 1950.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Bal Harbour is more historic than 3% of U.S. towns, #593 of 638 in Florida. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
D−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Bal Harbour’s overall grade.
Few Florida towns list much on the Register (a typical Florida town has 0.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Bal Harbour’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (33% of Florida towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D− to D. The pre-1940 share (±0.9 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1946.
Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Bal Harbour’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Since the 1920s, the Detroit-based Miami Beach Heights Corporation—headed by industrialists Robert C. Graham, Walter O. Briggs, and Carl G. Fisher—owned 245 acres (99 ha) of undeveloped, partially swampy land that stretched from Biscayne Bay to the Atlantic Ocean. Graham assumed the duties as the developer for Bal Harbour. In the 1930s, city planners Harland Bartholomew & Associates were called in to design the village. The company made several plans, and they were submitted to the Miami Beach Heights for review.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
In 1946, according to Wikidata. the census of 1950 counted 224 people here.
How does Bal Harbour rank for history?
Bal Harbour is more historic than 3% of U.S. towns, #593 of 638 in Florida. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
How old are the homes in Bal Harbour?
0.5% of Bal Harbour’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 0.6% for a Florida town; the median home was built in 1981.
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
From Wikimedia Commons (12), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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