Half of Kendale Lakes’ homes were built after 1980
More historic than 8% of U.S. towns · #387 of 638 in Florida. What drives it
Most of Kendale Lakes was built recently: 0.3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1980. Below: maps from 1949 on and the census since 1980.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Kendale Lakes is more historic than 8% of U.S. towns, #387 of 638 in Florida. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
D
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Kendale Lakes’ 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 Kendale Lakes’ 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 two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share (±0.3 points) is firm at this size.
Founding year: our sources. 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 Kendale Lakes’ past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Kendale Lakes (and all of West Kendall) once had a large Miami Jewish population; many prominent attorneys lived there throughout the mid and late 70s. It was truly a bedroom community up until the mid to late 80s.
El Dorado Blvd was once a walk-through outdoor mall with many mom and pop stores called the Kendale Lakes Mall. It was a destination for locals and had many specialty shops like Second Skin, Smatt Bootery, Sentry Drugs, Mightiest Mortals and restaurants like Fiesta Tacos, The Carvery, Cozzoli's Pizza, Tiger Tea House and Burns Bakery to name but a few. Kendale Lakes Mall remains a source of nostalgia for many locals who grew up in the area during the late 1970s and 1980s.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Kendale Lakes. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1949South Miami NW sheet · 1:24,000
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Kendale Lakes.
People over time
Kendale Lakes, census by census
Between 32,789 and 56,901 people in every census since 1980.
5 censuses, 1980–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Kendale Lakes’ Wikipedia page.
Famous people
Famous people close to Kendale Lakes
Nobody well known was born in Kendale Lakes itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Kendale Lakes is more historic than 8% of U.S. towns, #387 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 Kendale Lakes?
0.3% of Kendale Lakes’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 0.6% for a Florida town; the median home was built in 1980.
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 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.
