North Miami Beach’s post office opened in 1931, and 2 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 21% of U.S. towns · #221 of 638 in Florida. What drives it
Most of North Miami Beach was built recently: 1% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1967. Its Register listings are the Old Spanish Monastery and the Fulford by the Sea Entrance. Below: 12 old photos and papers, maps from 1947 on, and the census since 1940.
From North Miami Beach’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers
How North Miami Beach began
When was North Miami Beach founded?
1931
The North Miami Beach post office opened in 1931, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Fulford (1901) and Uleta (1928), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 871 in 19402020 census: 43,67695 years
How historic is North Miami Beach?
C−
More historic than 21% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first North Miami Beach post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives North Miami Beach’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, North Miami Beach is more historic than 21% of U.S. towns, #221 of 638 in Florida. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of North Miami Beach’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 North Miami Beach’s 0.7 sits above most of its state (71% of Florida towns have fewer) while its 3 historic buildings outnumber those of 65% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to C+. The pre-1940 share (±0.6 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
Founding year: the first post office (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 North Miami Beach’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
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.
The first non-indigenous settlement was platted in 1881, and was called Fulford-By-The-Sea.
In the 1920s, Carl G. Fisher built an all-wooden racetrack with stands for 12,000 spectators, known as the Fulford–Miami Speedway. This event, held on February 22, 1926, dubbed the Carl G. Fisher Cup Race, was a forerunner to the auto races at Sebring and Daytona. In September 1926, after just one race, the track was destroyed by the 1926 Miami hurricane.
The hurricane of 1926 essentially ended the South Florida real estate boom, and in an effort to alleviate their losses and the damage to the city, local residents came together as the Town of Fulford. In 1927, it was incorporated as the City of Fulford.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of North Miami Beach. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1947North Miami 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 North Miami Beach.
Then & now
Stand where they stood
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Retake this viewConnecticut -New Haven County - -Windham County- -- Delaware -entire state- -- District of Columbia -- Florida -Alachua…, 1940
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on North Miami Beach’s page.
The North Miami Beach post office opened in 1931, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does North Miami Beach rank for history?
North Miami Beach is more historic than 21% of U.S. towns, #221 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.
What is on the National Register in North Miami Beach?
Two places: the Old Spanish Monastery (listed 1972) and the Fulford by the Sea Entrance (2010).
How old are the homes in North Miami Beach?
1% of North Miami Beach’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 0.6% for a Florida town; the median home was built in 1967.
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), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) 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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