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CHistory
History · Opa-locka

Opa-locka’s post office opened in 1926, and 19 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 28% of U.S. towns · #176 of 638 in Florida. What drives it

Most of Opa-locka was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1969. Below: 15 old photos and papers, maps from 1956 on, and the census since 1930.

1926first post office
19on the National Register
2%homes built before 1940
15old photos & papers
8famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Opa-locka’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Opa-locka began

When was Opa-locka founded?

1926

The Opa-locka post office opened in 1926, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 339 in 19302020 census: 16,463100 years

How historic is Opa-locka?

C

More historic than 28% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Opa-locka post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Opa-locka’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Opa-locka is more historic than 28% of U.S. towns, #176 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 Opa-locka’s overall grade.
Founding era1926, from the first post office: founded 1900–1944, an older era than 9% of U.S. townsDHomes built before 19401.5% of homes (±1.4) · typical FL town 0.6% · U.S. 8.4%C−National Register19 listings, 11.7 per 10,000 residents · typical FL town 0.0 · U.S. 2.4A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 28%
NewerOlder
Florida towns of 2,500+ (638)Ahead of 73%

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 Opa-locka’s 11.7 sits above most of its state (86% of Florida towns have fewer) while its 19 listings outnumber those of 79% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D to B−. The pre-1940 share (±1.4 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 Opa-locka’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

Landmarks on the Register19 places on the National Register.A town in old photos15 old photos, postcards and papers.Famous sons and daughtersHarry Wayne Casey, Randall Bailey and 6 more were born here.
★ What stands out · On the National Register

19 historic places in Opa-locka

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
19
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
19
each building in a district counts
first listed
1982
Harry Hurt Building
Harry Hurt BuildingOpa-Locka Company Administration BuildingOpa-Locka Railroad StationBaird House, built 1926Cravero HouseCrouse House, built 1926Etheredge HouseGriffiths HouseHelm Stores and ApartmentsHelms HouseHiggins DuplexKing Trunk Factory and ShowroomLong HouseRoot BuildingTaber DuplexTinsman HouseTooker HouseWheeler HouseHaislip House
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Moorish Revival12
Mediterranean Revival1
Harry Hurt BuildingMoorish Revival
Opa-Locka Company Administration BuildingMoorish Revival
Opa-Locka Railroad StationMoorish Revival
Baird HouseMoorish Revival · Built 1926
Cravero HouseBuilding
Crouse HouseMediterranean Revival · Built 1926
Etheredge HouseBuilding
Griffiths HouseBuilding
All 19 listings
Helm Stores and ApartmentsBuilding · listed 1987Helms HouseBuilding · listed 1987Higgins DuplexBuilding · listed 1987King Trunk Factory and ShowroomBuilding · listed 1987Long HouseBuilding · listed 1987Root BuildingBuilding · listed 1987Taber DuplexBuilding · listed 1987Tinsman HouseBuilding · listed 1987Tooker HouseBuilding · listed 1987Wheeler HouseBuilding · listed 1987Haislip HouseBuilding · listed 1987

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

By decade

Opa-locka, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1940s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1940s15 items
Connecticut -New Haven County - -Windham County- -- Delaware -entire state- -- District of Columbia -- Florida -Alachua…1940Connecticut -New Haven County - -Windham County- -- D…Connecticut -New Haven County - -Windham County- -- Delaware -entire state- -- District of Columbia -- Florida -Alachua…1940Connecticut -New Haven County - -Windham County- -- D…All American Girls Professional Baseball League members performing calisthenics1948All American Girls Professional Baseball League membe…All American Girls Professional Baseball League player Marg Callaghan sliding into home plate as umpire Norris Ward wat…1948All American Girls Professional Baseball League playe…All American Girls Professional Baseball League player Marg Callaghan sliding into home plate as umpire Norris Ward wat…1948All American Girls Professional Baseball League playe…Chicago Colleens on April 22, 1948, from- All American Girls Professional Baseball League members performing calistheni…1948Chicago Colleens on April 22, 1948, from- All America…Dick Bass with members of the Fort Wayne Daisies baseball team1948Dick Bass with members of the Fort Wayne Daisies base…Dottie Schroeder, catcher, shouting play ball behind mask1948Dottie Schroeder, catcher, shouting play ball behind …Face detail, Dottie Schroeder, catcher, shouting play ball behind mask (cropped)1948Face detail, Dottie Schroeder, catcher, shouting play…Fort Wayne Daisies player, Marie Wegman, of the All American Girls Professional Baseball League arguing with umpire Nor…1948Fort Wayne Daisies player, Marie Wegman, of the All A…Mary Rountree playing baseball in the All American Girls Professional Baseball League- Opa-locka, Florida (3253307080) …1948Mary Rountree playing baseball in the All American Gi…Mary Rountree playing baseball in the All American Girls Professional Baseball League1948Mary Rountree playing baseball in the All American Gi…South Bend Blue Sox on April 22, 1948, from- All American Girls Professional Baseball League members performing calisth…1948South Bend Blue Sox on April 22, 1948, from- All Amer…Springfield Sallies on April 22, 1948, from- All American Girls Professional Baseball League members performing calisth…1948Springfield Sallies on April 22, 1948, from- All Amer…View of All American Girls Professional Baseball League member Dottie Schroeder getting a hit1948View of All American Girls Professional Baseball Leag…
1950s–1990snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
Today3 recent
Opa Locka FL 1145 Jann012010Opa Locka FL 1145 Jann01Opa Locka FL 112-118 Perviz022010Opa Locka FL 112-118 Perviz02Opa Locka FL 112-118 Perviz012010Opa Locka FL 112-118 Perviz01
Famous people

8 famous people were born in Opa-locka

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Harry Wayne CaseyAmerican musician and record producer · b. 1951
R
Randall BaileyAmerican boxer · b. 1974
A
Armando AllenAmerican football player · b. 1989
BriscoRapper · b. 1983
Larry BrinsonAmerican college football coach and former coll… · b. 1954
A
Adewale OjomoAmerican football player · b. 1988
The story

How Opa-locka came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Opa-locka.

Read it all →

Opa-locka was founded in 1926 by aviation pioneer Glenn Curtiss, who had retired to become a real estate developer during the nascent Florida land boom. The city's unique "Arabian" or "Moorish" architectural theme was executed by American architect Bernhardt E. Muller, who had designed several Mediterranean and Spanish-style homes in nearby Miami in 1923. There are various accounts regarding how Opa-locka came to adopt its iconic architectural style. Curtiss had met Muller in 1925 at the suggestion of Curtiss' mother, Lua Andrews Curtiss. Muller is said to have viewed Opa-locka as an opportunity to create a new community based on an architectural theme from a literary work; he was particularly inspired by the exoticism and splendor of the One Thousand and One Nights, also known in English as the Arabian Nights. By some accounts, Muller met with Curtiss on the site of the future city to …

Chapters2016 financial emergency

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Opa-locka, 1926 to 1989

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 20th century
  2. 1926BuiltBaird House is built
  3. 1926BuiltCrouse House is built
  4. 1926Post officeThe Opa Locka post office opens
  5. 1926Post officeThe Opa-locka post office opens
  6. 1940In the archiveConnecticut -New Haven County - -Windham County- -- Delaware -entire state- -- District o…
  7. 1951Born hereHarry Wayne Casey is born here
  8. 1956On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  9. 1974Born hereRandall Bailey is born here
  10. 1979Post officeThe Opa-locka post office closes
  11. 1983Born hereBrisco is born here
  12. 1989Born hereArmando Allen is born here
On the map

Opa-locka on the map, 1956 to 1981

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Opa-locka. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Opa-locka on the 1956 USGS mapOpa-locka on the 1981 USGS map1956Miami sheet · 1:250,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Opa-locka.

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.

Connecticut -New Haven County - -Windham County- -- Delaware -entire state- -- District of Columbia -- Florida -Alachua…
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 Opa-locka’s page.

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Opa-locka, census by census

02,0004,0006,0008,00010,00012,00014,00016,00018,0001940196019802000202016,463

Grew from 339 people in 1930 to 16,463 in 2020, more than tenfold.

10 censuses, 1930–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Opa-locka’s Wikipedia page.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices and old corners

Opa-locka had its own post office from 1926 to 1979.

Opa Locka
1926–today
Opa-Locka
1926–1979
19201970today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Mitchell Lake Estates

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Help out

Finish Opa-locka’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewConnecticut -New Haven County - -Windha…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

WestviewIts storyDBiscayne GardensIts storyDHialeah2 historic placesC−Miami Gardens1 historic placeD

Questions about Opa-locka’s history

What year was Opa-locka founded?

The Opa-locka post office opened in 1926, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Opa-locka rank for history?

Opa-locka is more historic than 28% of U.S. towns, #176 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 Opa-locka?

19 listings: 19 buildings, among them the Harry Hurt Building (listed 1982, the first).

How old are the homes in Opa-locka?

2% of Opa-locka’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.4 points), against a typical 0.6% for a Florida town; the median home was built in 1969.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

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 (18), Wikidata (2), the National Register of Historic Places (19), 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.