More historic than 2% of U.S. towns · #598 of 638 in Florida. What drives it
Most of Sunny Isles Beach was built recently: 0.3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1983. Below: 6 old photos and papers, maps from 1956 on, and the census since 2000.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Sunny Isles Beach is more historic than 2% of U.S. towns, #598 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 Sunny Isles 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 Sunny Isles Beach’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.
NoteThe founding year comes from Wikidata alone; no second source gives 1997.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D− to D. The pre-1940 share (±0.3 points) is firm at this size.
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 →
In 1920, Harvey Baker Graves, a private investor, purchased a 2.26-square-mile (5.9 km2) tract of land for development as a tourist resort. He named it "Sunny Isles, the America Riviera".
When the Haulover bridge was completed in 1925, the area became accessible from Miami Beach, attracting developers who widened streams, dug canals and inlets and created islands and peninsulas for building waterfront properties on Biscayne Bay.
Sunny Isles Beach was known as North Miami Beach until 1931, then known as Sunny Isles until 1997.
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.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Sunny Isles Beach. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1956Miami 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 Sunny Isles 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 viewMiami Beach - Gregory Motel 01, 1951
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Sunny Isles Beach’s page.
In 1997, according to Wikidata. the census of 2000 counted 15,315 people here.
How does Sunny Isles Beach rank for history?
Sunny Isles Beach is more historic than 2% of U.S. towns, #598 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 Sunny Isles Beach?
0.3% of Sunny Isles Beach’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 0.6% for a Florida town; the median home was built in 1983.
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 (6), 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.
1951
1954
c. 1955
c. 1955
c. 1955
