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CHistory
History · Surfside

Surfside dates to 1935, and 1 of its places is on the National Register

More historic than 26% of U.S. towns · #191 of 638 in Florida. What drives it

Most of Surfside was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1973. Its Register listing is the Fisher-Sapero House. Below: 5 old photos and papers, maps from 1956 on, and the census since 1940.

1935founded
1on the National Register
5%homes built before 1940
5old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Surfside’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Surfside began

When was Surfside founded?

1935

Surfside dates its founding to 1935 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1940.

First census: 295 in 19402020 census: 5,68991 years

How historic is Surfside?

C

More historic than 26% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Surfside’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Surfside is more historic than 26% of U.S. towns, #191 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 Surfside’s overall grade.
Founding era1935, from Wikidata: founded 1900–1944, an older era than 9% of U.S. townsDHomes built before 19405.1% of homes (±3.2) · typical FL town 0.6% · U.S. 8.4%CNational Register1 listing, 1.8 per 10,000 residents · typical FL town 0.0 · U.S. 2.4B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 26%
NewerOlder
Florida towns of 2,500+ (638)Ahead of 70%

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 Surfside’s 1.8 sits above most of its state (75% of Florida towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% 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 is a Census survey estimate (±3.2 points). Two sources give 1935.

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 →

The story

How Surfside came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Surfside.

Read it all →

Between 1923 and 1925, the Tatum Brothers subdivided the land on what is now Surfside.

Starting in 1924, Henri Levy developed Biscaya Island and a portion of land from 87th to 92nd Streets.

In 1929–1930, Russell Pancoast, built the Surf Club 90th Street and Collins Avenue.

In 1935, fearing annexation by the city of Miami Beach, Florida, 35 members of the privately owned club incorporated the Town of Surfside and financed the venture with a $28,500 loan.

In 1956, Surfside purchased the Lehman Estate on the northeast corner of 93rd Street and Collins Avenue. It acquired additional land via eminent domain and then built a community center.

On March 1, 1973, Surfside signed a contract with Miami-Dade County to outsource fire/rescue services.

ChaptersCondominium building collapse

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Surfside, 1935 to 1956

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

  1. 20th century
  2. 1935
    FoundingSurfside is established
  3. 1940In the archiveConnecticut -New Haven County - -Windham County- -- Delaware -entire state- -- District o…
  4. 1956On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
By decade

Surfside, decade by decade

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

1940s5 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…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…Connecticut -New Haven County - -Windham County- -- Delaware -entire state- -- District of Columbia -- Florida -Alachua…1940Connecticut -New Haven County - -Windham County- -- D…
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
Today7 recent
Aerial view of Surfside, a small community above Miami Beach on a bony-finger-like barrier island separated by Biscayne…2020Aerial view of Surfside, a small community above Miam…Surfside-Florida-20142014Surfside-Florida-2014HSBC Bank Surfside 20142014HSBC Bank Surfside 2014Exterior CafeRagazzi2014Exterior CafeRagazziSurfside, FL, USA2012Surfside, FL, USAPublix2008PublixFLMap-doton-Surfside2004FLMap-doton-Surfside
On the map

Surfside on the map, 1956 to 1981

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

Surfside on the 1956 USGS mapSurfside 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 Surfside.

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 Surfside’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Surfside

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
2023
Fisher-Sapero House
Fisher-Sapero House
Buildings
All 1 listings
Fisher-Sapero HouseBuilding · listed 2023

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

People over time

Surfside, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5005,0005,5006,00019401960198020002020Peak: 5,744

Between 295 and 5,744 people in every census since 1940.

9 censuses, 1940–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Surfside

Nobody well known was born in Surfside itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Sidney PoitierBahamian and American actor and diplomat · b. 1927
Marco Rubio72nd United States Secretary of State since 2025 · b. 1971
Eva MendesAmerican actress and model · b. 1974
Victoria JusticeAmerican actress and singer · b. 1993
A
Anya Taylor-JoyAmerican actress and model · b. 1996
William H. MacyAmerican actor · b. 1950
Help out

Finish Surfside’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.

Indian CreekIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townBal HarbourIts storyD−

Questions about Surfside’s history

What year was Surfside founded?

In 1935, according to Wikidata. the census of 1940 counted 295 people here.

How does Surfside rank for history?

Surfside is more historic than 26% of U.S. towns, #191 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 Surfside?

One place: the Fisher-Sapero House (listed 2023).

How old are the homes in Surfside?

5% of Surfside’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.2 points), against a typical 0.6% for a Florida town; the median home was built in 1973.

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 (11), the Library of Congress (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.