The Arts & Entertainment District, or previously known as Omni, is a neighborhood of

Downtown Miami Downtown Miami is the urban city center of Miami, Florida. The city's greater downtown region consists of the Central Business District, Brickell, the Historic District, Government Center, the Arts & Entertainment District, and Park West. It ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

. It is bound roughly by North 19th Street to the north, North 10th Street to the south, North East 2nd Avenue to the west, and Biscayne Boulevard to the east. The Arts & Entertainment District is an urban, residential neighborhood with many high-rise residential towers, as well as some smaller scale historic buildings. It is home to the

Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts The Arsht Center is a performing arts center located in Miami, Florida. It is one of the largest performing arts centers in the United States. The center was partly built on the site of a former Sears department store; an Art Deco building const ...

, the old '' Miami Herald'' headquarters (now located in Doral), and the Omni International Mall. Until 2014, it was one of the neighborhoods that hosted the annual

Miami International Boat Show The Miami International Boat Show is an annual event in February, produced by thNational Marine Manufacturers Associationin Miami, Florida, United States. It had previously been held in three separate venues; two in Downtown Miami, and the other ...

at the Sea Isle Marina. The

City of Miami Cemetery The Miami City Cemetery is a historic cemetery in Miami, Florida, United States. It is located at 1800 Northeast 2nd Avenue. On January 4, 1989, it was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. History Miami city cemetery was loca ...

, one of Miami's oldest cemeteries, is also located in the district, as well as the historic

Women's Club The woman's club movement was a social movement that took place throughout the United States that established the idea that women had a moral duty and responsibility to transform public policy. While women's organizations had always been a part ...

, and some of Miami's oldest churches and synagogues. The Arts & Entertainment District is served by the Omni Loop branch of the

Metromover Metromover is a free mass transit automated people mover train system operated by Miami-Dade Transit in Miami, Florida, United States. Metromover serves the Downtown Miami, Brickell, Park West and Arts & Entertainment District neighborhoods. ...

and by the

Metrorail METRORail is the light rail system in Houston, Texas (United States). In , the system had a ridership of , or about per weekday as of . METRORail ranks as the second most-traveled light rail system in the Southern United States and the 12th ...

via Metromover at Government Center.

History

From the 1920s to the 1950s, the Omni area was a high-end shopping area with many major department stores along

Biscayne Boulevard U.S. Highway 1 (US 1) in Florida runs along the state's east coast from Key West to its crossing of the St. Marys River into Georgia north of Boulogne and south of Folkston. US 1 was designated through Florida when the U.S. Numbe ...

, such as

Sears, Roebuck and Company Sears, Roebuck and Co. ( ), commonly known as Sears, is an American chain of department stores founded in 1892 by Richard Warren Sears and Alvah Curtis Roebuck and reincorporated in 1906 by Richard Sears and Julius Rosenwald, with what began ...

(whose tower still stands at the Arsht Center),

Jordan Marsh Jordan Marsh (officially Jordan Marsh & Company) was an American department store chain that was headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, and operated throughout New England. It was founded by Eben Dyer Jordan and Benjamin L. Marsh in 1841. The ...

(NE 15th Street and Biscayne Blvd) built in 1956, and a

Burdines Burdines (} ) was an American chain of department stores operating in the state of Florida, headquartered in Miami. The original store opened in Bartow, Florida in 1896 as a carriage-trade shop. Over its nearly 110-year history, Burdines grew ...

(NE 14th Street and Biscayne Blvd). By 1930, this area of

was the home of Sears (later Burdines) Store, and the Shrine Building (which still stands at NE 14th Street and Biscayne Blvd), all of which were designed and built by the Biscayne Boulevard Company in the

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unite ...

architectural style An architectural style is a set of characteristics and features that make a building or other structure notable or historically identifiable. It is a sub-class of style in the visual arts generally, and most styles in architecture relate closely ...

. The area from NE 13th to NE 16th Street was envisioned as a high-end shopping district. By 1930, early tenants in the Shrine Building included the Piggly-Wiggly grocery store, Biscayne-Page Electric Company, and the John Turner Piano Store on the first floor. Other tenants in 1930 were the Home Drug Store and the Burroughs Adding Machine Company. In 1977, the Omni International Mall opened replacing much of the street-side stores with a suburban-style

shopping mall A shopping mall (or simply mall) is a North American term for a large indoor shopping center, usually anchored by department stores. The term "mall" originally meant a pedestrian promenade with shops along it (that is, the term was used to refe ...

. The mall brought many upscale stores to the Omni such as

Emilio Pucci Don Emilio Pucci, Marchese di Barsento (; 20 November 1914 – 29 November 1992) was an Italian aristocrat, fashion designer and politician. He and his eponymous company are synonymous with geometric prints in a kaleidoscope of colors. Earl ...

Givenchy Givenchy (, ) is a French luxury fashion and perfume house. It hosts the brand of haute couture and ready-to-wear clothing, accessories, perfumes and cosmetics of Parfums Givenchy. The house of Givenchy was founded in 1952 by designer Hubert de ...

, and

Hermes Hermes (; grc-gre, wikt:Ἑρμῆς, Ἑρμῆς) is an Olympian deity in ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology. Hermes is considered the herald of the gods. He is also considered the protector of human heralds, travelle ...

. By the 1990s, however, the mall began to falter, and in 1991,

closed, and in 1998, so did

JC Penney Penney OpCo LLC, doing business as JCPenney and often abbreviated JCP, is a midscale American department store chain operating 667 stores across 49 U.S. states and Puerto Rico. Departments inside JCPenney stores include Mens, Womens, Boys, Gir ...

. In 2000, the mall closed, and the area was reconverted into offices in 2007. Today, it houses a few office tenants and the

Miami International University of Art and Design Miami International University of Art & Design (formerly the International Fine Arts College) is a private, for-profit art school in Miami, Florida. It is owned and operated by the non-profit Education Principle Foundation (aka Colbeck Foundation ...

. It is also the corporate home of th
Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce
The name of the neighborhood today, comes from the name of the Omni Mall. In the 2000s, rapid construction of high-rise residential skyscrapers has revitalized the neighborhood from

urban blight Urban decay (also known as urban rot, urban death or urban blight) is the sociological process by which a previously functioning city, or part of a city, falls into disrepair and decrepitude. There is no single process that leads to urban deca ...

. The area around Margaret Pace Park has seen large population growth from 2000 to 2010. Omni today has a large residential population, and with continued retail and residential construction in the neighborhood, has grown into its own unique neighborhood in the city.

Education

Miami-Dade County Public Schools Miami-Dade County Public Schools (M-DCPS) is a public school district serving Miami-Dade County in the U.S. state of Florida. Founded in 1885, it is the largest school district in Florida and the Southeastern United States, and, , the fourth la ...

, private college *Aspira of Florida Charter School, public charter school

Transportation

train system runs three lines throughout Downtown (the Downtown Loop, the Omni Loop, and the Brickell Loop). The Metromover connects with Metrorail and is free. There are two Metromover stations in the district- School Board Station and Adrienne Arsht Center. Transfers can be made to the

, Miami's heavy rail system, at Government Center, as well as to the Brickell and Inner Metromover loops. Metrorail has stops throughout Miami with connections to

Miami International Airport Miami International Airport , also known as MIA and historically as Wilcox Field, is the primary airport serving the greater Miami metropolitan area with over 1,000 daily flights to 167 domestic and international destinations, including most c ...

, all Miami-Dade County bus lines,

Tri-Rail Tri-Rail is a commuter rail line linking Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach in Florida, United States. The ''Tri'' prefix in the name refers to the three counties served by the railroad: Palm Beach, Broward, and Miami-Dade. Tri-Rail ...

, and

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous U.S. States and nine cities in Canada ...

. The main bus station is also located in the district, next to the Arsht Center at the Adrienne Arsht Center station. The Arts & Entertainment District is served by Metrobus throughout the area, the

Miami Metrorail Metrorail is the heavy rail rapid transit system of Miami and Miami-Dade County in the U.S. state of Florida. Metrorail is operated by Miami-Dade Transit (MDT), a departmental agency of Miami-Dade County. Opened in 1984, it is Florida's only ra ...

, and the

: Metrorail: * Government Center (NW First Street and First Avenue) Metromover: * Omni Loop As an urban and

pedestrian-friendly Walkability is a term for planning concepts best understood by the mixed-use of amenities in high-density neighborhoods where people can access said amenities by foot. It is based on the idea that urban spaces should be more than just transport ...

area with an extensive

public transit Public transport (also known as public transportation, public transit, mass transit, or simply transit) is a system of transport for passengers by group travel systems available for use by the general public unlike private transport, typic ...

network, the Arts & Entertainment District and the greater Downtown area, is one of the areas in Miami where a car-free lifestyle is commonplace. Many residents get around by foot, bicycle,

or by taxi. The Metromover is a popular alternative to walking in the area, especially on rainy, hot or cold days, as the Metromover is free, and stations are located roughly every two blocks throughout the area. Recently, the City of Miami, along with the Downtown Development Authority, has begun bicycle initiates promoting citywide bike parking and

bike lanes Bike lanes (US) or cycle lanes (UK) are types of bikeways (cycleways) with lanes on the roadway for cyclists only. In the United Kingdom, an on-road cycle-lane can be firmly restricted to cycles (marked with a solid white line, entry by motor ...

, that have made bicycling much more popular for residents.

Bike lanes Bike lanes (US) or cycle lanes (UK) are types of bikeways (cycleways) with lanes on the roadway for cyclists only. In the United Kingdom, an on-road cycle-lane can be firmly restricted to cycles (marked with a solid white line, entry by motor ...

and bike sharrows are currently planned for the majority of Downtown streets to be painted by the end of 2010. The

Venetian Causeway The Venetian Causeway crosses Biscayne Bay between Miami on the mainland and Miami Beach on a barrier island in the Miami metropolitan area. The man-made Venetian Islands and non-bridge portions of the causeway were created by materials which ...

is a popular

bicycle commuter Bicycle commuting is the use of a bicycle to travel from home to a place of work or study — in contrast to the use of a bicycle for sport, recreation or touring. Commuting especially lends itself to areas with relatively flat terrain and a ...

route that connects South Beach to Omni. The

Rickenbacker Causeway The Rickenbacker Causeway is a causeway that connects Miami, Florida to the barrier islands of Virginia Key and Key Biscayne across Biscayne Bay. Background The Causeway is a toll road, owned and operated by Miami-Dade County. Automobiles ...

is very popular on weekends for recreational bicyclists, and often, bicycles can outnumber cars on the causeway.

Parks

* Margaret Pace Park *

Historic Omni

Although one of Miami's oldest neighborhoods, few buildings remain in the district from its founding days. Some historic buildings in the area include: File:Miami FL Womans Club library01.jpg, Historic

Miami Women's Club The Miami Women's Club is a historic site in Miami, Florida. It is located at 1737 North Bayshore Drive. On December 27, 1974, it was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is ...

, built in 1926 File:Miami FL First Church Christ Scientist01.jpg,

First Church of Christ, Scientist The First Church of Christ, Scientist is the administrative headquarters and mother church of the Church of Christ, Scientist, also known as the Christian Science church. Christian Science was founded in the 19th century in Lynn, Massachusetts ...

, 1925 File:Miami FL Trinity Episc Cathedral01.jpg, Trinity Episcopal Cathedral, 1925 File:Ziffballetoperahouse.jpg, Sears Department Store Tower at the Arsht Center, 1929 File:MiamiCityCemetery1.jpg,

, oldest and first cemetery in Miami, opened in 1897 File:Miami FL Fire Station 2-01.jpg, Fire Station No. 2, 1926

Points of interest

* Sea Isle Marina * Omni International Mall *'' Miami Herald'' * The Grand Doubletree * Opera Tower

Gallery

File:Knightconcerthall.jpg, The Knight Concert Hall File:Miami Herald building.jpg, The Miami Herald building File:Doubletree Grand Hotel Biscayne Bay.jpg, The Grand Doubletree File:Opera Tower.jpg, The Opera Tower one of the tallest buildings in Omni File:Sea Isle Marina Miami Florida right 20100213.jpg, The Sea Isle Marina during the Miami International Boat Show, 2010 File:Miami New Times building.jpg, The Miami New Times building File:Grand Doubletree mall.jpg, The mall at the Grand File:Bacardi building Miami.jpg, The Bacardi Building File:Operatower.jpg, The district skyline as seen from

Biscayne Bay Biscayne Bay () is a lagoon with characteristics of an estuary located on the Atlantic coast of South Florida. The northern end of the lagoon is surrounded by the densely developed heart of the Miami metropolitan area while the southern end is la ...

to the east

References

{{Greater Miami Neighborhoods in Miami Shopping districts and streets in the United States Entertainment districts in Florida Tourist attractions in Miami Arts districts