The Lynn and Louis Wolfson II Florida Moving Image Archives (The Wolfson Archives) is currently housed at

Miami Dade College Miami Dade College (MDC) is a public university, public college located in Miami, Miami, Florida, United States. Established in 1959, MDC operates eight campuses and numerous outreach centers throughout Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade Count ...

's Wolfson Campus in downtown

Miami, Florida Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

, United States.

History

Wolfson Archives was named in honor of benefactors Lynn and

Louis Wolfson II Louis Wolfson II (September 19, 1927 – October 11, 1979) was a member of the Florida House of Representatives from Miami-Dade County from 1963–1973. Biography Wolfson was the son of Frances Meyer (1906–1980) and Mitchell Wolfson (1900 ...

and was founded in 1984 primarily by philanthropist

Lynn Wolfson Lynn may refer to: People and fictional characters * Lynn (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Lynn (surname) * The Lynns, a 1990s American country music duo consisting of twin sisters Peggy and Patsy Lynn * Lynn ...

(''née'' Rabin) (1927-2012), journalist

Ralph Renick Ralph Apperson Renick (August 9, 1928 – July 11, 1991) was a pioneer American television journalist for Miami's WTVJ, channel 4 (now channel 6), Florida's first television station. He was WTVJ's first and longest running news anchor and the dri ...

(1928-1991), and Miami historian Arva Moore Parks. It was created under the joint sponsorship of the

Miami-Dade Public Library System The Miami-Dade Public Library System (MDPLS) is a system of libraries in Miami-Dade County, Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of ...

, and the

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private university, private research university in Coral Gables, Florida, United States. , the university enrolled 19,852 students in two colleges and ten schools across over ...

. Originally, the Archives was housed in the basement area of the Main Branch of the

, until it moved to its present location. The mission of the Archives is to: "collect, preserve and make accessible film and video materials made in or about Florida which reflect the history and culture of the region". The Wolfson Archives has collected 35,000 hours of videotape and 23 million feet of film. It is recognized as an official repository of audiovisual material by the State of

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

, and one of the largest archives of its kind in the entire country.

Collections

The Wolfson Archives is dedicated to film produced in or about Florida, and receives requests for footage from such notable people as the acclaimed filmmaker

Ken Burns Kenneth Lauren Burns (born July 29, 1953) is an American filmmaker known for his documentary films and television series, many of which chronicle American history and culture. His work is often produced in association with WETA-TV or the Nati ...

. The archive houses everything from news footage, home movies, and county-commissioned videos to promotional videos made for local tourist attractions, like Parrot Jungle (now called

Jungle Island Jungle Island, formerly Parrot Jungle, is a relaunched eco-adventure park on Watson Island (Miami), Watson Island, Miami, Florida, United States. The park re-opened following a series of major renovations after the park incurred damage from Hurr ...

). Some of the footage dates as far back as 1910. The Archives also help restore film that holds historical importance and that runs the risk of deteriorating to original quality. Footage from the Archives was also used by CNN for the Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown series on Miami, Season 5, Episode 3. The Wolfson Archives currently has the following collections available for browsing online: *

Broward County Broward County ( ) is a County (United States), county in Florida, United States, located in the Miami metropolitan area. It is Florida's second-most populous county after Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County and the List of the most ...

Historical Commission Collection * Conni Gordon Collection *

Eastern Airlines Eastern Air Lines (also colloquially known as Eastern) was a major airline in the United States that operated from 1926 to 1991. Before its dissolution, it was headquartered at Miami International Airport in an unincorporated area of Miami-Dade ...

Collection * Home Movies Collection *

Collection *

Miami Seaquarium The Miami Seaquarium is a oceanarium located on the island of Virginia Key in Biscayne Bay, Miami-Dade County, Florida located near downtown Miami. Founded in 1955, it is one of the oldest oceanariums in the United States. In addition to m ...

Collection * Montage Collection *

WINK-TV WINK-TV (channel 11) is a television station licensed to Fort Myers, Florida, United States, serving as the CBS affiliate for Southwest Florida. It is owned by the McBride family and their Fort Myers Broadcasting Company, making it one of a hand ...

Collection

Public programs

The Wolfson Archives is in the process of digitizing its vast collection in order to make it more readily available for the public. It offers a series of public programs such as the annual Home Movie Day, and weekly video "Rewind" showings of video clips. The Archives also participates in various South Florida special events such as the annual

Miami Book Fair International The Miami Book Fair is an annual street fair and literary festival organized by Miami Dade College. History Miami Book Fair International, originally known as "Books by the Bay," was founded in 1984 by Miami Dade College President Eduardo J. Pa ...

. These are two of the programs geared to the community: *Rewind: A series of free, informal, twice-weekly public screening of historical footage of archives' holdings. *Learning from Miami: A collaborative website http://learningfrommiami.org/ between the Wolfson Archives, Miami Dade College's School of Architecture and Interior Design, and

HistoryMiami HistoryMiami Museum, formerly known as the Historical Museum of Southern Florida, is a museum located in Downtown Miami, Florida, United States. HistoryMiami Museum is the largest history museum in the State of Florida. HistoryMiami houses four p ...

.Learning from Miami: History, Architecture, Preservation. Retrieved November 2015 from http://learningfrommiami.org/?page_id=22

References

External links

* *Wolfson Archives
Facebook page
* {{Florida Film archives in the United States