- Title: As Miami high-rises loom over financial district, local resident digs in
- Date: 21st February 2023
- Summary: MIAMI, FLORIDA, UNITED STATES (FEBRUARY 13, 2023) (REUTERS) BRICKELL LANDMARK AT THE MOUTH OF THE MIAMI RIVER ARCHEOLOGISTS WORKING ON THE SITE AND THE MIAMI RIVER IN VIEW THE CIRCLE, A HISTORICAL LANDMARK BEHIND THE BRIDGE OF THE MIAMI RIVER (MUTE) ARCHEOLOGIST WORKING AT 444 BRICKELL AVE (MUTE) MIAMI, FLORIDA, UNITED STATES (FEBRUARY 14, 2023) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) PROFESSOR AND CHAIR OF THE DEPARTMENT OF ARCHEOLOGY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI, WILLIAM PESTLE SAYING: “We know from historical sources that at the time that the Spanish arrived in Florida in the 16th century, that there was at the mouth of the Miami River, where Brickell is today, a vibrant settlement, a village that was called Tequesta, that's what the people who the Spanish encountered called the village, but also what they called themselves. That was the name that they gave for themselves. So, you know, that mouth of the river has been prime real estate since since, you know, at least 500 years ago.†MIAMI, FLORIDA, UNITED STATES (FEBRUARY 13, 2023) (REUTERS) MOUTH OF THE MIAMI RIVER FROM THE BAY (MUTE) OVERVIEW OF THE MOUTH OF THE MIAMI RIVER (MUTE) MIAMI, FLORIDA, UNITED STATES (FEBRUARY 14, 2023) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) PROFESSOR AND CHAIR OF THE DEPARTMENT OF ARCHAOLOGY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI, WILLIAM PESTLE SAYING: “Particularly over the last 20 or 30 years is that portion of Miami has been redeveloped, right as the mid-rise buildings have come down and the great big glass skyscrapers have gone up. Portions of this site called the Tequesta site have been exposed and this includes things like the Miami Circle, which became very famous for for a period of time about 30 years ago. More recently, a site on the north side of the river called Met Square, which was excavated about eight or ten years ago prior to construction of the building there, and most recently on the south side of the Miami River at this larger parcel called 444 Brickell Avenue; archeologists have discovered AN incredible set of artifacts, an incredible site that dates back not just a couple hundred or a couple thousand years, but that stretches back five, six, 7,000 years into the past. Right.†MIAMI, FLORIDA, UNITED STATES (FEBRUARY 13, 2023) (REUTERS) OVERVIEW OF SITE NEAR BRICKELL AVENUE (MUTE) ARCHEOLOGISTS WORKING ON 444 BRICKELL AVENUE SITE (MUTE) MIAMI, FLORIDA, UNITED STATES (FEBRUARY 14, 2023) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) PROFESSOR AND CHAIR OF THE DEPARTMENT OF ARCHEOLOGY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI, WILLIAM PESTLE SAYING: “You know, you walk around the city and, you know, something old by Miami standard is from the 1970s or the 1960s, right. You don't see, you know, the history of the city presented in the same sort of way, sort of in-your-face in the same sort of way that you see in Boston or New York City or something like Philadelphia, right. And so for me, I think what's happening here is that there's kind of a vicious cycle going on, right? We don't see the history. It's not preserved and presented to the public. And as a consequence of that, we come to think that there is no history, right. That the city really only dates back to the 19th century, you know, with people like Henry Flagler and Julia Tuttle. And as a consequence, we don't tend to value the past that is there. And so when new sites or new portions of this larger archeological site that sat at the mouth of the river are exposed, the dominant attitude over the last 20 or 30 years has been, unfortunately, the destruction.†MIAMI, FLORIDA, UNITED STATES (FEBRUARY 13, 2023) (REUTERS) ARCHEOLOGISTS WORKING ON 444 BRICKELL AVENUE SITE, PUTTING SAND INTO BUCKETS ARTIFACTS ON TABLE TOPS AT 444 BRICKELL AVENUE SITE ARCHEOLOGISTS DIGGING AND BRUSHING AT THE 444 BRICKELL AVENUE SITE MIAMI, FLORIDA, UNITED STATES (FEBRUARY 14, 2023) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) PROFESSOR AND CHAIR OF THE DEPARTMENT OF ARCHEOLOGY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI, WILLIAM PESTLE SAYING: “So you have this, you know, this cycle that just feeds into itself where because we don't see the past, we don't appreciate the past because we (don't) appreciate it, we don't protect it and because we don't protect it, we don't see it. So this gets perpetuated. And so with the discoveries that have been ongoing at this newest site on Brickell Avenue, I think we have a unique opportunity, right. Where should the city step up to its responsibilities and its duties, as I think they ought to, that site would be in large part preserved. That site would be protected, that site would be available to the residents of Miami to see and fully appreciate their history.†MIAMI, FLORIDA, UNITED STATES (FEBRUARY 13, 2023) (REUTERS) ARCHEOLOGISTS DIGGING AT THE GROUND AT 444 BRICKELL AVENUE AN ARCHEOLOGIST PLACING ARTIFACTS ON TABLE ARCHEOLOGISTS WORKING AT 444 BRICKELL AVENUE SITE VARIOUS OF LAST SINGLE FAMILY HOME IN BRICKELL AMONG SITE, BELONGING TO ISHMAEL BERMUDEZ (MUTE) ISHMAEL BERMUDEZ (SOUNDBITE) (English) ARTIST AND OLDEST RESIDENT OF BRICKELL, ISHMAEL BERMUDEZ SAYING: “How beautiful this part of the world is, this grid. The way you see the sun come up in the morning. It's the way you see sunsets, the beautiful blue skies. People came here for that magic. And the magic is left behind on evidence of humans who pass through here and play, dance and die. So we want to go as we want to know as much as that type history and where they came from. So it's very important to collect all kind of data. But also at the same time, when you discover special sites, you've got to work around them and also save it for the eyes of the world.†BERMUDEZ SHOWING WHERE HE FOUND FOSSILS AN EXTINCT FLORIDA PINE TREE STUMP LYING BENEATH BERMUDEZ’S HOME (SOUNDBITE) (English) (ISHMAEL UNDERNEATH HIS HOME) ARTIST AND OLDEST RESIDENT OF BRICKELL, ISHMAEL BERMUDEZ SAYING: “You know, I started in 1960, 1959, 1960. Yes, and this was a nice house we had, you know, Bahamian grass out in top and royal palms, cedar trees, all kind of limes and mango trees. I took all that out in the back and inside, too. I took everything else to be able to excavate it. And I spent (a year) educating, going to Virginia to on to the zone to learn how to jack these baby up like a ship and work and then take the columns without caving the house in. I did that. And that's why we can walk underneath and see what's on the floor. It goes all the way to the back. It's excavated. All the way to the back.†BERMUDEZ WALKING ON A MAKESHIFT WALKWAY SINCE HIS ENTIRE YARD IS EXCAVATED (SOUNDBITE) (English) ARTIST AND OLDEST RESIDENT OF BRICKELL, ISHMAEL BERMUDEZ SAYING: “You've got to take care for the next generation and the next generations. I’ve been taking care of these things for more than 50 years. And what it is, is a landmark.†(SOUNDBITE) (English) ARTIST AND OLDEST RESIDENT OF BRICKELL, ISHMAEL BERMUDEZ SAYING: “You cannot just give out...billionaires and come here and intimidate us with their money. They have to work with us. They want to build here, they have to work with our rules of the game because the rules of the game change every day and for the better, for the better of the state of Florida, the city of Miami and territory of United States, all these developers, they have to know the rules.†BERMUDEZ SHOWING WHAT MAY BE A LARGE TOOTH FOSSIL OF AN ANIMAL BERMUDEZ EXPLAINING THAT DOMESTIC CATS HAVE ALSO PASSED BY HIS HOME (SOUNDBITE) (English) ARTIST AND OLDEST RESIDENT OF BRICKELL, ISHMAEL BERMUDEZ SAYING: “But it's up to us, the people, to make sure that this don't get destroyed, whether it gets sold or not. It's got to stay here the way it is, because it's a cultural center for the city of Miami, state of Florida.†BERMUDEZ'S HOME MIAMI, FLORIDA, UNITED STATES (FEBRUARY 14, 2023) (REUTERS) SOUNDBITE (English) PROFESSOR AND CHAIR OF THE DEPARTMENT OF ARCHEOLOGY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI, WILLIAM PESTLE SAYING: “It’s possible for both development and historic preservation to coexist. Right? You can build for the future while also respecting the past. And that's that's what we're hoping to have happen at this site. And if you've been lucky enough to travel around the world, you've seen that development and historic preservation can coexist. You know, you have historic structures right next to or underneath modern structures. And so I think, you know, we're only limited here by sort of our our imagination in terms of a better outcome that could be realized, that could combat this really pernicious idea that Miami is a city without a history, a young city, a new city.†MIAMI, FLORIDA, UNITED STATES (FEBRUARY 13, 2023) (REUTERS) THE MOUTH OF THE RIVER WHERE HISTORICALLY THE TEQUESTA PEOPLE LIVED (MUTE)
- Embargoed: 7th March 2023 10:50
- Keywords: Florida Miami Tequesta archeology development financial district history
- Location: MIAMI, FLORIDA
- City: MIAMI, FLORIDA
- Country: US
- Topics: Living/Lifestyle,North America,Society/Social Issues
- Reuters ID: LVA001184320022023RP1
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: As developers seek to build up Miami's skyline, longtime resident Ishmael Bermudez is digging in -- literally.
The artist and amateur archaeologist lives in a single-family home in Brickell, a rare property in Miami's financial district. Bermudez, alongside community groups and archeologists, are pushing for more preservation in Miami as new developments unearth historical relics.
Bermudez's home is painted with multicolored seascape of fish and underwater plants. Tropical birds sing in his garden -- an uncommon sound in the fast-growing neighborhood dominated by the floor-to-ceiling glass of highrises.
After excavating under his own home, Bermudez discovered fossils and even human remains -- which were given to local authorities.Â
Earlier this month, community members called for building work to be postponed at 444 Brickell Avenue so that archaologists could preserve prehistoric artifacts found there, including bones, pottery and tools.
Related Group, the developer, did not respond to requests for comment. The City of Miami's Historic and Environmental Preservation Board did not respond to a request for comment.
Modern-day Brickell, which sits at the mouth of the Miami River, was once the site of a vibrant settlement called Tequesta, according to William Pestle, an archeology professor at the University of Miami. Spanish explorers encountered Tequesta in the 16th century, yet its history is not widely known.
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