Miami Beach Visual Memoirs Project

Carl and Kathy Hersh with Nicole Henry, jazz singer/songwriter. Architect and sculptor Kenneth Treister talking about the creation of the Miami Beach Holocaust Memorial.

Celebrating its 12th anniversary

In 2011, the Miami Design Preservation League teamed up with Carl and Kathy Hersh, Close-Up Productions to produce a video archive of oral history interviews with people with deep connections to Miami Beach. Their memories and stories have provided fascinating insight into the Beach’s history and development.

The Visitors and Convention Authority of the City of Miami Beach has renewed our grant every year since then. The FIU Digital Library offered to host the archive and under their care and promotion, it has received over 80 thousand hits from users. Close-Up created a website www.miamibeachvisualmemoirs.com, a YouTube channel, and a Facebook page, which currently has almost 800 followers. The Hershes have also produced numerous features, mini-docs, and profiles using archive content and vintage media.

This past year, Close-Up worked with the Miami Beach Youth Commission to produce a series of five webinars focusing on the history of minorities on Miami Beach, including the Black, Jewish, Hispanic and LGBTQ communities. Youth commissioners participated directly in lining up guests and joining them in conversation about a particular group’s experiences of Miami Beach’s past. The webinars were endorsed by the Miami-Dade County School Board and are available for classroom use.

In addition to the webinars, we interviewed Kenneth Treister, creator of the Miami Beach Holocaust Memorial; Glendon Hall, Chair of the Miami Beach Black Advisory Committee; Michael Gongora, first openly gay Miami Beach City Commissioner; Nicole Henry, singer/songwriter and activist; Joe Fleming, long-time preservation attorney; and Jud Kurlancheek, former Director of Planning and Zoning for Miami Beach.

One hundred and fifty people have been interviewed since the beginning of the grant, representing diverse perspectives and contributions to the Beach’s cultural life, its economic development, and its historical and environmental preservation.

The archive is available to the general public for research and education, all made possible by the continued support of the City of Miami Beach Visitors and Convention Authority (MBVCA).

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