Omni (Miami)

Omni
—  Neighborhood of Miami  —
Omni viewed at night in May 2011 from Watson Island
Nickname(s): Media and Entertainment District
Omni neighborhood within the City of Miami
Coordinates: 25°47′56″N 80°11′22″W / 25.798964°N 80.189552°W / 25.798964; -80.189552
Country	United States
State	Florida
County	Miami-Dade County
City	Miami
Government
– City of Miami Commissioner	Marc Sarnoff
– Miami-Dade Commissioners	Audrey Edmonson
– House of Representatives	Cynthia A. Stafford (D)
– State Senate	Gwen Margolis (D)
– U.S. House	Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R)
Population (2010)[1]
– Total	11,033 (Omni population only) 71,000 (Greater Downtown population)
– Density	20,585/sq mi (7,947.9/km2)
Time zone	EST (UTC-05)
ZIP Code	33132
Area code(s)	305, 786
Website	Miami Downtown Development Authority

The Omni, or sometimes labeled as the Media and Entertainment District, is a neighborhood of greater Downtown, Miami, Florida, United States, just south of Edgewater. It is bound roughly by North 24th Street to the north, Interstate 395 to the south, by the Florida East Coast Railway and East Second Avenue to the west, and Biscayne Bay to the east.^[2][3]

Omni is an urban, residential neighborhood with many high-rise residential towers, as well as some smaller scale historic buildings. Omni is home to the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts, the Miami Herald headquarters, and the Omni International Mall. It is also one of the neighborhoods that hosts the annual Miami International Boat Show. The City of Miami Cemetery, one of Miami's oldest cemeteries, is also located in Omni, as well as the historic Women's Club, and some of Miami's oldest churches and synagogues.

Omni is served by the Omni Loop branch of the Metromover and by the Metrorail 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, such as Sears, Roebuck and Company (whose tower still stands at the Arsht Center), Jordan Marsh (NE 15th Street and Biscayne Blvd) built in 1956, and a Burdines (NE 14th Street and Biscayne Blvd).^[4] By 1930, this area of Biscayne Boulevard was the home of Sears, Burdines, 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 architectural style. 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.^[5]

In 1977, the Omni International Mall opened replacing much of the street-side stores with a suburban-style shopping mall. The mall brought many upscale stores to the Omni such as Emilio Pucci, Givenchy and Hermes. By the 1990s, however, the mall began to falter, and in 1991, Jordan Marsh closed, and in 1999, so did JC Penney. 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. The name of the neighborhood today, comes from the name of the Omni Mall.^[6][7]

In the 2000s, rapid construction of high-rise residential skyscrapers has revitalized the neighborhood from urban blight. 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 International University of Art and Design, private college
• Aspira of Florida Charter School, public charter school

Transportation

See also: Transportation in Miami

Metromover 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 Omni- School Board Station and Adrienne Arsht Center. Transfers can be made to the Metrorail, 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, all Miami-Dade County bus lines, Tri-Rail and Amtrak. The main bus station is also located in Omni, next to the Arsht Center at the Adrienne Arsht Center station.

Omni is served by Metrobus throughout the area, the Miami Metrorail, and the Metromover:

Metrorail:

•      Government Center (NW First Street and First Avenue)

Metromover:

•      Omni Loop

As an urban and pedestrian-friendly area with an extensive public transit network, Omni and the greater Downtown area, is one of the areas in Miami where a car-free lifestyle is commonplace. Many Omni residents get around by foot, bicycle, Metromover 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 initiaves promoting city-wide bike parking and bike lanes, that have made bicycling much more popular for residents. Bike lanes and bike sharrows are currently planned for the majority of Downtown streets to be painted by the end of 2010. The Venetian Causeway is a popular bicycle commuter route that connects South Beach to Omni. The Rickenbacker Causeway is very popular on weekends for recreational bicyclists, and often, bicycles can outnumber cars on the causeway.^[8]

Parks

• Margaret Pace Park
• Biscayne Skate Park
• City of Miami Cemetery
• Bicentennial Park

Historic Omni

Main article: National Register of Historic Places listings in Miami, Florida

See also: Downtown Miami Historic District

Although one of Miami's oldest neighborhoods, few buildings remain in Omni from its founding days. Some historic buildings in Omni include:

• 

  Historic Miami Women's Club, built in 1926

• 

  First Church of Christ, Scientist, 1925

• 

  Trinity Episcopal Cathedral, 1925

• 

  Sears Department Store Tower at the Arsht Center, 1929

• 

  City of Miami Cemetery, oldest and first cemetery in Miami, opened in 1897

• 

  Fire Station No. 2, 1926

Points of interest

• Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts
• Miami Herald
• Omni International Mall
• The Grand Doubletree
• Sea Isle Marina
• Opera Tower

Gallery

• 

  The Knight Concert Hall

• 

  The Miami Herald building

• 

  The Grand Doubletree

• 

  The Opera Tower one of the tallest buildings in Omni

• 

  The Sea Isle Marina during the Miami International Boat Show, 2010

• 

  The Miami New Times building

• 

  The mall at the Grand

• 

  The Bacardi Building

• 

  Omni skyline as seen from Biscayne Bay to the east

References

1. ^ http://projects.nytimes.com/census/2010/map
2. ^ Media and Entertainment District neighborhood, detailed profile
3. ^ Boundary map of the Media and Entertainment District
4. ^ http://www.pbase.com/donboyd/image/95013898
5. ^ http://www.historicpreservationmiami.com/pdfs/Shrine Building.pdf
6. ^ http://michaelemilio.com/omni-mall-in-downtown-miami-is-getting-a-real-estate-facelift/
7. ^ http://www.miaminewtimes.com/1999-12-30/news/the-fall-of-the-mall/
8. ^ http://www.transitmiami.com/2010/07/17/do-cyclists-and-pedestrians-outnumber-cars-on-the-rickenbacker-causeway-on-weekend-mornings/

Coordinates: 25°47′56″N 80°11′22″W / 25.798964°N 80.189552°W / 25.798964; -80.189552