For my street assignment, I chose to do Biscayne Blvd. All of it.
This is a street that I drive on everyday. I'm usually on this street for more than 30 minutes a day.-- Always going somewhere. Using it as a route. I grew up in this area, so everything I describe in my writing helps define the viewpoint from the car. All of the images have the same viewpoint to signify that they can see what I see from the view of the car (whether they know the place or not).
This is a linear piece, that goes from South to North in Right to left.
Biscayne BLVD & NE 2nd
St.
- To the left is My present and my future (New
World School Of The Arts). This part street is a representation of my daily
commute. The gas spent to and from this street is what myself and a lot of
students go through to make it to class.
- To The Right is BayFront Park. Once when I
was there, I saw Sublime & Rebelution concert during a rainstorm.
- If you look behind the Bayfront Park sign the,
you’ll see a tent looking structure which happens to be the carousel. I used to
believe Bayside was Disney World because of the Disney Store along with the
rides. My dad used to take me there for the carousel, the choo-choo train ride,
and the teriyaki chicken samples at the food court.
Biscayne BLVD & NE 5th
St.
- On your left is The Freedom Tower, which I
still have yet to visit.
- In the far left of the background is an apartment
building (where the newest Apple product ad hangs from), which my sister used
to live in that I would visit often so that I can visit her.
To my right
- On the corner right is The Port of Miami,
which I recently entered for the first time to go on my first cruise. After
that cruise, I lost a long friendship I had with the girl I went on the Summer
Break trip with.
- In the far right of the background is The
American Airlines Arena, which I once visited to see a Ringling Brother’s
Circus Show that made me cry because of all the animals that were being
constantly abused for the amusement of hundreds of spectators. The level of
desensitization given to animals which some have never seen before was so high,
even when the ticket price was so cheap. Outside the arena, I remember animal
rights protestors raising awareness. It was one of the first moments in my life
I realized what activism and protest was, and I witnessed it right outside
Biscayne BLVD.
Biscayne BLVD & NE 13th
St.
- If you look at the shadow cast in the
picture, you can see that we are now under a bridge which happens to be the
Macarthur Cswy (which has that connects the I-95 bridge.
- In front on both sides, you can see the
Adrienne Arscht Center. I’ve only ever been once to see a play of The Wizard of
Oz because my afterschool camp had a field trip.
Biscayne BLVD & NE 21st.
- If you have ever been inside the beautiful
geometric tiled building with all the windows, you’d know you were either
invited or accepted to be in that building. When I was younger I didn’t know
it, but I soon realized it was the Young Arts Building. Didn’t get in.
- If you turn left on the street light, there’s
an orange building that my best friend used to live in with her family before
her parents got deported in 2009. We used to sleep over each other’s houses
every weekend. She was an American- born Citizen forced to move with her
parents to a an unfamiliar country she had never been to before. This was
almost like a third home to me.
Biscayne Blvd & NE 36th
St.
- This street corner is one of those where
people can use as a marker location spot to find their way to places (in case
they didn’t have google maps or a sense of direction).
- In the far left of the background, you can
see a highly frequented 24 hour Denny’s which many sleep deprived budget
oriented students, families, transients, and tourists stop at for breakfast at
any hour of the day.
- If you turn left, you will end up in what is
now known as Midtown/or the design district that holds all the artsy hot spots
for a great second Saturday. I’ve even interned in one of those artsy places.
If you turn right, you will end up on the Julia
Tuttle Bridge. A frequent commute route for many, but also home to many
homeless individuals and/or registered sex offenders that are said to live
under the bridges in tents. It also connects you to into the middle of Miami
Beach. Convenient!
Biscayne Blvd & NE 38th
st.
- If you look to your left, you can see the
hanging police car. One of the more traditional art staples in the city that
may or may not still be on the “must see” tourist pamphlets, but represents the
quirky side to Biscayne BLVD that connects many to the art scene.
- I’ve always wondered how much rain water has
been collected into the car from hanging alongside that building.
To your left, you could see what remains of the
old Channel 10 building and what at the time I wanted to have been my middle
school (MAC) if my mom didn’t send me to a shitty middle school that she was more
acquainted with. Someway or another, I made it to art school!
-
Biscayne
Blvd & NE 50th st.
Still hanging on is World Wide Photo. For
months, there has been a sign up on the side of the building that writes “Current
Tennant Relocating”, but I suppose the rent price for a store space in any
local plaza is way over what they can afford since there is a constant decline
of people who actually consume manual film photography products. Sucks, but I’m
glad they’re still around though. It’s the only place nearby that I can get quality
Ilford HP-5 film and camera equipment at a decent price!
Biscayne and 69th St.
- Once an area that was home to many high-risk
transients, is currently transforming into a small, budget friendly tourist
hotel spot for those who can’t really afford the expensive beach side hotel
rooms but want to be near the scene.
- There’s a couple of food spots that are
really good here too! Up and down this street has my debit card been swiped
many times.
- I see a more visible appearance of
gentrification transforming this part of the street since rent around these
places has risen, and commercial buildings have been renovated.
My boyfriend used to live in one of the
apartment buildings here, but he was forced to move since all of the property
lots in the intersecting street was bought by a condo association which chose
to evict all the current tenants within 2 months of purchase. If you turn into
the street from Biscayne now, the entire block is abandoned and desolate. It’s
a completely different Biscayne BLVD than you see anywhere else.
Biscayne
& 79th st.
- This is where my commute starts and ends on Biscayne
Blvd.
- To your left on the background, you can see
the infamous piss colored Immigration Building. You can see it before the city
decides what they’ll do with it!
- Back in the 80’s, my parents went through the
tedious lines on the path for citizenship as most individuals did before the
building closed down. I was fortunate enough to never have gone through the
increasingly difficult and now almost impossible path to citizenship in this
country.
- Once, there was a huge billboard ad alongside
the gates that prohibited trespassing along the property that was once the most
public places on this street. Apparently the Hilton bought the property and was
going to renovate the entire land to a new condo-hotel which would make the
surrounding neighborhood more welcoming to tourists, while increasing the level
of gentrification that surrounds the Immigration staple.
On the right side of the turn signal on 79th
st, can be another landmark directions spot. The Wendy’s/Taco Bell corner duo
is a staple for all potheads, teenagers, and transients alike who want a cheap,
late night fix before heading to their destination. Anybody and everybody who
lives around here has done this once or 10 times. Guilty!
Biscayne & 100th
st.
- This part of Biscayne Blvd is different,
because its one of the first parts of the street that frequent commuters get to
see mix in with upper middle class/high class suburbia. Every other part is
usually connected with plazas, tourism, or businesses.
- If you look at the left side of the
background, you can see what is part of the Miami Shores Country Club. I’ve
never actually been inside this property. I hate golf.
- BUT I always wondered why I was never able to
go inside what used to be every kids dream. you’ll see that behind the
abundance of annoyingly landscaped palm trees are the waterslides and water
play ground adventures that every kid who wasn’t rich enough, didn’t have a
friend who could get them in, or didn’t live in Miami Shores wanted to get
into. I was one of them.
Biscayne
& NE 123rd st.
- On this corner right turn, you can take an
easy drive to Bal Harbor, after paying a toll of course.
- Beware of the cops. They will make anything
into an expensive citation to uphold the protection of their upper class
residents. Assholes.
- To the right side of the image, there is a
small corner staple which, in my opinion, has been hyped up so much that people
who visit this place and may/may have not had better pizza in their lives
believe that Steve’s Pizza is the best pizza in the area. LIES. Too much
teenager hype. The taste of slimy, messy tomato sauce is still not erased. My
wallet still hurts.
- Not pictured is the only nearest Home Depot
in my area. Too many times have I needed a handy box of nails, the right glue,
or more free scrap wood for one of my art projects. Also, while I’m here I
might as well get MORE paint color samplers!
Biscayne
& NE 135th st.
- There’s not much on this part of the street
except for one plaza that holds the only Jumbo Buffet left in the city. Don’t
judge. It’s a guilty pleasure!
Even if I’m hungry or completely full, I will always crave the desert chocolate
coffee cakes and will always believe in the wisdom of fortune cookies.
On the left of the image is a green space that
holds a big park, which many people I know have had invited me to for birthday
parties. The mosquito bites that got infested on my legs were a pain in the ass,
but at least the cake was good.
Biscayne & 143rd
st.
- A little more rural, but still a huge part of
the street that takes on a bunch of daily commute.
Many probably have seen it while driving, but
never have actually been into the Miami Auto Museum. It’s a tiny little drive
through that showcases rare, valuable, retro cars that some car enthusiast collected
to share with the public on their piece of land.
I can’t really remember how long its been there, but it hasn’t shown any sign
of abandonment.
If it happened to one day disappear, I know that a lot of people will wonder
about why it left Biscayne Blvd.
Biscayne & 156th
st.
- Still rural, but this part of the street is
usually a mystery to me.
- It usually smells like trash, or like something
has been dead for a while.
- On the left side of the image, you can see an
old, grey building. It happens to be an old train station! It’s abandoned now,
but I wonder why it hasn’t been torn down or remodeled into something else.
- This is also a big part of the area on
Biscayne Blvd where you can be driving alongside the trains on the left. You’re
lucky if you are, because if you are commuting north or south for a while, then
you can hit all of the green lights!
Biscayne
& 163rd st.
- While it still looks rural, it has a lot of
plaza’s in the area.
- On the left of this intersection can be the
commute to the local Wal-Mart and cheap outlet clothing stores that copied the
brand- name trends.
On the right of this intersection is a huge
stretch of road that eventually leads you to an entrance at Oletta Park, where
kayak enthusiasts can stream down a river eventually leading them to a bay full
of Sunday fishing boats.
Biscayne & 184th
st.
- RIP to a longstanding corner retail store
that was the only one nearby. Every sports involved person entered this store.
Sadly, it did not make it to this day.
- I took this picture because it is one of the
few frequently visited places on Biscayne that still has a failed company logo.
It’s a ghost next to a Ross. See it before it’s gone!
Biscayne
& 196th st.
- To the left, you can see Aventura Mall. While
it sounds cliché to describe it, it actually does hold more than just the
tourist spot describes.
- Biscayne Blvd has been a very convenient route
to get to this mall, but god forbid if you see anyone else from your school at
the mall because ew!
- Too many times in the beginning of my small
freedom to go out alone with friends during middle school did we all end up
window shopping at the mall and trying on cute outfits that I would never buy,
but would take a quick selfie in the dressing room mirror before taking it off,
or buying a movie ticket at AMC 24 theatre and then easily sneaking into 2 more
movies, or talking about cute boys and gossiping while at the same time making
the big decision whether to eat Five Guys or Chinese Rice and Teriyaki chicken with
Hagen Das Ice cream after at the food court with the little bit of money my mom
gave me to “have a good time and text me when you want me to come get you”. It’s
part of my teenager phase!
Right over that bridge in the far middle of the
background is the only Micheal’s and Chuck E. Cheese in the city. Iconic. Both
a staple in my childhood! If I wasn’t buying more colorful strings for making
and selling bracelets at Summer Camp, I was collecting all my raffle tickets
from conquering the arcade games to win that huge lava lamp.
Biscayne
& SE 9th st
- What N Federal Hwy is for Broward is what Biscayne
Blvd is for us.
- It’s funny how Biscayne Blvd starts South with
one Tourist staple (Bayside) and ends with another (Gulfstream Park).
- The end of Biscayne only holds another beginning
of another tourist staple in Broward County. Even if Biscayne ends here, I
still can commute on the same road that leads to other parts of the US 1 road.
- In the image, you can see where Miami Dade
has clearly separated themselves in “county line”. The new street pavement that
the proud tax payers of Miami Dade County lands right before Gulfstream!
