The records contain legal cases, research files, correspondence, audio-visual materials (VHS, CD-ROM, audiocassettes, microcassettes), and trial notes from the Miami Community Justice Project. Topics covered include development for low income housing, gentrification, public housing, and privately run detention centers. In particular, the materials discuss the Scott Homes/Hope VI housing revitalization plan and the Reese v. Miami-Dade County court case; the Sawyer's Walk (Overtown) and Crosswinds (Overtown) redevelopment projects; the Manuel et al. v. city of Lake Worth court case; and the Miami Workers Centers Transit HUB. Other organizations mentioned in the files include Power U Center for Social Change and Florida Immigrant Coalition (FLIC).
The Coconut Grove Playhouse records contain playbills, promotional/marketing material, posters, press releases, news clippings, financial files, grant files, personnel files, show and production files, play scripts, and audio-visual materials (photographs, CDs, vinyl records, floppy disks, VHS, film reels, betacam tapes, audiocassette tapes) pertaining to the theater's operation from the 1970s to its closing in 2006.
Research material from noted author and historian, Arva Moore Parks McCabe (1939-2020). Born in Miami, Florida, Arva had written countless books on Florida's eclectic history, including The Forgotten Frontier: Florida through the Lens of Ralph Middleton Munroe, Miami, the Magic City, and George Merrick, Son of the South Wind: Visionary Creator of Coral Gables. She also served as chief curator, interim director, and chair of the Coral Gables Museum.
This collection focuses heavily on George E. Merrick, Coral Gables, and other research topics used in her writings. It also features a large assortment of archival material: booklets, books, magazines, posters, photographs, negatives, pamphlets, postcards, maps, ephemera, newspapers, and guides about Miami and other notable cities and famous people related to South Florida.
Joseph L. Herndon (1948-2021) was a historical preservationist who aided in several global restoration projects, including the Old Spanish Fort (1730) in Pascagoula, Mississippi; Qasr Ibrihim (1600's) in Hoffuf, Saudi Arabia; the Old Post Office (1897) in Washington, D.C.; The Rugby Colony (1880's) in Rugby, Tennessee; Union Station (1900) in Nashville, Tennessee; The Germantown neighborhood revitalization (1840's) in Nashville, Tennessee; The Biltmore Hotel (1926) in Miami, Florida. His papers include a large breadth of information and research pertaining to the Biltmore Hotel, the Panama Canal, Turkey, the Deering Estate, resorts, and other areas of interest to Joseph Herndon. Material types represented within include audio-visual materials (CD-ROMS, VHS, photographs, slides), print-outs, administrative files, financial files, travel brochures, ephemera, architectural plans, interior design samples, research files, reports, proposals, periodicals, and 3D objects.
