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Allison B. Curry, Jr. served as Director of Public Service for Coral Gables from 1934 to 1939. Between 1939 to 1942 he was promoted to city manager. In 1942 he left to hold this same post for the city of Miami. From 1946 to the end of his career he was Director of the Dade County Port Authority as well as of the Miami International Airport.

The Allison B. Curry collection contains diplomas, photographs, a brochure on the metric system, two metric rulers (one in a leather sleeve with his name in ink), metric converters, a lighter with his initials engraved and a case, and a cartoon of Curry signed by city employees.

The Art in Miami collection contains brochures, flyers, exhibit catalogs, pamphlets, handouts, and other ephemera documenting art and art-related activities in Miami, with material going as far back as 1996. Included are items from galleries, such as the Alejandra von Hartz Gallery, the Miami International Airport Gallery, and Lowe Art Museum Gallery, as well as various other local museums, art fairs, shows, and the Wynwood Arts District. The collection also includes brochures, programs, maps, handouts, and ephemera from the Art Basel show in Miami Beach, beginning with Art Basel 2009.

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.

The Bernhardt E. Muller collection is a compendium of newspapers, architectural drawings, renderings, and photographs related to the design and construction of Opa-locka, Florida, the nation’s largest concentration of Moorish Revival architecture. The city, incorporated in 1926, was the third Florida suburban real estate development of Glenn H. Curtiss, aviation pioneer and millionaire developer. Opa-Locka is the only known city in the United States that used Moorish Revival architecture as its original theme.

The contents of the Muller collection fall into two distinct groups: architectural materials related directly to buildings designed by Muller and his staff; and supporting materials presumably collected by Muller that pertain to his work and the city of Opa-Locka. The vast majority of these materials are directly concerned with Muller’s work in the Opa-Locka and Miami area between 1925 and 1928. Supporting materials, including magazine extracts, brochures, and newspapers, date mostly from 1926 and 1927, with a few items from 1928, 1930, 1959, and 1960.

The Muller collection’s importance concerns its detailed documentation of the progress of Opa-Locka from a developer’s dream to a constructed city. Opa-Locka was designed according to a specific theme: a combination of Arabic, Persian, and Moorish architectural styles. It is also the first known instance of a town developed from interpretations of a literary work, The One Thousand and One Tales of the Arabian Nights.

The collection contains construction documents, sketches, renderings, and photographs of Opa-Locka’s first buildings. Extensive material exists on the designs of the Opa-Locka Company’s administration building, now the City Hall, as well as plans for seventeen institutional and public projects, including the Archery Club, Bathing Casino, and Observation Tower, with unbuilt designs for a Golf Club, school, and Mid-Winter Southern States Exposition.

Eighteen commercial buildings are found in the Muller collection, including many stores and apartments, as well as an unbuilt Chinese hotel. Sixty-three private residences of various sizes and designs are included in these drawings. It is probably that most of the work Bernhardt Muller ever did for Opa-Locka is contained in the collection. The majority of these drawings and materials date from 1926 to 1927, with only three drawings dated later than 1927.

The Muller collection is significant for its documentation of the history and development of South Florida. The volume of work designed and media contents demonstrate and describe the magnitude of the Florida Land Boom, which peaked early in 1926, just as construction began on Opa-Locka.

The Muller collection contains newspaper articles describing the hurricane that struck South Florida on September 17 and 18, 1926. The storm’s direct effect was a loss of 372 lives and $159 million in property, but its long-term results included the onset of the land “bust” and an economic decline that preceded the Great Depression of the 1930’s.  There are numerous articles and photographs of the hurricane's destruction.

This collection contains exhibit catalogs, booklets, fliers, ephemera, news clippings, brochures, correspondence, and pamphlets, largely related to art, events around Miami, religion, culture, and Betsy Kaplan's other interests.

A rich collection of graphic design prints, transparencies, sketches, mock-ups, and maquettes, as well as promotional materials (pamphlets, flyers, leaflets, brochures, advertisements) created by Erwin G. Harris and his design firm. Included within are commercial advertising materials for hotels, restaurants, and tourist attractions in Florida, other parts of the United States, Latin America, and the Caribbean; wines and spirits; and other companies, such as IGENE Biotechnology, Scopitone, and Mastro Plastics.

The collection also includes correspondence to and from Erwin G. Harris, photographs, advertisement proposals, resumes, biographies, portfolios and other documents pertaining to Harris and Company Advertising, and Inc. and Erwin G. Harris’ other businesses, along with legal documents, correspondence, and news clipping detailing Harris' feud with the Cuban government under Fidel Castro during the early 1960s.

The Florida culinary history collection contains a wide range of materials related to Florida's rich history of food, its unique restaurants and dishes, and its domestic food production. Items within the collection include pamphlets, flyers, ephemera, periodicals, and other memorabilia originating from Florida.

The Urban Environment League is a non-profit organization originally created in 1996 under the leadership and guidance of Gregory Bush, a professor at the University of Miami's History department and the Institute for Public History. The organization is dedicated to promoting safe and responsible practices in urban development in Miami-Dade through education and by advocating for environmental reform and legal protections for historical landmarks. Their records contain several issues of their internal newsletter, the Urban Forum; membership lists; minutes; correspondence; pamphlets; flyers; brochures; periodicals; research files on historical landmarks in Greater Miami, and urban planning; financial records; administrative files; ephemera; audio-visual materials (floppy disks and negatives); and legal files.

The Walter Etling Papers include documents, clippings, and photographs related to Etling’s student years at the University of Miami, as well as his professional and community activities in Miami from the 1950s through the 1970s.

The bulk of the collection consists of photographs, clippings, documents, letters, programs, advertisements, brochures, and ephemera that Etling compiled into albums documenting his student years, professional activities, community service, and personal life.  The collection also contains loose personal papers, photographs, clippings, and other materials related to Etling’s student, business, community, and alumni activities, and personal life.

Business related materials, such as advertisements, brochures, statistics, and other papers, document Etling’s work as a real estate agent for the Allen Morris Company, the Keyes Company, and Walter Etling Company. Examples include brochures for the Keys Company and the Walter Etling Company, as well as the sale of the Flamingo Hotel. The collection also contains photographs and ephemera related to Etling’s involvement in establishing a Kentucky Fried Chicken franchise in Spain, and letters and documents regarding his service on the board of Key Biscayne Bank.

Community service related materials include letters, certificates, clippings, photographs, and other materials primarily related to Etling’s service to the Miami Science Museum, and also his involvement with Kiwanis International and the Dade County Grand Jury.

The collection also contains materials related to Etling’s extensive involvement with the University of Miami. Class assignments, notes, photographs, clippings, and other materials document his student years. Also included are letters, programs, photographs, clippings, and ephemera regarding his service for the Alumni Association and the Board of Trustees. In addition, the collection contains materials relating to class reunions and university athletics, as well as artistic studies Etling prepared when creating the painting that is on the cover of the University of Miami’s 75th anniversary book, Rendezvous with Greatness. 

Personal materials document family vacations, such as photographs of a trip to the 1976 Winter Olympics. Also included are materials related to his hobby of selling memorabilia, and programs and clippings that document the activities of his children while attending the University of Miami.