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.
Court documents, correspondence, witness and plaintiff testimonials, hearing transcripts, audio-visual materials containing depositions from victims, and legal research related to the Hungarian Gold Train case.
The Finlay B. Matheson collection includes more than 2,411 photographs; 112 maps, surveys, and architectural plans; and 13 books related to William John Matheson and his immediate family. Estate documents and other documents containing historical and biographical information pertaining to the Matheson family and their various business ventures can also be found within this collection, as well as drawings, postcards, and some of the first aerial view photographs of Key Biscayne, Coconut Grove, the Miami River, and the Florida Keys. Florida's landscape during the early 20th century is captured throughout the various albums and scrapbooks and attests to a more leisurely lifestyle before the advent of skyscrapers and multi-lane highways. Furthermore, the collection provides an in-depth glimpse into the burgeoning social life of early inhabitants who gathered at the Biscayne Bay Yacht Club.
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 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 collection contains documents pertaining to the University of Miami's real estate and facilities, including zoning and ordinance reports, architectural plans, licensing and permit information, reports on the president of the university's residence, and financing and utility reports.
University of Miami Campus Planning and Development Department
This collection contains photo albums, interviews, the McCourt family tree, clippings, notes, correspondence, manuscripts, photo albums, resumes/CVs, legal documents, and other archival documents about Sue McCourt Cobb’s career as an American Ambassador to Jamaica (2001-2005) and the former Secretary of State of Florida (2005-2007) and her climb on Mt. Everest.
