This tour will take place in Downtown Miami's historic center. We will explore the area that once housed a Seminole Indian burial ground, a slave plantation, and Miami's first luxury hotel, the famous Royal Palm. We will learn how this modern metropolis rose out of a swampy tropical forest to become one of the world's major travel destinations. We will see the glossy new high rises that make up today's skyline but will also peal back the layers of history to learn about some of Miami's important historic buildings. This includes the famous Freedom Tower with its opulent Spanish Baroque ornamentation, the DuPont Building with its stern Art Deco facade, and the Olympia Theater with its Andalusian fantasy interiors. Our walk will take us along the palm-lined shores of Biscayne Bay where we will learn about Miami's first development boom of the roaring twenties and the devastating hurricane that destroyed the city in 1926. We will also see some of the modern landmarks such as the Miami Heat Arena, Bayside Marketplace, and the Art Museum.