Miami International Airport unveiled a new history exhibit honoring the life and legacy of aviation pioneer Glenn Curtiss, who founded the cities of Miami Springs, Opa-Locka and Hialeah.
On the fourth floor mezzanine of MIA’s Concourse J, display cases filled with model bikes, pilot goggles and photos of 1920s Miami serve to commemorate Curtiss, who advanced designs of sea planes, motorcycles and aeronautics for the entire world. He established flying schools in Miami, and built several models of planes, bicycles and motorcycles.
For the people of Miami Springs, Curtiss created a small-town city that’s stood the test of time.
Photo of Agustin Parlá, a Cuban-American and the first person to fly from Key West to Cuba in 1913.
(Courtesy of Miami International Airport)
“I’m glad that we’re able to honor him today, but most importantly, I’m reminded that we have his legacy that we have to uphold as leaders. I am certain that by doing this, we’re showing our commitment to leading with boldness and with the resilience that he modeled for us,” Miami Springs Mayor Walter Fajet said at the unveiling.
The exhibit was made in collaboration with the City of Miami Springs, Miami-Dade County and MIA, with assistance from the Anthony Abraham Foundation and the Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau.
Visitors to the exhibit will see artifacts and plaques telling the story of Curtiss’ flying school in Miami in the 1910s and 20s, as well as photos honoring other historical South Florida figures in aviation.
Miami Springs residents from the city’s Senior Center were invited to attend the unveiling. It served as a walk down memory lane for Ken and Maria Wilson, who met at the airport.
“I came to work for this airport in 1955. So this brings back a lot of fine memories,” 88-year-old Ken Wilson told WLRN.
He met his wife Maria when he interviewed her for a secretary position at MIA’s aircraft maintenance division in the 1980s.
Ken and Maria Wilson, pictured here at the MIA Glenn Curtiss exhibit, met at the airport in the 1980s and have been married for 40 years.
(Joshua Ceballos/WLRN)
“I didn’t hire her because she was too pretty,” he said. “ I had 106 mechanics working here at the terminal. The last thing I needed was a pretty girl sitting in the office drawing attention from these guys.”
“I forgave him,” Maria added.
The Glenn Curtiss exhibit also helps to mark the centennials of Miami Springs and Opa-Locka, which were both founded by Curtiss in 1926.
Miami Springs Councilman Jorge Santin, who has been promoting Curtiss’ history in advance of the city’s centennial, wants the exhibit to show visitors the importance of a historic figure he believes is often overlooked.
“ Miami-Dade was shaped by great pioneers: Julia Tuttle, Henry Flagler, Mary Brickell, George Merrick and Carl Fisher. But Curtiss did something different. He didn’t just develop land, he built an industry,” Santin said.
The exhibit is open to the public through Aug. 31, a week after Miami Springs’ 100th anniversary.
This story was produced by WLRN, South Florida’s only public radio station at 91.3 FM, as part of a content-sharing partnership with The Miami Times. Read more at WLRN.org.