{"id":212255,"date":"2026-03-30T22:17:09","date_gmt":"2026-03-30T22:17:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/212255\/"},"modified":"2026-03-30T22:17:09","modified_gmt":"2026-03-30T22:17:09","slug":"miami-airport-unveils-exhibit-honoring-aviation-pioneer-centennial-city-founder-glenn-curtiss","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/212255\/","title":{"rendered":"Miami Airport unveils exhibit honoring aviation pioneer, centennial city founder Glenn Curtiss"},"content":{"rendered":"

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.<\/p>\n

On the fourth floor mezzanine of MIA\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

For the people of Miami Springs, Curtiss created a small-town city that\u2019s stood the test of time.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m glad that we\u2019re able to honor him today, but most importantly, I\u2019m reminded that we have his legacy that we have to uphold as leaders. I am certain that by doing this, we\u2019re showing our commitment to leading with boldness and with the resilience that he modeled for us,\u201d Miami Springs Mayor Walter Fajet said at the unveiling.<\/p>\n

The exhibit was made in collaboration with the City of Miami Springs, Miami-Dade County and MIA, with assistance from the\u00a0Anthony Abraham Foundation<\/a>\u00a0and the Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau.<\/p>\n

Visitors to the exhibit will see artifacts and plaques telling the story of Curtiss\u2019 flying school in Miami in the 1910s and 20s, as well as photos honoring other historical South Florida figures in aviation.<\/p>\n

\"PhotoCourtesy of Miami International Airport Photo of Agustin Parl\u00e1, a Cuban-American and the first person to fly from Key West to Cuba in 1913.<\/p>\n

Miami Springs residents from the city\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cI came to work for this airport in 1955. So this brings back a lot of fine memories,\u201d 88-year-old Ken Wilson told WLRN.<\/p>\n

He met his wife Maria when he interviewed her for a secretary position at MIA\u2019s aircraft maintenance division in the 1980s.<\/p>\n

\"KenJoshua Ceballos \/ WLRN 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t hire her because she was too pretty,\u201d he said. \u201c\u200aI 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI forgave him,\u201d Maria added.<\/p>\n

The Glenn Curtiss exhibit also helps to mark the centennials of Miami Springs and Opa-Locka, which were both founded by Curtiss in 1926.<\/p>\n

Miami Springs Councilman Jorge Santin, who has been promoting Curtiss\u2019 history in advance of the city\u2019s centennial, wants the exhibit to show visitors the importance of a historic figure he believes is often overlooked.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u200aMiami-Dade was shaped by great pioneers: Julia Tuttle, Henry Flagler, Mary Brickell, George Merrick and Carl Fisher. But Curtiss did something different. He didn\u2019t just develop land, he built an industry,\u201d Santin said.<\/p>\n

The exhibit is open to the public through Aug. 31, a week after Miami Springs\u2019 100th anniversary.<\/p>\n

ABOUT US:<\/p>\n

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This family-owned media company publishes more than a dozen neighborhood publications, magazines<\/a>, special sections on their websites, newsletters, as well as distributing them in print throughout Miami Dade County from Aventura<\/a>, Sunny Isles Beach<\/a>, Miami Beach<\/a>, Coral Gables<\/a>, Brickell, Coconut Grove, Pinecrest<\/a>, South Miami<\/a>, Kendall<\/a>, Palmetto Bay<\/a>, Cutler Bay<\/a> and Homestead. Each online publication and print editions provide comprehensive coverage of local news, events<\/a>, business updates, lifestyle features, and local initiatives within its respective community.<\/p>\n

Additionally, the newspaper has exclusive Miami community podcasts<\/a>, providing listeners with an in-depth look into Miami\u2019s culture. Whether you\u2019re looking for local Miami news, or podcasts, Miami\u2019s Community Newspapers has you covered. For more information, be sure to check out: https:\/\/communitynewspapers.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

If you have any questions, feel free to email Michael@communitynewspapers.com or Grant@communitynewspapers.com<\/p>\n

#thatscommunitynews<\/a> #communitynewspapers<\/a> #miamidade<\/a> #miamidadecounty<\/a> #thatscommunity<\/a> #miamicommunitynews<\/a> #coralgables<\/a> #palmettobay<\/a> #southmiami<\/a> #doral<\/a> #aventura<\/a> #pinecrest<\/a> #kendall<\/a> #broward<\/a> #biscaynebay<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Miami International Airport unveiled a new history exhibit honoring the life and legacy of aviation pioneer Glenn Curtiss,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":212256,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[225,227,226],"class_list":["post-212255","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-hialeah","tag-hialeah","tag-hialeah-headlines","tag-hialeah-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/212255","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=212255"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/212255\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/212256"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=212255"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=212255"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=212255"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}