MIAMI (WSVN) – The Museum of Miami is preparing to unveil a new exhibit that showcases the hurricane that devastated the rapidly developing city of Miami 100 years ago and forced it to rebuild from the ground up.<\/p>\n
Paul George, Ph. D., the museum\u2019s resident historian, noted the importance of chronicling this chapter of South Florida history.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think this shows in detail a particular era in our history and the general ignorance of what these storms could do,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The exhibit, titled \u201cCaught in the Eye: Remembering the 1926 Hurricane,\u201d revisits the 12-hour disaster through curated photos, film, newspapers and personal letters from those who experienced it.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have accumulated so much, and we needed to showcase this, and here we are 100 years later,\u201d George said.<\/p>\n
The exhibit explores the hurricane\u2019s damaging strengths, including estimated winds of over 130 miles per hour.<\/p>\n
\u201cMost people not understanding hurricanes, that meant probably 99% of the population at the time, said, \u2018Well, that\u2019s over,\u2019 you know, \u2018there\u2019s almost like a little break, we can see more light than we had, you know, five minutes ago, let\u2019s go out and assess the damage,’\u201d George said.<\/p>\n
With a recent real estate boom in Miami at the time beginning to wind down, the storm was a perfect combination of devastation. <\/p>\n
\u201cNot only did we have the boom dissipate, but we got hit by this hurricane, too,\u201d George said. \u201cYou would have thought that most people would have said, \u2018Hey, I\u2019m out of here, this place is jinxed,\u2019 but people kind of hung on.\u201d<\/p>\n
The exhibit dives into those recounting the deceptive calm before landfall, the fury of the winds and the false hope of the eye\u2019s passage catching so many residents off guard.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe didn\u2019t have buildings that were able to hold off the wind and water surge. They were wood-framed buildings primarily, and roofs were torn off, walls were knocked out,\u201d George said.<\/p>\n
People drove toward the damage to survey the scene, only to unexpectedly experience the second half of the storm. Over 100 people died, and half of the city\u2019s population, around 40,000 people, was left homeless. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe had martial law for a couple of days,\u201d George said. \u201cFlorida state\u2019s version of the National Guard came down, Red Cross came in and took over sort of everything.\u201d<\/p>\n
The exhibit also connects the storm\u2019s lasting impact on Miami a century later, from the city\u2019s society, economy and politics, to how it shaped South Florida to be prepared for hurricanes today. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re so much better today. We kind of accuse, I guess, the media of overkill when it comes to covering storms today, but I think it\u2019s better to have that than the general ignorance that we had at that time,\u201d George said. \u201cIt was just a shock to people.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCaught in the Eye: Remembering the 1926 Hurricane\u201d starts Friday at the Museum of Miami, located at 101 W Flagler St. in downtown Miami.<\/p>\n