This year's edition of the Miami Book Fair ends Sunday, November 24.
Among the countless titles book lovers can find are some that offer fascinating — but often forgotten— glimpses of Florida history.
One of them is "Jewish Miami Beach."
It's a collection of photographs tracing the evolution of the city throughout the 20th Century and chronicling the Jewish community's enormous contributions.
The photos were curated by two prominent local historians — Paul George, resident historian for the History Miami Museum; and, Henry Green, Professor of Religious Studies at the University of Miami.
George says his favorite photo in the collection is one showing a group of people in front of Miami Beach's first synagogue, Beth Jacob, built in 1929.
"I think that is probably the most telling image I can think of — because that really is the institutional birth of Judaism on the Beach,” says George.
Each of the six chapters of 'Jewish Miami Beach' chronologically covers a period of Beach history, from the first settlers to the modern day.
In the first chapter, we see a photo taken in the early 1920's of an elderly couple standing in front of a modest diner. They are Joe and Jennie Weiss, who were among the first Jews to settle in Miami Beach. The diner would eventually become the world-famous Joe's Stone Crab.
In addition to images of fondly remembered eateries (the long-shuttered Wolfie's Delicatessen), and inspiring architecture and artistry (the Wolfsonian Museum and the 40-foot-tall outstretched hand sculpture at the Holocaust Memorial), the book features a few photos suggesting a quaintly confused view of Miami Beach in the early days.
A studio shot dated 1921 of three children in the Glickman family shows the kids sitting in front of a painted ocean backdrop with a small stuffed alligator at their feet. Such images, the caption tells us, were meant to underline the 'exotic' nature of the area at the time.
Still other images in the book, when viewed through our modern lens, are ineffably sad or infuriating. A 1930s-era advertisement for a Miami Beach hotel boldly states that it caters to 'Gentile Clientele' — an illustration of the bigotry Jews faced within the burgeoning tourism industry.
The changing demographics in Miami Beach have led to a diminishment of Jewish influence there, compared to the latter half of the 20th Century.
But Green says he hopes the collection generates a sense of nostalgia for Miami Beach in its hey-day.
"I hope it will encourage people to go back to the Beach and look at these things," he says.
"And appreciate how strong the Jewish community was in the development of the Beach in the past — and what could even lie ahead in the future."
IF YOU GO
Dr. Paul S. George and Henry A. Green will discuss 'Jewish Miami Beach' during the following event at the Miami Book Fair.
MIAMI HISTORIES & EVERYDAY HEROES – NONFICTION
WHEN: Sunday, November 24 @ 11:00 am
WHERE: MAGIC Screening Room (Building 8, 1st Floor)
300 NE Second Ave., Miami, FL 33132
For more information visit: miamibookfair.com
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