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James Deering’s opulent monument celebrating Western civilization and its rich artistic traditions has become Miami’s most beloved social and cultural center (see Villa Vizcaya).

Originally built in 1133–41 in Segovia, Spain, this monastic building was bought by William Randolph Hearst in 1925 and shipped to New York. The parts were eventually reassembled here in 1952, though, curiously, a few pieces were left over.

Built in 1891, this is Dade County’s oldest house, which cleverly uses ship-building techniques to make it storm proof as well as comfortable (without the use of air-conditioning) in Florida’s steamy climate (see Barnacle State Historic Site).

The house where the Merrick family lived in the late 1800s and where George Merrick, Coral Gables’ master builder, grew up. The contrast between the modest surroundings of his home and the spectacle of his grandiose dreams is fascinating (see Merrick’s Coral Gables Fantasies).

This monument to unrequited love speaks volumes about early Florida’s place in US history as a refuge for misfits, eccentrics, and visionaries. Land was cheap (the creator of Coral Castle bought his acre plot for $12 in 1920) and the population was sparse, so it was easy to do your own thing without being bothered. But how this gargantuan folly was actually constructed remains an enigma.

Little Havana’s Eternal Flame and monument garden remembers those who died in the Bay of Pigs debacle, attempting to reclaim Cuba from leftist revolutionary forces in 1961 (see The Brigade 2506 Memorial on Cuban Memorial Boulevard).

Miami has one of the largest populations of Holocaust survivors in the world, so this stunning monument has extra poignancy. Sculpted by Kenneth Treister and finished in 1990, the centerpiece is an enormous bronze forearm bearing a stamped number from Auschwitz. The arm is thronged with nearly 100 life-sized figures in attitudes of suffering. The surrounding plaza has a graphic pictorial history of the Holocaust, and a granite wall listing the names of thousands of concentration camp victims.

Despite the rather seamy area it inhabits, “The Baghdad of Dade County” is worth visiting for its 90 or so Moorish-style buildings. They were built here by Glenn Curtiss during the 1920s boom.

James Deering’s half-brother built this winter residence for himself on Biscayne Bay. The original 19th-century house, Richmond Cottage, was destroyed by Hurricane Andrew in 1992, but it’s been rebuilt and the entire estate refurbished since then, including the extraordinary Mediterranean-Revival mansion.

Fort Lauderdale’s oldest house, built originally in 1901 as a trading post for the Seminoles. The handsome two-story riverside house is furnished with period antiques, but it is the photos that best evoke the past, such as Stranahan trading alligator hides, otter pelts, and egret plumes with the local Seminoles. Such prizes were brought in from the Everglades in dugout canoes.