From Sandbar to Sophistication

This herculean saga of city building is a story not only of weather, place, beach and buildings but also of people?people with foresight, dedication and determination. In the mid-1920s, no one could have known that today's sophisticated city of Sunny Isles Beach would eventually emerge from what was then little more than a sandbar. Starting from the original vision of Harvey Baker Graves, the area developed into one of the nation's foremost tourist destinations and eventually into a great city. On the tenth anniversary of the city's incorporation, this collection of vintage and current images commemorates the beauty and uniqueness of the past and honors the city's founders, developers and citizens.