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'Hialeah' is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 226,419. As of 2004, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau is 224,522 ^[1], making it the fifth largest city in the state. Hialeah is part of the Miami metropolitan area and the Greater South Florida metropolitan area. The city's name is most commonly attributed to Muskogee origin. Haiyakpo" (prairie) and "hili" (pretty), Hialeah means "pretty prairie." Alternatively, the word is of Seminole origin meaning "Upland Prairie." The city is located upon a large prairie between Biscayne Bay and the Everglades.

Contents

Geography

History

Demographics

Languages

Transportation

Education

High schools

Middle schools

Elementary schools

K-8 centers

Charter schools

Private schools

Baptist

Catholic

Secondary

Primary

Colleges

Religion

Facts

Famous Residents

References

External links

Geography

Hialeah is located at (25.860474, -80.293971).
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 19.7 mi² (51.1 km²). 19.2 mi² (49.8 km²) of it is land and 0.5 mi² (1.3 km²) of it (2.53%) is water.

History

The Seminole interpretation of its name, "High Prairie", evokes a picture of the grassy plains used by the native Indians coming from the everglades to dock their canoes and display their wares for the new comers of Miami. This "high prairie" caught the eye of pioneer aviator Glenn Curtiss and Missouri cattleman James H. Bright who saw its great potential in 1921.
In the early "Roaring 20’s", Hialeah could have been considered a party city. Entertainment was plentiful. Sporting included the Spanish sport of jai-alai and greyhound racing, and media included silent movies like D.W. Griffith’s ''The White Rose'' which was made at the Miami Movie Studios located in Hialeah. Although the great hurricane of 1926 brought to an end many things, it could not quench the spirit of those who knew what Hialeah could be.
In the years since its incorporation in 1925, many historical events and people have been linked with Hialeah. The opening of Hialeah Park in 1925 (which was nicknamed the "Grand Dame") as a horse track received more coverage in the Miami media than any other sporting event in the history of Miami up to that time and since then there have been countless horseracing histories played out at the world famous 220 acre park. It opened as one of the most grand of thoroughbred horse racing parks with its majestic Mediterranean style architecture and was considered the Jewel of Hialeah at the time.^[2][3]

Intersection of Palm Avenue and Okeechobee Road in the 1920's

The Park’s grandeur has attracted millions, included among them are names known around the world such as; Kennedy family, Harry Truman, General Omar Bradley, Winston Churchill, and J.P. Morgan. Hialeah Park also holds the dual distinction of being an Audubon Bird Sanctuary due to its famous pink flamingoes and being listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The famous aviatrix Amelia Earhart in 1937 said her final good-byes to the continental U.S. from Hialeah as she left on her ill-fated flight around the world in 1937.
It was once envisioned as a playground for the rich, but Cuban exiles, fleeing Fidel Castro's 1959 revolution, finished the work started by World War II veterans and city planners and turned it into a working-class community. Hialeah historian Fernandez-Kelly explained "It became an affordable Eden." She further describes the city as "...a place where different groups have left their imprint while trying to create a sample of what life should be like." Several waves of Cuban exiles, beginning right after Castro's takeover in 1959 and continuing through to the Freedom Flights (1965-1973), the Mariel boatlift in 1980, and the "balseros" or boat people of the late 1990s, have created the most economically successful immigrant enclave in U.S. history as Hialeah is the only American industrial city that continues to grow.
From a population of 1,500 in 1925, Hialeah has grown at a rate faster than most of the ten largest cities in the State of Florida since the 1960’s and holds the rank of Florida’s fifth-largest city, with more than 236,000 residents. The city is also one of the largest employers in Dade County. Predominantly Hispanic, Hialeah residents have assimilated their cultural heritage and traditions into a hard-working, diverse community proud of its ethnicity, as well as its family oriented neighborhoods.

Demographics

Population History

1950	19,676
1960	66,972
1970	102,452
1980	145,254
1990	188,004
2000	226,419

As of the census of 2000, there were 226,419 people, 70,704 households, and 57,482 families residing in the city. The population density was 4,543.7/km² (11,767.3/mi²). There were 72,142 housing units at an average density of 1,447.7/km² (3,749.3/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 88.01% White, 2.41% African American, 0.13% Native American, 0.40% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 5.47% from other races, and 3.55% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 85.17% of the population. Non-Hispanic Whites made up only 2.84% of the population.
There were 70,704 households out of which 36.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.4% were married couples living together, 17.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 18.7% were non-families. 14.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 3.15 and the average family size was 3.39.
In the city the population was spread out with 23.0% under the age of 18, 8.2% from 18 to 24, 29.4% from 25 to 44, 22.9% from 45 to 64, and 16.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 92.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.6 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $29,492, and the median income for a family was $31,621. Males had a median income of $23,133 versus $17,886 for females. The per capita income for the city was $12,402. About 16.0% of families and 18.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 22.2% of those under age 18 and 22.4% of those age 65 or over.
Hialeah has one of the largest concentrations of Cubans and Cuban Americans in the country. Approximately 62% of the population in the 2000 Census reported being of Cuban ancestry.

Languages

Hialeah ranks #2 (nearby Hialeah Gardens ranks as #1) in the list of cities in the United States where Spanish is most spoken. As of 2000, speakers of Spanish as a first language accounted for 92.14%, while English made up 7.37% of the population. All other languages spoken were well below 1% of the population.^[4]

Transportation

"All Ways Lead to Hialeah" was one of the city’s first slogans. At the time, Glenn Curtiss and James Bright could not have imagined the important link in the transportation chain provided by Hialeah’s location. Sitting in the heart of northwest Dade, Hialeah has access to every major thoroughfare - linked by I-75 and the Palmetto. Hialeah also provides direct economical access to both Opa-Locka Airport and Miami International Airport. Amtrak, Tri-Rail and Metro-Rail stations are also conveniently located within the city.^[5] E 4th Av. is a major boulevard in the eastern sector and W 4th Av, W 16 Av, and W 49 St (NW 103 Street) are the primary streets in the western sector.

Education

Miami-Dade County Public Schools serves Hialeah.

High schools

★ Barbara Goleman High School, located in Miami Lakes, Florida

★ Hialeah High School

★ Hialeah-Miami Lakes High School

★ Miami Springs High School, located in Miami Springs, Florida

★ Westland Hialeah High School

Middle schools

★ Henry H Filer Middle School

★ Hialeah Middle School

★ Jose Marti Middle School

★ Palm Springs Middle School

Elementary schools

★ Amelia Earhart Elementary School

★ Ben Sheppard Elementary School

★ Ernest R Graham Elementary

★ Flamingo Elementary Middle School

★ Hialeah Elementary School

★ J.W Johnson Elementary School

★ James H Bright Elementary School

★ John G Dupuis Elementary School

★ Mae M Walters Elementary School

★ Mater Academy Charter Elementary School

★ Meadowlane Elementary School

★ North Twin Lakes Elementary School

★ Palm Lakes Elementary School

★ Palm Springs North Elementary School

★ South Hialeah Elementary School

★ Twin Lakes Elementary School

K-8 centers

★ M.A. Milam K-8 Center

Charter schools

★ Mater Academy Charter High School

★ Mater Academy Charter Middle School

Private schools

Baptist

★ Dade Christian School - the largest private school in the area (unincorporated Miami-Dade with a Hialeah zip code).^[6] It is a ministry of New Testament Baptist Church.

Catholic

Secondary

★ Monsignor Edward Pace High School - the main Catholic high school serving the area (although it is technically located in adjoining Opa Locka). Alumni include actress Catherine Keener and baseball pitcher Alex Fernandez.

Primary

The two largest Catholic non-secondary schools serving the area:

★ St. John the Apostle School^[7] - serves mainly southern and south-central Hialeah

★ Immaculate Conception School^[8] - serves mainly north-central and northern Hialeah

Colleges

★ Miami-Dade College Hialeah Campus^[9] has served as the city's academic center since 1980. Besides its academic mission, the campus also sponsors numerous cultural and community events.

Religion

Hialeah is the Santeria World Headquarters and contains the largest Santero Community outside of Cuba. A city ordinance restricting the Santeria practice of animal sacrifice was ruled unconstitutional in Church of Lukumi Babalu Aye v. City of Hialeah. Roman Catholicism is overwhelmingly the majority religion of city residents.

Facts

★ Telemundo, The second largest Spanish language TV network is headquartered in Hialeah and has several studios where its programming is taped along with its talk shows, news program, and telenovelas.

★ Hialeah is also ranked as the most dense city in the United States without a skyscraper. The city's tallest building is 14 floors and is only considered a mid-rise building.

Famous Residents

★ Harry Wayne Casey, KC of KC and the Sunshine Band

★ Red Farmer, NASCAR driver

★ Rick Sanchez, CNN news reporter and former news reporter for WSVN

★ Bucky Dent, former Major League Baseball player

★ Ted Hendricks, former National Football League star

★ Charlie Hough, former Major League Baseball star

★ Angel Hernandez, Major League Baseball umpire

★ Alex Fernandez, former Major League Baseball pitcher

★ John Cangelosi, former Major League Outfielder

★ Ken Mattingly, astronaut

★ Catherine Keener, actress

★ Jon Secada, singer/song writer

★ Jimmy Brown, former tennis player

References

1. http://www.census.gov/popest/cities/tables/SUB-EST2004-04-12.xls
2. Hialeah History at Hello Hialeah
3. Hialeah Historian
4. http://www.mla.org/map_data_results&state_id=12&county_id=&mode=&zip=&place_id=30000&cty_id=&ll=&a=&ea=&order=r
5. Hialeah History
6. http://www.miamirelocationguide.com/miami_education.asp
7. http://www.stjohntheapostleschool.com
8. http://icsmiami.org
9. http://www.mdc.edu/hialeah/

External links

★ City of Hialeah official site