Some History of Miami Beach, Beach High, and the Alumni Association
A look back at the origins of Miami Beach Senior High School, its principals and milestones, and the founding of the MBSHS Alumni Association.
Miami Beach High opened in 1926. It was originally located at 1424 Drexel
Avenue, in the heart of the South Beach district. It is one of the oldest
high schools in Miami-Dade County, trailing only Miami Senior High School
(1903). It was designed by August Geiger. Carl Fisher provided the funds
for the purchase of the land. For the first nine years of the school, it
was named after Carl's mother, Ida M. Fisher. The school's first principal
was C. C. Carson. The first class motto was: "Let us be known for our
deeds." At that time, the nickname was the "Typhoons."
The "Typhoons" were changed to the "Hi-Tides" after its 1960 move to its new location at 2231 Prairie Avenue. An informative video from WLRN about Carl Fisher, John Collins, and the founding history of Miami Beach is provided below. There are also links to several archives of information, stories, pictures, and videos in the ALUMNI LOUNGE section.
FLASHBACK MIAMI is a link to an expose with pictures of early Beach High memories from the Miami Herald.
Following the move in 1960, the "Hi-Tides" new home was where it is today.
In the 60's, Miami Beach High opened its arms to diversity by undergoing
desegregation efforts. In 1967, the new principal, Solomon Lichter,
brought technological advances to the school such as new electric
typewriters for the business department. In 1999, the last typewriter in
the Business department was buried outside the 400 wing marking the
beginning of even more technology at Beach High! In 2001, the new
principal, Dr. Jeanne Friedman, spearheaded the E-rate movement that
allowed for Internet connection in all classrooms. The school achieved
new highs in academic achievement. The Scholars Academy and the Academy
of Travel and Tourism were established.
Other milestones: In 1963, two seniors attained perfect scores in the Florida Placement Exam, while 17% scored in the 90 percentile. In 1969, Beach High reflected that 90% of the student body attended national colleges and universities. In the 30's, the Thespian Society and the National Honor Society began. In 1953, Embryo, the creative writing magazine, became a printed publication for the first time. In 1957, the school newspaper, "The Beachcomber" was issued bi-monthly. In September of 1972, Rock Ensemble was established under the direction of Mr. Clark Douglas Burris.
With the arrival of the late Principal, Dr. Rosann Sidener, school-wide Academies were born, achievement soared, and Beach High became an International Baccalaureate School. The old school was remodeled, and the new Beach High became a modern structure, matching the artistic design of the modern South Beach. Constantly striving for excellence, Miami Beach Senior High continues to flourish!
In 1998, several Beach High Alumni formed the "Alumni Club" which evolved into the Alumni Association of today. The main goal of the organization was to begin the Hall of Fame to honor the incredible number of well-known, successful graduates of Miami Beach High. In addition, the primary purpose of the organization is to raise money for student scholarships to be awarded each year. To date, the organization has honored over 150 Inductees and provided over $500,000 in scholarships over the last two decades. The following video describes the start-up of the Alumni Association in an interview with Bruce Singer by Bubba Cohen, both Hall of Fame members.
We encourage all former students of Beach High to join the alumni association by PAYING DUES and registering on this site, and to contribute to our scholarship fund. You can view information and contribute to scholarships HERE!
You can view all inductees in the Hall of Fame HERE!