The Freedom Flights continued until 1973, with a brief hiatus from August 1971 to December 1972 when Castro stopped the flights. Between Decemand December 31, 1969, over 175,000 Cubans fled to the United States on what became known as Freedom Flights. Many arrived via Pan American World Airways’ “Freedom Flights.” Pan American World Airways flew two flights per day, five days a week from Varadero Airport, east of Havana, to Miami. By the end of 1960, approximately 40,000 Cubans had fled to the United States.īetween 19, thousands more Cubans fled to the United States. Meanwhile, Castro began a campaign of ridding the island of anyone who did not support his ideologies. They left their belongings because they believed that they would be returning to Cuba after Castro’s surely imminent removal from power they thought of themselves as exiles, not immigrants. Fearing imprisonment, violence, or worse, many upper and middle class Cubans fled the country, leaving all of their possessions behind. His popularity was short-lived, however, because he soon made significant policy changes after aligning himself with the Soviet version of Communism, resulting in a mass exodus of the Cuban people. He made many businesses property of the Cuban government and nationalized large tracts of agricultural land. He rose to leadership as a champion of the working class, raising wages and redistributing the assets of the wealthy. When Fidel Castro took over Cuba in 1959 he initially was very popular, even receiving support from the Catholic Church. government leased it, starting in 1962, to assist the Cuban refugees. It sat virtually unused for the next five years until the U.S. The Miami News utilized the building until its 1957 move to a new facility. Using a blend of Spanish and Italian architectural techniques with Moorish ornamental embellishments, Freedom Tower rose as a permanent and distinctive feature on the Miami skyline. Details such as the oak main doors, a cast iron decorative transom, wrought iron balconies, Corinthian capitals on the columns, groined ceilings, and cast concrete cherubs, add to the allure of this Spanish Renaissance-style building. The tower, based on the design of the Giralda tower of the Cathedral of Seville, is 11 stories high and three bays deep. The building opened on July 26, 1925.įreedom Tower reaches 17 stories, a significant achievement at the time, and contains over 82,000 square feet of space. Cox purchased the Miami Daily News and Metropolis ( Miami News) in 1923 during a thriving economic period in Florida and commissioned the construction of the building for use as the newspaper’s headquarters and printing facility. More than anything else, Freedom Tower stands tall as a symbol of hope and freedom, and the firm belief that democracy should be available to all who fight against tyranny and demagoguery.Ĭonstruction of the building that would become the Freedom Tower began on June 11, 1924. While assistance centers opened in Miami and other cities, the Freedom Tower is the single most important physical manifestation of this period of Cold War era politics and the Cuban exodus experience. government transformed the building at 600 Biscayne Boulevard in Miami into the Freedom Tower, opening the Cuban Assistance Center there to help Cubans with everything from health care to housing, finances, and education. Kennedy’s administration, the Migration and Refugee Assistance Act of 1962 authorized assistance to the large number of Cubans fleeing to the United States for political asylum. Many Cubans fled to Miami, Florida because of its close proximity to Cuba.Įnacted during President John F. Because of the political climate of the era, Cubans seeking political asylum received a warm welcome into the United States. A National Historic Landmark, Freedom Tower illustrates the important story of the Cuban exodus to the United States and resettlement during the Cold War. Freedom Tower in Miami, Florida is considered the "Ellis Island of the South” for its role from 1962 through 1974 as the Cuban Assistance Center, offering nationally sanctioned relief to the Cuban refugees who sought political asylum from the regime of Fidel Castro.
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