Studio Portraits Showing the Vibrant African American Community in the Miami Suburb of Overtown

Silver prints (24); Each 5 1/2 x 3 1/2 inches; Some with "Nu Way Photo Shoppe" stamp verso, one with Hicks Photo Studio embossed credit stamp, some with subject identification recto or verso.

Collection of real photo postcard studio-portraits of the African American community of Miami, Florida in the 1920s-40s.

Eighteen of the photographs are from the "Nu Way Photo Shoppe," a commercial studio located at 939 N.W. 2nd Avenue in the Overtown neighborhood of Miami.The firm was opened by David Jenkins in the early 1940s and catered to a Black clientele. A 1942 issue of "The Crisis" advertises Jenkins' work in Overtown, and notes that many of the photographs illustrating the issue were shot by his firm. Included in the collection are portraits of two young women posed proudly in her graduation uniform, an identified soldier alongside his sister, dapper men in pinstripe suits, two-tone shoes and panama hats, and equally sharp-dressed women.

There are six other photographs from other Miami-area studios. One, of a woman seated, has an embossed stamp for "Hicks Studio." Run by proprietor James E. Hicks, the Hicks Studio was also located in Overtown at 225 N.W. 8th Street and is mentioned in the same issue of "The Crisis." Also included are a fun pair of photos showing a coolly-posed man in an all white suit, and a second image showing him with a woman elegantly-clad in all white as well. There are also two photographs in front of the same tropical-backdrop, one of a man dressed in a suit with tails, holding a cane and bowler, and the other of a man and woman. One of the last two photos show a woman in lavish evening wear and the other shows a couple in more conservative attire.

The second-oldest continuously inhabited Miami-area neighborhood after Coconut Grove, Overtown is located just northwest of downtown. The area was originally settled in the late 19th-century by African American laborers who worked on the construction of the Florida East Coast Railway. Originally known as "Colored Town," it was one of the few places in Miami where black residents were allowed to live. During the early 20th-century, Overtown became a thriving cultural center for Miami's black community, with numerous businesses, restaurants, and nightclubs, built primarily along Northwest 2nd Avenue (where the Nu-Way Photo Shoppe was located). Its thriving Jazz scene earned Overtown the nickname "Little Harlem."

In the 1960s, Overtown was largely demolished to make way for the construction of Interstate 95, which cut through the heart of the neighborhood. Many homes and businesses were destroyed, and the highway effectively cut Overtown off from downtown Miami and the rest of the city. Today, revitalization efforts are in place including the restoration of the neighborhood's historic Lyric Theatre.