Miami Freedom Tower

Miami Dade College’s National Historic Landmark Freedom Tower has stood as an icon on the Downtown Miami skyline since 1925. A storied location with deep connections to Miami’s Cuban American community, the Freedom Tower stands as a beacon of hope, freedom, and opportunity.

Built in 1925 as a new home for the city’s oldest newspaper and a grand architectural assertion of Miami’s urban ambition, the Freedom Tower became an emblem of the ideal of the United States as a democratic haven for those seeking freedom and opportunity. From 1962 to 1974, it served as the Cuban Refugee Center, a crucial help center for hundreds of thousands of Cuban refugees fleeing communism and political persecution. These immigrants would transform Miami. Following several decades of neglect, the Tower was rescued by Cuban American community leaders seeking to honor the Cuban legacy in Miami, who donated it to Miami Dade College in 2005.