Baron Collier and the Building of the Tamiami Trail
1-Time Lecture | This class is completed
Cesar is back with his monthly in-person series, highlighting our local South Florida history!
It had been tried first by explorer Hugh Willough, then again by businessman James Ingraham, and again a few years later, but again to no avail. Crossing the Everglades was tough stuff and to think, they thought they were going to build a highway within a year. Join historian Cesar A. Becerra in a living history presentation as he recounts the epic story of the building of what was originally known as The Miami to Marco Highway. Long credited solely to advertising mogul Barron Collier, the story of this roadway is far more complex than Siri or Wikipedia can explain.
Cesar Becerra
Cesar Becerra has stood on the head of George Washington at Mount Rushmore, delivered a historic inkwell to the Supreme Court, traversed the entire length of the Appalachian Trail, and even walked from Key West to Phoenix. He is a ten-year veteran and was followed by the Travel Channel on a 50-state road trip.
An author of three (3) books and more than a hundred articles on local history, Cesar began his career as the youngest guide ever hired for the state park system of Florida. He later worked at The Deering Estate, Indian Key, The Gold Coast Railroad Museum, Fairchild Tropical Garden, Big Cypress National Preserve and the Florida National Park's Association. One newspaper called him “the best peripatetic historian in the Magic City” and the Miami Herald called him the “Everglades Evangelist”. A modern-day nomad, Cesar Becerra is sure to educate and entertain.