MIAMI (WSVN) - A ribbon cutting ceremony was held at the iconic Freedom Tower landmark in Downtown Miami to commemorate its 100th anniversary and celebrate its reopening after two years of renovations.
Known as The Ellis Island of the South, the Freedom Tower was once a refugee point for 600,000 Cubans fleeing communism.
“The Freedom Tower has witnessed so many chapters of our story, of Miami’s story,” said Jorge Plasencia of Miami-Dade College Foundation. “And this is just the beginning of the next chapter.”
Completed in 1925, and once the tallest building in the south, it closed to undergo a $25 million dollar renovation in 2023.
“This is a scared place, we know for those who came here refugee, those who fought for freedom in Cuban and here, still fighting. Those who sacrificed their lives and their freedom [inaudible] for all of us because this truly is our history. This is history for all of us here in Miami,” said Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava.
Local officials and celebrities attended the event on Tuesday morning, ready to witness the multi-million dollar makeover for the tower’s centennial celebration.
Some in attendance shared their personal stories of the Freedom Tower ahead of the ribbon-cutting ceremony.
“I was 5 years old when I walked through these doors for the first time as a Cuban refugee,” said Freedom Tower historian Jorge Malagon.
For some, it’s a reminder of how far they have come in a new country.
“My mom and my dad will never believe that kid that was there trying to get a piece of bread, even the doctors, I remember I came here for the doctors, I mean, this moment is a proud moment,” said music producer Emilio Estefan.
The tower offers a photo database where people who were processed at the tower can find their name and picture.
“Yep, that’s me, that’s my date of arrival, that’s very emotional,” said Marcos A. Kerbel, a Cuban American resident who arrived in May of 1961. “We had good times, good, bad times, and this is basically a capture of both parts of our lives. I think it’s important to the younger generation that I see don’t have much knowledge of history, they come here and they can learn.”
As more stories were shared, people were moved by the journey they faced.
“Emotional, emotional because as I stop and I talk to people, it’s their story,” said President of Miami-Dade College Madeline Pumariega.
Miami’s first skyscraper was once the home of local newspaper The Miami Daily News, and was later used by the United States government to process Cuban refugees.
“This amazing place that we’re going to be able to show our kids and other generations, this is where our grandfathers, abuelas, abuelos, tias came for help,” said TV host Lili Estefan.
It stands now as a beacon of hope, history and cultural identity that made Miami what it is today.
“This building is no longer just a story about the Cuban American community, but rather of the city of Miami,” said Malagon.
Many refugees arrived in Miami with very little possessions, but people like Pumariega hope everyone leaves the Freedom Tower with newfound knowledge.
“I want them to walk away with the story of the Freedom Tower from starting off with a dream to be the tallest skyscraper in Miami, to telling Miami stories, to then becoming a refuge, a place where people came with just a suitcase, but boy, that suitcase was packed with grit and resilience and American dreams, and they’ve done it,” said Pumariega.
General ticket sales for the Freedom Tower begin Wed. Oct. 15.
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