Glad to see you're keeping up the pace...

As we walk through the hallways we see inner courtyards and gardens that are rarely found in a school. Miami High has 4 inner courtyards (referred to as patios)-- two that are visible and two that are in a sense, secret gardens. The photos below show the West Patio and the ornate door in the West Grassy Patio.

 

The West Patio has lilies, palms and flowering plants and trees, native to our Florida habitat. The fountain was replaced with a bird bath which was replaced with a reflecting pond .

  

 

 

The East Grassy Patio, next to the theatre, has been dedicated to Jose Marti, the Father of Cuba and Cuban Independence. The MHS Million Dollar Band participated for three years in the 1950's at the Cuban spring festival "Carnaval" and their gift to Miami Senior was a statue of their hero, Jose Marti.

The fourth courtyard, the East Patio has always been a social gathering place and features the fully-restored fountain
(which is on while students are in the building). The patio has well-tended plants, stone benches
and blue/gold picnic tables for students to use at lunchtime.

The fountain was a gift from the Class of 1926 for the "new" building. The tile pieces on the side of the fountain were imported from Spain and for years were covered by paint. The patio was restored through the efforts of the MHS Alumni Association and the top portion of the fountain was reconstructed by Bob Cooper (MHS Class of 1947).

 

 

Before we head upstairs to take a quick look around... a question for MHS alumni. Did you know about the little room with a fireplace between the Home Economics classrooms? Here's what it looks like... but don't feel bad if you didn't know about it. Students hardly ever went in there. Its purpose was to serve as a meeting place for the Superintendent of Schools. The doors next to the fireplace open onto the East Patio. If you look closely, you'll see that the design on the
fireplace is the same as on the top portion of the fountain.

     

Let's head up to the second floor and take a quick look around...