Opalocka Historic City Hall Restoration
The City of Opa-Locka, a 1920s vintage thematic development of aviation pioneer Glen Curtiss, was based on the Arabian Nights folklore literature, evident by the large collection of Moorish Revival Architecture found throughout the City. Opa-Locka currently has twenty such buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Perhaps the most intriguing reminder of the City’s past is its iconic City Hall building, designed by architect Bernhardt Muller. The building, with its array of domes, minarets, pointed arches, and crenellated parapets, was built in 1926 and served as the sales center for the emerging Opa-Locka community prior to becoming the City Hall administration building. The building was unoccupied for several years. MCHarry & Associates was engaged by the City in 2014 to assess the property and develop a multi-phase restoration program utilizing state and county historic grants for the construction costs.
The renovations included protection and restoration of existing architectural features including the wood stairs, painted Moorish details on the first floor, new doors and windows, restoration of existing doors, reinstallation of mosaic tiles on the building domes as depicted in the original drawings, restoration and fabrication of the metal finials on all the domes and minarets, new finishes to complement the existing finishes, restoration of existing historic lighting fixtures, re-roofing, existing stucco rehab and repainting as per original dwgs. All the work adhered to the Secretary of the Interior Standards for Rehabilitation and Guidelines for Rehabilitating Historic Buildings.
*Awarded 2025 AIA Miami Honor Award of Excellence, Renovation Restoration
*Awarded 2025 SoFloNOMA Community Impact Award
