Interama (exhibition)

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Interama, originally called the Inter-American Cultural and Trade Center, was a planned international exposition in Miami. It was designed as a permanent Pan-American hub for culture, education, and trade, blending ideas from a world’s fair, a trade fair, and an amusement park.

Origins and planning
- The idea dates back to 1919, with later pushes by Miami leaders and politicians in the 1930s and 1950s.
- In 1950, the U.S. government supported a Pan-American center in Miami, and several Latin American countries agreed to participate.
- In 1951, Florida created the Inter-American Authority to run the project. The plan called for a 1,600-acre bay-front site about five miles north of downtown Miami, on land that had once been planned as an airport.

Early designs
- Master plans from 1950–1956, led by architect Hugh Ferriss and his team, showed a circular lake surrounded by zones for Science, Art, and Industry. A central Hemisphere feature would display a map of the Americas, with a Spire, Hanging Gardens, and a Grand Plaza leading toward a main gathering area.
- A later version kept a strong circular layout but simplified the design to a modern, tropical style with a lagoon, canals, and screening to suit Florida’s climate.
- International and Latin American architects contributed ideas, including Fernando Belaunde (Peru) and Luis Malaussena (Venezuela). The concept evolved into an “inter-American city” of islands connected by canals, with a central Tower or Hemisphere centerpiece.

1960s evolution
- As Miami grew, Interama shifted toward a more urban, island-based plan. The design imagined an enormous water-centered complex with themed islands and a Tower of Freedom at the center.
- Access would be via major roads and a proposed Mid-Bay Causeway, with ideas for aerial capsule transport between different parts of the site.

Construction and decline
- Groundbreaking happened in September 1964, and work began on the bay site. The opening was planned for July 4, 1968.
- Progress was slow, and by 1968 the plan needed major rethinking. Construction stopped, and the project was effectively put on hold.

Aftermath
- The site was divided between Florida International University and the county. In the early 1970s, the project was reimagined as a broad American exhibit for the U.S. Bicentennial, but funding was eventually canceled.
- Parts of the land became Florida International University’s Biscayne Campus and Oleta River State Park. A portion was used for Munisport, a landfill site that was later cleaned up. The Trade Center element was incorporated into FIU. Today, the area includes ongoing development and public spaces, with some remnants of the Interama concept still visible in the region.