SURFSIDE HISTORY

• On May 18, 1935, resisting an attempt at annexation by the City of Miami Beach, 35 members of the privately-owned Surf Club incorporated the Town of Surfside and financed the venture with a $28,500 loan.
  
  - Town of Surfside 75th Year Anniversary
• Developer Henri Levy of Surfside and Normandy Isle’s hailed from Normandy. He lived with his family not in either of the above communities, but in the rock house on Washington near 10^th street and across from the Wolfsonian
  
  - Dr. Paul George

• When Surfside was incorporated in 1935, unemployment was near 20 percent. Clearly a brave time to enter the world as a brand-new municipality!
  
  - Dr. Paul George
• One of Greater Miami’s first archaeological digs took place in the neighborhood we now know as Surfside. The Tequesta Indian village was uncovered in 1923, when the Tatum Brothers’, early Greater Miami’s preeminent developers, were in the process of clearing land for a residential section to be known as Altos Del Mar, and came across a burial mound containing skulls and bones of humans. That burial mound continued to attract archaeologists who found additional skeletons in the 1920s and 1930s. These fossils may have been as old as 3,000 years. In addition, to the Surfside burial mound, the site included a triangular shaped village. 
  
  - Dr. Paul George
• Surfside is an “uncle” to Bay Harbor and Bal Harbour, both of which became municipalities after World War II, and both of which were inspired to move forward since Surfside had taken that step more than 10 years earlier.
  
  - Dr. Paul George
• Often overlooked when one observes the building stock of Surfside in the downtown and Collins Ave. sector are the plethora of Art Deco styled apartments, now 80 years of age and older, that dot the famed tourist street on its west side from 90th street to the town limits.
  
  - Dr. Paul George
• The Publix Supermarket of today dominates the grocery business seemingly throughout Florida. The mega-supermarket of yesterday, at least in Miami and South Florida was Food Fair, which stood on the site of today's Public at 9400 Harding Ave.
  
  - Dr. Paul George

POLICE DEPARTMENT

18th Annual Police Academy

The Surfside Police Department is proud to celebrate its 18th Citizens Police Academy (2019).  Many of the Town’s residents are graduates and/or alumni of this program!

New Police Chief

As of January 2023, John Healy is the new Police Chief for the Town of Surfside. Have you had a chance to meet Chief Healy around Town or at the monthly Bike with the Chief of Police and Coffee with the Cops? Make sure to check the Town calendar for the next Police events! 

Business District Officer + Neighborhood Resource Officer

Effective October 21, 2019, Surfside will have a Business District and Neighborhood Resource Officer. The officer is responsible for patrolling the neighborhoods and downtown business district, as well as being on-site at community events. 

BUILDING

Curious to know how many permits were issued by the Surfside Building Department in FY 2018? That would be a total of 1,455 permits for residential and commercial construction. The Building Department also performed over 3,000 inspections in FY 2018 (October 1, 2017 to September 30, 2018.) This goes to show a lot is happening in Town. Pretty amazing, right?

PUBLIC WORKS

How Much Trash Does Surfside Collect?

Keeping the Town clean and beautiful is always top-of-mind. Surfside collects an average of 6,000 tons of garbage on an annual basis. Surfside residents are proudly committed to disposing of waste where it belongs—in the trash bins.

PARKS & RECREATION 

Did you know the Surfside Parks and Recreation Department goes far beyond encouraging you to check out the Town’s parks? They also host exciting events, including a Movie Series, Holiday celebrations, swimming classes and adult, senior and youth programs. For more details on Parks and Recreation offerings, please visit the Parks and Recreation section of the website.