The Freedom Tower!

 America! The Freedom Tower! The couple arrived, and they needed to first settle in. It was a blessing that Amarilis’ sister and husband had already arrived. That was a blessing for any immigrant, to have family in their new land.  It was time for them to settle into an apartment, for Diego to get a job, and for Amarilis to deliver the child she carried.  The first stop: The Freedom Tower!

Freedom Flight refugees crowd  the Freedom Tower
1967. THE JUAN CLARK COLLECTION

The Freedom Tower was located in the center of Miami, a beacon of hope and liberty.  Designed by Schultze and Weaver, designers of other notable architecture in South Florida, including the Coral Gables BiltmoreHotel and The Breakers Hotel in PalmBeach.  The Freedom tower stands today as a museum holding almost 100 years of history. Built in 1925, the tower was first the headquarters of The Miami News. It is modeled in Mediterranean Revival style borrowed from Giralda in Seville, Spain, with a decorative cupola standing 255 foot tall.  The Miami News relocated in 1957, and the federal government used the building to process,and document the many Cubans fleeing Fidel Castro’s communist regime. The tower was donated in 2005 to MiamiDade College to be used as a cultural and educational center. 

U.S. Cuban Refugee Center Registration Card 1968.
MARICE COHN BAND / MIAMI HERALD STAFF

Known to the Cuban refugees as "El Refugio," the Freedom Tower provided in-processing services, basic medical and dental services, records on relatives already in the U.S., and relief aid for those starting a new life with nothing. Refugees were furnished with identification cards and were interviewed to identify both their needs and strengths. They received medical examinations and surplus foods like cheese and canned meat.

Federal funds were also distributed for financial assistance. With an estimated 650,000 Cuban refugees entering the United States from 1959 until 1974 Many arrived via Pan American World Airways’ “Freedom Flights.” Pan American World Airways flew two flights per day, five days a week from Varadero Airport, east of Havana, to Miami. Between December 1, 1965 and December 31, 1969, over 175,000 Cubans fled to the United States on what became known as Freedom Flights. The Freedom Flights continued until 1973, with a brief hiatus from August 1971 to December 1972 when Castro stopped the flights.