Edison Courts facts for kids
Edison Courts is a large apartment complex in Miami-Dade County, Florida. It has 345 apartments and is a type of housing called public housing. It's located just west of the Little Haiti neighborhood in Miami. The complex is surrounded by North 62nd Street, North 67th Street, West Second Avenue, and West Fourth Avenue.
What is Edison Courts?
Edison Courts is a community of apartments where many families live. It was built a long time ago to help people find affordable places to live. Today, it's still an important part of the Miami community.
A Look Back: How Edison Courts Was Built
During the 1930s, a time called the Great Depression, many people didn't have jobs. The government started a program called the Works Progress Administration (WPA). This program hired people to build important public projects, like roads, schools, and buildings.
Edison Courts was one of these projects. It was finished in 1941. The buildings were designed by a company called Paist and Stewart. When it first opened, it was built for certain groups of people. However, in the 1960s, Edison Courts became a home for everyone, no matter their background. It's a great example of the building style and quality from the WPA era.
Smart Design: Solar Power!
Edison Courts was special for another reason too! It was one of the very first public housing projects to have free hot water. How did they do it? They used solar water heaters!
Each apartment building had a special glass box on its roof. Inside these boxes were copper pipes. The sun's rays would shine on the pipes and heat the water inside them. The water could get as hot as 180 degrees Fahrenheit! After being heated, the hot water was stored in a special tank. This meant residents had hot water for bathing and washing clothes, all thanks to the sun!
A famous rapper from Miami, Frantz Fatal, grew up near Edison Courts. He often talks about the area in his music.
