This Florida City Has Streets Named Sinbad, Ali Baba & Sharazad Thanks to a 1920s Developer’s Obsession

Opa-Locka, Florida

In 1926, millionaire Glenn Curtiss looked at a patch of Miami swampland and saw Scheherazade’s tales come to life. He hired architect Bernhardt Muller to build an Arabian fantasy city, with enough onion domes and horseshoe arches to make Aladdin feel at home.

The Great Depression might have killed the dream, but he did leave an amazing gift: a Moorish city rising from the Florida wetlands.

The streets have names from Arabian fairy tales

Instead of normal numbered streets, Opa-Locka has 95% of its roads named after characters from Arabian Nights stories. You’ll drive down Ali Baba Avenue, Sharazad Boulevard, Sinbad Street, Caliph Street, and even Sesame Street.

All the road signs also have special Arabian-style lettering throughout the 4.2-square-mile city.

Fun fact:

When viewed from above, the streets form star and crescent shapes, connecting to the city’s aviation history.

The airport hides a little-known aviation museum

Miami-Opa Locka Executive Airport, which started in 1927 as the Florida Aviation Camp, has a small but impressive aviation collection with planes from the 1940s.

You can still see the concrete circle where the USS Akron and German Graf Zeppelin once docked back in the 1930s. During World War II, the airport was a Naval Air Station and later became CIA headquarters for secret operations in the 1950s.

Amazingly, in 1967, this airport became the world’s busiest with over 650,000 flights each year.

Local artists create an exciting underground art scene

Opa-Locka has one of Miami’s most creative art movements through the Community Gateways project that started in 2011. You’ll find warehouse studios where artists make huge installations and community murals along NW 22nd Avenue.

Artists from seven different countries come for 12-month residency programs sponsored by the local Community Development Corporation. You can visit their Arts & Recreation Center for free Thursday through Sunday from 10am-6pm to see monthly exhibitions about social justice.

There are also free community workshops every third Saturday led by local artists.

Railroad history lives on in a preserved heritage park

You can visit the original 1927 Seaboard Air Line Railroad depot with its authentic Moorish design. There’s a restored 1940s caboose, old switching equipment, and the spot where the luxury Orange Blossom Special train once stopped.

The park has the original telegraph station equipment that first connected Opa-Locka to Miami, plus tools used from 1926-1952. You’ll also see historical photos showing the first passengers arriving in Opa-Locka on January 8, 1927, when the station opened with a big celebration.

Local restaurants serve a unique version of the Cuban sandwich

The Opa-Locka Special adds sweet plantains and cilantro garlic sauce to the traditional Cuban sandwich recipe. You can try this local creation at El Rinconcito Cubano, which has been open since 1987 at 1961 NW 142nd Street.

The sandwich costs $8.95, is almost 9 inches long, and has three meats instead of the usual two. Family restaurants like La Palma on Ali Baba Avenue have been perfecting their versions for over 30 years, with slight differences in bread thickness and how they make their sauce.

There’s a rare building somewhere in Opa-Locka

At NW 27th Avenue and Opa-Locka Boulevard, you’ll find an unusual triangular building. This 4,800-square-foot three-sided structure was designed in 1964 by architect Russell Pancoast.

The building has three businesses at each corner with floor-to-ceiling windows all around for maximum visibility. It was featured in Architectural Digest in 1968 as a clever urban design and has 42-degree sharp angles with specially designed interior spaces.

Several architecture textbooks include this building as an example of creative space use.

Spontaneous music happens in parks and streets year-round

You can join impromptu music performances in Sherbondy Park and along Ali Baba Avenue throughout the year. Every Sunday from 3-7pm, drum circles gather with 30-40 regular musicians who blend Caribbean, Latin, and American music styles.

These gatherings started in 2015 and have been growing ever since. Local musicians share scheduling updates on social media so visitors can find where performances are happening.

On the first Sunday of each month, community radio station WOBA 1140 AM broadcasts these sessions live so people across Miami-Dade County can hear these unique musical combinations.

Famous movies have been filmed on these streets

At least 17 major movies have used Opa-Locka as a filming location since 1980 because of its exotic look. You can walk the same streets shown in Bad Boys II (2003), 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003), and Miami Vice (2006). The old blimp hangar was actually blown up on camera for an action scene in Bad Boys (1995).

Movie companies often use the distinctive architecture to stand in for Middle Eastern or North African locations, paying the city about $5,000-$10,000 per day for filming permits. At City Hall, you can see a display of movie props and photos from these films.

A World War II blimp base left behind visible traces

During World War II, Opa-Locka was home to one of only five naval airship stations in America. You can still see the huge 200-foot diameter concrete circle where blimps once docked at the airport’s west side.

There used to be a wooden hangar 258 feet tall covering 7 acres—big enough to hold six airships at once. Between 1942-1945, these blimps flew 1,564 patrol missions along Florida’s coast looking for German submarines.

The Navy bought 1,533 acres of Opa-Locka land in 1940 specifically to build this important defense base.

You can get to the Everglades in under half an hour

From downtown Opa-Locka, you’re just a 25-minute drive from Shark Valley in Everglades National Park at 36000 SW 8th Street. This is the closest city entrance to see alligators sunning themselves by the trail.

There’s a 15-mile paved loop where you can rent bikes for $27 per person to explore at your own pace. While you’re there, don’t miss the 65-foot observation tower with amazing wetland views across the sawgrass prairie.

Visiting Opa-Locka

You’ll find Opa-Locka 13 miles northwest of downtown Miami where NW 135th Street meets NW 42nd Avenue. You can get there on the Tri-Rail commuter train (Opa-Locka station) or by taking Miami-Dade Transit bus routes 27, 32, or 42.

The Visitor Center at 780 Fisherman Street is open Monday through Friday from 9am-5pm and Saturdays from 10am-2pm, where you’ll get free maps and cultural guides.

If you want a tour, they run Tuesday through Sunday at 10am and 2pm for $12 per person (kids under 12 get in free).