Opa-locka

Opa-locka is a city located in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. As of the 2010 U.S. Census, the population was 15,219. The city was developed by Glenn Curtiss. Developed based on a One Thousand and One Nights theme, Opa-locka has the largest collection of Moorish Revival architecture in the Western hemisphere, and streets with such names as Sabur Lane, Sultan Avenue, Ali Baba Avenue, Perviz Avenue, and Sesame Street. Opa-locka has an area of 4.2sqmi and is located in the northeastern area of Miami-Dade County, Florida.The name Opa-locka is an abbreviation of a Seminole place name, spelled Opa-tisha-wocka-locka. The original name probably signified a wooded hammock in a swamp.HistoryOpa-locka was founded by aviation pioneer Glenn Curtiss in 1926. Curtiss developed the city with a Moorish architecture theme. While the 1926 Miami hurricane badly damaged the city and brought the Florida land boom to a halt, several Moorish-style buildings survived. Twenty of the original Moorish Revival architecture buildings have been listed on the National Register of Historic Places as part of the Opa-locka Thematic Resource Area.