Top 5 Things You May Not Know About Opa-Locka

When Ali Baba Met the Everglades 

Opa-tisha-wocka-locka — the Seminole phrase originally meant to be the city's full name until Glenn Curtiss trimmed it down to "Opa-Locka" and infused it with a splash of Arabian flair.

In 1926, Curtiss teamed up with architect Bernhardt Muller to turn Opa-Locka into a real-life storybook, complete with onion domes, minarets, and colorful towers straight out of One Thousand and One Nights. 

With this, more than 100 Moorish Revival buildings sprang up, giving the city the largest collection of this unique architectural style in the Western Hemisphere, which continued onto streets that read like a bedtime tale, with names such as Ali Baba Avenue, Sultan Avenue, Sharazad Boulevard, and even Sesame Street. 

In the end, Curtiss didn't just rename the land — he reshaped it into a living Arabian Nights chapter that still defines Opa-Locka today.

It's not every day you find a Florida neighborhood where the street signs look like they were from Scheherazade herself!

The Palace Where Paperwork Gets a Royal Seal     

With its onion domes, arches, and minarets, Opa-Locka's City Hall looks more like a fairytale palace than a civic building, so much so that you'd half-expect a genie to appear instead of a clerk. 

Built in the 1920s as a sheik's palace, the structure boasts four domes, three minarets, keyhole arches, and a grand courtyard fountain, allowing it to hold a one-of-a-kind claim as the only city hall in the United States crowned with actual minarets. 

The design drew directly from the tale of Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves, and other civic buildings in Opa-Locka followed suit — the Chamber of Commerce resembled a Turkish harem and the train station a mosque. 

Far from being a simple government office, this "palace" remains the crown jewel of Opa-Locka's Arabian Nights dreamscape.

Earhart, Airships, and a City That Reached for the Skies  

Aside from looking like a fairy tale on the ground, Opa-Locka also helped write real chapters in aviation history. 

In 1937, Amelia Earhart launched her ill-fated attempt to fly around the world from the Opa-Locka airfield, making the city one of the last places she touched before vanishing into legend. 

Years earlier, the massive German Graf Zeppelin made scheduled visits in Opa-Locka during its transatlantic runs, hovering above those domes like something out of science fiction. 

Glenn Curtiss' airport eventually transformed into a bustling Naval Air Station, and today, it's still a hub for general aviation. 

What do you know? A city founded by an aviator became a launchpad for explorers of the sky! 

It just proves that Opa-Locka always had its head — and its heart — above the clouds.

The Day Sheikhs, Camels, and Storybook Magic Took the Streets  

In 1927, Opa-Locka threw a parade that could have leapt straight off the pages of Arabian Nights. 

Costumed sheikhs on horseback, pageantry, and fanfare marked the arrival of the Orange Blossom Special train and the opening of the city's fantasy-style railroad station; a celebration that blossomed into the annual Arabian Nights Festival, where residents donned flowing robes and embraced Curtiss's imaginative vision year after year. 

Though the tradition faded, the whimsical spirit of Opa-Locka and its residents didn't vanish.

In fact, in 2024, the city revived the magic with a new MENA Fest celebrating Middle Eastern and North African culture. 

After all, where else in South Florida did camels once share the spotlight with trains?

Big Talent from a Small City 

Not every NFL story begins in a big city—sometimes it starts on the fields of a town as tiny as Naranja. 

That's where Jamal Carter grew up before making a name for himself as a star safety. 

From Southridge High to Clemson University to signing with the Denver Broncos in 2017, Carter carried his hometown pride all the way to the big leagues. 

For kids tossing a football around local parks today, his story teaches them that big dreams can sprout in small communities. 

Neighbors cheer him on not just for his tackles, but for showing what's possible when you put in the work. 

Indeed, Naranja may be small on the map, but thanks to Carter, it's big in the highlight reels. 

Who knows? Somewhere in town, there might still be a patch of grass that remembers his first touchdown.