Hialeah Gardens Tutors

About Hialeah Gardens

Not to be confused with Hialeah, the sixth largest city in the State of Florida, Hialeah Gardens is a much smaller, quieter community located in the northwest corner of Miami-Dade County. Originally a tourist camp, owned by Walter Ohlerts in the early 1900’s, it became its own community after World War II and became a place for horse racing and breeding stock. For years, it continued as a rural community that focused on raising horses.

This little residential community should also not be confused with Hialeah Park Racing and Casino located within the boundaries of the city of Hialeah, but it is perhaps the biggest attraction nearby to Hialeah Gardens. For 90 years, the 200 acres of lush land with its lush green gardens, historic 16th Century architecture, state-of-the-art Casino with its famous and elegant 33-table poker room, and what has been called “The World’s Most Beautiful Race Course,” has made Hialeah Park an iconic attraction for residents and tourists alike of South Florida. In the future, more goodies are planned, such as a luxury hotel, movie theatre, and a commercial entertainment center.
While its popularity is, of course, due to the horse racing and casino, there is another little known trademark of the Park — Flamingos! These exotic birds of all colors and sizes were originally imported in 1934 from Cuba by Joseph Widener, where they were hatched and raised on the infield racetrack, all at the Hialeah Park. The Flamingo is family to the Heron and prefers to nest in the wet marshland areas. Laying only one egg a year, the female Flamingo builds a clay mound shaped like a volcano within the shallow areas of the marshland. The male Flamingo, does alternately help to tend the nest until their tiny baby is hatched. The baby Flamingo’s first nutrition comes from its eating its own shell.

Another interesting fact to note, is that this species of Flamingos has never been able to be reproduced successfully anywhere else except Cuba and Hialeah Park and, for that reason, Hialeah Park was designated as a National Audubon Sanctuary and has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Today, the colony hatches are also used to supply Flamingos to zoos and other parks throughout North America.

Still another fun fact about these Flamingos is that because of the dramatic site these Flamingo flocks make, whether wading in the marshes, or in spectacular flight, they became cinematography celebrities in films and and on television, such as “Miami Vice” … “The Champ” … “Let It Ride” … and “The Flight of The Flamingos.”