Titled “South Miami,” this 1950 United States Geological Survey map captures a defining moment in the growth of metropolitan Miami, presenting Coconut Grove, Coral Gables, South Miami, and the western edge of Biscayne Bay at the precise 1:24,000 scale that became a hallmark of American topographic mapping. Its restrained, utilitarian style—subdued colors, careful contouring, gridded reference lines, and dense labeling—reflects the USGS tradition of clarity above ornament. Yet within that disciplined cartographic language lies a vivid portrait of South Florida in transition: an area where older coastal settlements, planned residential enclaves, roads, rail corridors, wetlands, and suburban blocks were beginning to knit together into the modern urban landscape.

The United States Geological Survey, established in 1879, brought a scientific rigor to American mapmaking that transformed how the nation understood its landforms, resources, and infrastructure. By the mid-twentieth century, USGS quadrangles like “South Miami” were indispensable tools for engineers, planners, developers, naturalists, and civic authorities. This map belongs to that great national project: the systematic measurement and depiction of terrain, settlement, and water. Its authority rests not in decorative flourish, but in precision—each contour, shoreline, road, and grid reference contributing to an exacting visual record. For collectors, it offers the quiet elegance of official cartography at a moment when Miami’s subtropical frontier was being rapidly surveyed, subdivided, and urbanized.

Coconut Grove appears here as one of Miami’s oldest and most characterful communities, its position near Biscayne Bay hinting at the maritime, bohemian, and artistic identity for which it has long been known. Once a haven for Bahamian settlers, sailors, writers, and independent-minded residents, the Grove’s place on this map conveys both permanence and change. Its established streets and coastal proximity contrast with the expanding residential fabric around it, while nearby water features and green spaces evoke the lush, humid environment that shaped its development. In the language of contour lines and road symbols, the map preserves Coconut Grove before later decades of high-rise development and intense metropolitan transformation altered its scale and atmosphere.

Coral Gables, meanwhile, is especially compelling in the context of this 1950 survey. Conceived in the 1920s by George Merrick as a planned city of Mediterranean Revival architecture, broad avenues, plazas, and carefully ordered neighborhoods, it was already one of South Florida’s most distinctive urban experiments. On the map, Coral Gables’ residential sections and structured street patterns reveal the legacy of that vision, standing apart from both the older texture of Coconut Grove and the more varied growth of surrounding communities. Its presence speaks to an era when Florida real estate development fused boosterism, architecture, landscape design, and automobile-age planning into an ambitious model of subtropical suburban elegance.

The topographic character of “South Miami” is subtle but fascinating. Unlike maps of mountainous regions, its drama lies in slight elevations, wetlands, waterways, coastal margins, and the delicate relationship between land and Biscayne Bay. The contours disclose the low relief of the Florida landscape, where small changes in height could influence drainage, development, and the persistence of marshy ground. Roads and railroads trace the infrastructure that supported postwar expansion, while rural edges and residential subdivisions show a region not yet fully consumed by continuous urban sprawl. As a historical document, the map illuminates South Miami at a threshold: poised between tropical village landscapes, planned garden suburbs, and the accelerating metropolitan future of Greater Miami.

Cities, towns and places on this map

• Coconut Grove
• Coral Gables
• South Miami
• Biscayne Bay
• Multiple roadways and railroads
• Water features, including lakes and streams
• Neighboring rural areas
• Urban lots and residential sections
• Parks and green spaces

Historical context & cartographic details

• Produced by the United States Geological Survey (USGS) in 1950
• Historical 1:24,000 topographical map of South Miami and the surrounding area
• Shows a rapidly urbanizing part of South Florida during a period of infrastructure change, development, and population growth
• Coconut Grove is one of Miami’s oldest neighborhoods, noted for its rich history and artistic community
• Coral Gables, developed in the 1920s, is known for Mediterranean Revival architecture and planned residential neighborhoods
• Uses classic USGS topographic styling with subdued colors and a focus on practical detail
• Features contour lines, elevation changes, labeled grids, wetlands, urban areas, and coastal features
• Reflects the USGS tradition of national mapping and surveying dating back to its establishment in 1879

Looking for a particular place? Review the detailed images to confirm that the town, landmark or feature you have in mind appears on the map. If you are unsure, ask our workshop to check before you order.

Detailed maps are especially rewarding at larger sizes, where names, boundaries and decorative features have more room to be appreciated. Use the close-up preview and size guide to choose the right scale for your wall.

This map looks amazing at sizes all the way up to 50in (125cm). If you are looking for a larger map, please get in touch.

The model in the listing images is holding the 16x20in (40x50cm) version of this map.

Where personalisation is available, you can add a short title or dedication, mark one meaningful place, or request one considered visual detail. See personalised map examples.

Every piece is printed to museum-grade archival standards using fade-resistant pigment inks on acid-free matte paper. Choose an unframed map print, framed map or canvas using the finish options above. Framed maps use crystal-clear optical acrylic and arrive ready to hang.

With its rich detail and strong sense of place, this map makes a considered gift for a new home, anniversary, retirement or anyone with a personal connection to the area shown. Still deciding? Explore our collection of rare old and vintage maps to discover another place, period or style.

This map is also available as a float framed canvas, sometimes known as a shadow gap framed canvas or canvas floater. The map is printed on artist's cotton canvas and then stretched over a handmade box frame. We then "float" the canvas inside a wooden frame, which is available in a range of colours (black, dark brown, oak, antique gold and white). This is a wonderful way to present a map without glazing in front. See some examples of float framed canvas maps and explore the differences between my different finishes.

For something truly unique, this map is also available in "Unique 3D", our trademarked process that dramatically transforms the map so that it has a wonderful sense of depth. We combine the original map with detailed topography and elevation data, so that mountains and the terrain really "pop". For more info and examples of 3D maps, check my Unique 3D page.