14 OctOber 2-8, 2025 miaminewtimes.com | browardpalmbeach.com NEW TIMES | MUSIC | CAFE | CULTURE | NIGHT+DAY | NEWS | LETTERS | CONTENTS | Month XX–Month XX, 2008 miaminewtimes.com MIAMI NEW TIMES | MUSIC | CAFE | FILM | ART | STAGE | NIGHT+DAY | METRO | RIPTIDE | LETTERS | CONTENTS | The Freedom Tower reopens after $25 million renovation. BY SHAWN MACOMBER W hen the Freedom Tower and its deeply affect- ing, brilliantly realized new museum dedicated to the Cuban refugee ex- perience reopened to visitors in mid-Septem- ber after a two-year, $25 million renovation aligning with its centennial, figures ranging from Miami Mayor Francis Suárez and Florida Lieutenant Governor Jay Collins to Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce CEO Alfred Sanchez and Grammy-winning mogul Emilio Estefan came out to sing its praises. Which is great. Amazing, even. And the post-ribbon-cutting speeches before a pha- lanx of TV cameras and VIPs were all clearly heartfelt and lovely. But for Miami Dade Col- lege Museum of Art and Design Executive Director and Chief Curator Amy Galpin, it wasn’t until a woman — one of more than four hundred Miamians who had partici- pated in the museum’s three-year-long oral history project — tugged at her sleeve at the end of a tour that the conservator in Galpin could finally breathe a full sigh of relief. “Thank you,” the woman said. “I feel like I don’t have to write a memoir now. I can just bring my children, grandchildren, and any- one else who wants to know what it was re- ally like, and they can just experience it for themselves.” “As an art historian, my work has always been driven by the exploration of the human condition and human emotion and trying to bring people’s stories to life in the best and most respectful way possible,” Galpin tells New Times. “It’s such a vulnerable and brave thing to share your story, your struggles…It was very important to us that we honored and gave dignity to that. To see people who gave us that trust appreciating the end result is deeply, deeply impactful, and one of the most rewarding aspects of being a part of this project.” Built in 1925 to serve as headquarters for the Miami Daily News, the Freedom Tower became a processing center in 1962 for Cu- bans fleeing the Castro regime. Over the next 12 years, more than 600,000 refugees passed through its doors. Soon, this beautiful and imposing 17-story building modeled after the belltower of the Seville Cathedral in Seville, Spain — and designed by the same firm re- sponsible for the Biltmore in Coral Gables and the Waldorf Astoria in New York — earned a reputation as “Miami’s Statue of Liberty,” a symbol attracting visitors ranging from President Ronald Reagan to King Juan Carlos I of Spain. When Celia Cruz died, her funeral was held at the Freedom Tower. Despite the love, by 2001, the building landed on the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s list of the “11 Most Endan- gered Historic Places.” Four years later, it was donated to Miami Dade College for steward- ship, and in 2008, the U.S. Department of the Interior formally designated it a National Historic Landmark, setting the stage for its current revitalization. Three years ago, MDC began the process of workshopping what form a new presenta- tion might take. “There were so many con- versations with staff, with community stakeholders, with scholars, with artists, with exhibition designers about the flow, the con- tent, the naming of the sections — every- thing,” Galpin says. All of these conversations culminated in a multimedia, state-of-the-art museum that intertwines digital and physi- cal installation elements for an immersive experience that meets visitors of all genera- tions where they’re at, but doesn’t leave them there. There is a strong crosspolli- nation of ideas as well as styles of learning and inter- action. “Obviously, we have a lot of screens in our exhibition and we’re embracing technology,” Galpin says. “But I still believe in the power of objects and material culture and fulfilling that human need to gather in real-world spaces. The Free- dom Tower is very much designed to be a communal experience.” Initial exhibitions on display include the two-story “Libertad” (“stories of people who came to Miami seeking freedom, and how their resilience helped shape the city”), “Lan- guages of Migration” (“pairs rare ancient and colonial works with powerful contemporary art”), “We Carry Our Homes With Us” (“[brings] a deeply personal lens to themes of belonging and displacement”), and “Unidad: The World’s Game” (“with artifacts from Pelé to Messi and interactive installations, it reminds visitors that sport, like free- dom, has the power to transcend boundaries”). There are stunning por- traits by award-winning photographer Clara Toro, modern art sculptures, a life-size recreation of a pro- cessing office, documenta- ries, research desks, and accessible libraries of those oral histories, kinetic video panels, and the things refugees carried, small and large. The experi- ence is sometimes harrowing, sometimes poignant, sometimes sweet, sometimes funny, but always illuminating, stirring, and inspirational. Galpin says she hopes “people who have not lived this experience also see themselves as a part of this story.” Mission accomplished. Amidst all of this, a quote from the heroic dissident Czech playwright and poet Václav Havel (1936-2011) stands out: “Hope…is an orientation of the spirit; an orientation of the heart. It transcends the world that is immedi- ately experienced and is anchored some- where beyond its horizons.” On a practical level, the above offers a his- torical validation of that hopeful orientation. After all, Havel’s participation in the Prague Spring and subsequent work with Charter 77, despite state persecution and multiple incar- cerations, helped usher in the 1989 Velvet Revolution, the fall of communism, and his election as the first president of a free Czech Republic. (Put another way: How do you like them apples, Lenin?) Perhaps more importantly, however, on a philosophical level, the poet-stateman’s words suggest that resistance to oppression is its own form of artistic expression; that the yearning to live free is universal. That may be a sentiment first expressed in Prague, but it’s difficult to imagine one more spiritually and culturally resonant with our kaleidoscopic Miami culture — or this new era of the Freedom Tower that translates it so well. Freedom Tower. 600 Biscayne Blvd., Miami; 305-237-7700; mdc.edu/freedomtower. Photo by Galina Savina SWEET LIBERTY The Freedom Tower’s reopening aligns with its centennial. “The Freedom Tower is very much designed to be a communal experience.”
