MDC Freedom Tower

Home
United States
Miami, FL
MDC Freedom Tower

Historic Landmark in Downtown Miami. Home to Museum of Art and Design Miami Dade College and MDC Special Collections. We are temporarily closed for renovations.

While this National Historic Landmark is currently closed for renovations, Miami Dade College is creating multimedia exhibitions that will allow visitors to immerse themselves in the iconic building’s history, including its role as the headquarters of the Miami Daily News, as well as the home of the Cuban Refugee Center, which welcomed hundreds of thousands of Cuban exiles to the United States. He

lp us build a world-class museum experience at the nexus of democracy, freedom, and education as a Friend of the Freedom Tower. Miami Dade College is an equal access/equal opportunity institution which does not discriminate on the basis of s*x, race, color, marital status, age, religion, national origin, disability, veteran’s status, ethnicity, pregnancy, s*xual orientation or genetic information. To obtain more information about the College’s equal access and equal opportunity policies, procedures and practices, please contact the College’s Civil Rights Compliance Officer: Cindy Lau Evans, Director, Equal Opportunity Programs/ ADA Coordinator/ Title IX Coordinator, at (305) 237-2577 (Voice) or 711 (Relay Service). 11011 SW 104 St., Room 1102-01; Miami, FL 33176. [email protected]

05/30/2026

Have you picked up a copy of our latest Freedom Tower edition? We are honored to present the work of Amanda Bradley, the artist behind our most recent Freedom Tower print.

We invited Amanda to create this special print as a way to consider our oral history archive. We ask nearly all of our oral history participants: how do you define home?

Amanda Bradley is a Belizean American artist, curator and arts professional based between Miami and Belize. She received a BFA in Photography from New World School of the Arts. Her work explores place and landscape as a means to connect and understand identity, belonging, histories, and relationships. Her work has been included in exhibitions internationally. She is the founder of Between Currents, an open source space to support, archive and inspire Caribbean cultural production. Bradley was a DVCAI Artist-in-residence in Suriname in 2023, WOPHA Artist-in-residence at Faena in 2020 and participated in the Home + Away residency at Atlantic Center for the Arts with Oolite Arts in 2019. She is a recipient of the Knight Foundation Art and Technology Expansion Fund, a 2025 and 2024 Catalyst Award from DVCAI, and a two time Suncoast Regional Emmy award winning producer. Her work is in the collections of MIA Galleries, at Miami International Airport, and Miami-Dade County Art in Public Places.

This video was made by Sofía Soler, our intern and MDC alum.

05/24/2026

From 1962 to 1974, medical care at the Freedom Tower served as an important part of the services offered to Cuban refugees. These medical services included dental care, check ups, medications, and vaccinations. Learn more about the medical care and other services offered at the Freedom Tower when you visit the exhibition, “El Refugio in Context.” Join us for a special guided tour on Friday at 12pm. Secure your tickets via the link in our bio. Open hours are Wed through Sunday, 10am to 6pm.

All photos courtesy of the Cuban Refugee Center Records, Cuban Heritage Collection, University of Miami.

05/23/2026

Are you ready for the ?
Connect with the magic of fútbol and visit “Unidad: The World’s Game” organized by . Brush up on your knowledge before the FIFA World Cup begins!

Check out the link in our bio to secure your tickets for the Freedom Tower and for a memorable fútbol experience!

05/15/2026

Our growing archive is accessible to visitors at the Freedom Tower and includes newspaper articles, a Pedro Pan logbook, oral history transcripts, and family photos. Oral history participant Antonio Yong shared these photos of his family in Cuba. Search through family photos and more at the Freedom Tower or join us for a tour this Friday at 12pm to learn more about our growing archive and how to contribute.

All photos courtesy of Antonio Gonzalo Yong Andrade.

05/11/2026

Enjoy free family fun at the Freedom Tower!
Join us this Sunday for Freedom Family Day.
Featured guests include Environmental Resource Supervisor Joy Klein, who will lead a botanist lesson inspired by Mark Catesby’s books featured at the Kislak Center, and author Simone Russell for a special story time in the Knight Skylight Gallery. Russell will read from her children’s book honoring Jamaican cultural traditions. Come to learn and play!

• Free parking: Visitors to the Freedom Tower are welcome to park at MDC’s Parking Lot 1 on Sundays, located on the south side of the Freedom Tower.
Entrance on NE 5th.

Image by Liliana Mora

05/10/2026

Happy Mother’s Day from the Freedom Tower. We honor the many mothers who bravely passed through our doors when the building served as the Cuban Refugee Center or as it was known locally, El Refugio.

We share our love and admiration for all the mothers featured in our exhibitions.

Image courtesy of the Cuban Refugee Center Records, Cuban Heritage Collection, University of Miami, Coral Gables, Florida

05/03/2026

Photographer Diego Waisman connects with archival materials and portrays a changing Miami through different bodies of work. We were thrilled to work with him on our project doxumenting entrepreneurship in the Knight Skylight Gallery.

Here is a selection of photos from sessions with Brenda Guatemala and Michael Villavicencio of Raspado’s Loly’s, Fashion Designer Fábrica Tardieu, Mariana Shaw, co-owner of Empanada’s, and Thierry Adam and Leonardo Lanaro of Flower Bazaar.

See images by Diego and learn more about these Miamians and their businesses in the Knight Skylight Gallery at the Freedom Tower.

04/28/2026

Since opening to the public six months ago, the Knight Skylight Gallery has become a place to gather and a space where wellness, history and art merge together. Join us for a free yoga class led by Romina Carpio this Saturday at 9am.

04/21/2026

In the Knight Skylight Gallery at the Freedom Tower, visitors can learn about many Miamians including Jan Mapou.

Born in Les Cayes, Haiti, he co-founded Sosyete Koukouy in 1965, and relocated to Miami in 1984 following political persecution. Mapou is the owner of Libreri Mapou, a bookstore located in Little Haiti. He is a leader and advocate for arts and culture, and a poet, playwright, columnist and radio host. We celebrate Mapou’s story in the Knight Skylight Gallery.

Photos by Clara Toro.

04/17/2026

Today we mark history.
Honor. Respect. Bravery.

In 1961, the 1,414 Cuban exiles of Brigade 2506—mostly young men trained by the U.S.- invaded Cuba at the Bay of Pigs in an attempt to overthrow Fidel Castro.

The Bay of Pigs invasion began on April 17, 1961. By April 19, it was clear the Brigade had not succeeded, as it was denied the essential and critical support it was promised.

In all, over 100 exile fighters lost their lives; most of the others were imprisoned for over 20 months before being released and sent to Miami, where many reunited with their families. The spirit of these Brigade 2506 veterans and their hope for a free and democratic Cuba continues to characterize the Cuban exile community today.

We celebrate and honor Brigade 2605 and the opening of the new Bay of Pigs Museum and Library in Little Havana.

Image credit:
Bay of Pigs vets return, Dinner Key Auditorium; jubilant family members greet a smiling veteran
Photo ran in the Miami News on December 24, 1962
Miami News Photograph Collection
Image courtesy of HistoryMiami Museum

Address

600 Biscayne Boulevard
Miami, FL
33132

Telephone

(305) 237-7700

Website

https://linktr.ee/freedomtowermiami

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when MDC Freedom Tower posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Museum

Send a message to MDC Freedom Tower:

Shortcuts

Featured

Contemporary Art Projects USA
111 SW 3rd Street Suite 602

Want your museum to be the top-listed Museum in Miami?