The Freedom Tower In Time
1925
The Miami News completes construction of the building, its new headquarters.
1957
The newspaper vacates the building for different headquarters.
1962
The building reopens as a processing center for refugees, who dub it the "Freedom Tower."
1974
The U.S. government closes the Cuban Refugee Emergency Center.
1976
The building is purchased by New York lawyer Sam Polur.
1978
Citibank Corp. buys the property.
1981
Ownership transfers hands again, this time to Southeast Bank Trust. The building sits unoccupied, suffers vandalism and is left in disrepair.
1987
The building is bought by Zaminco International, a Saudi Arabian consortium with plans for a luxury office building and banquet hall. The first major renovation begins.
1997
Cuban American National Foundation founder Jorge Mas Canosa acquires the property and plans to convert it into a monument for Cuban refugees. The second major renovation begins in 2000 under the direction of Canosa's son, Jorge Mas Santos.
2004
The Freedom Tower is sold to the Pedro Martin family.
2005
The Pedro Martin family graciously donates the Freedom Tower to Miami Dade College.
2008
The restored building earns the much-deserved designation as a National Historic Landmark.
2012
Miami Dade College establishes the MDC Museum of Art + Design, a 15,000 square foot exhibition space on the second floor and relocates administrative offices of Miami International Film Festival and MDC Live Arts to form a fully operational cultural center in Downtown Miami.
2014
Miami Dade College inaugurates the opening of the Cuban Exile Experience & Cuban Diaspora Cultural Legacy Gallery.
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