Miami Shipbuilding, Miami FL

This yard was originally called Fogal Boat Yard, Inc., and was owned by Jay Fogal. In 1939 it was reorganized, with new investors, and renamed Miami Shipbuilding Corporation. The yard was on both sides of the Miami River, between SW 2nd and 3rd Avenues, and was the second largest wartime employer in Miami. Its magnificent Art Moderne office building at 615 SW 2nd Ave acted the part of the police station on "Miami Vice" and was a protected building until somebody unprotected it and pulled it down. The post-war boatyard was on the south side of the river, west of the bridge: see it on Google here. Miami Shipbuilding is best known for developing the famous "Miamis", designed by Dair Long, which were the crash boat (technically Air-Sea Rescue Boat, or ASR) of choice in WWII, and they built 740 of them, 329 in their own yard and 411 through subcontracts. After the war, they moved into recreational boats and hydrofoils but closed in the 1970s. Their construction record is very confusing: additoons, comments or queries, please email info@navalmarinearchive.com.

Most recent update: 2021-08-26.