Historic Hialeah Park to reopen in November
The Miami Herald reports: For eight long years, Hialeah Park was a historic landmark in hibernation -- its future in doubt, its famous Renaissance Revival architecture slowly fading away.These days, Hialeah Park is a busy place. Armed with its new quarter-horse permit -- and racing dates approved this week by the state -- Hialeah Park is gearing up for a Nov. 28 reopening.
Roughly 150 construction workers are doing double shifts painting ceilings, patching damaged pipes and sweeping floors. As the deadline gets nearer, they might go to triple shifts.
"It will definitely be presentable. . . . for sure,'' said Orlando Ceballos, the construction project manager.
Will Hialeah, which first opened in 1925, once again exude the grandeur that so many fondly remember? Not completely, as large portions of the massive restoration effort won't be done by the time Hialeah again welcomes the public.
Visitors at first will be allowed into the clubhouse area, but other sections still being repaired -- such as the grandstand -- will remain closed.
Gambling options will also be limited, as slot machines are not expected to arrive until a year or so from now.
State lawmakers this year jolted Hialeah back to life by allowing the track to install slots after holding races for two calendar years. Hialeah is knocking out that requirement all at once -- holding one 20-day race season in November and December, and another season in January and February.
Though initially limited to shorter -- and less glamorous -- quarter-horse races, Hialeah Park hopes to add thoroughbred events in the future. Once open, horses will run at Hialeah until Feb. 2.
Already, 800 temporary horse stalls have been erected, and the once-overgrown track has been trimmed and clipped back into racing shape.
Though a work-in-progress, Hialeah Park's unexpected rebirth holds tremendous significance for both South Florida's growing gambling industry and the working-class city of Hialeah -- Miami-Dade's second-largest municipality.
"It will definitely be presentable. . . . for sure,'' said Orlando Ceballos, the construction project manager.
Will Hialeah, which first opened in 1925, once again exude the grandeur that so many fondly remember? Not completely, as large portions of the massive restoration effort won't be done by the time Hialeah again welcomes the public.
Visitors at first will be allowed into the clubhouse area, but other sections still being repaired -- such as the grandstand -- will remain closed.
Gambling options will also be limited, as slot machines are not expected to arrive until a year or so from now.
State lawmakers this year jolted Hialeah back to life by allowing the track to install slots after holding races for two calendar years. Hialeah is knocking out that requirement all at once -- holding one 20-day race season in November and December, and another season in January and February.
Though initially limited to shorter -- and less glamorous -- quarter-horse races, Hialeah Park hopes to add thoroughbred events in the future. Once open, horses will run at Hialeah until Feb. 2.
Already, 800 temporary horse stalls have been erected, and the once-overgrown track has been trimmed and clipped back into racing shape.
Though a work-in-progress, Hialeah Park's unexpected rebirth holds tremendous significance for both South Florida's growing gambling industry and the working-class city of Hialeah -- Miami-Dade's second-largest municipality.
--> On a personal note, we're really excited to visit the site where so many world figures used to vacation. We have high hopes for this piece of revitalized history in our own back yard!
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