See early history of Key Biscayne.
Early in the 20th Century, two-thirds of Key Biscayne was farmed as the largest coconut plantation in the continental United States. It wasn't until the construction of the seven-mile Rickenbacker Causeway in 1947 that the island became a convenient place to live. The Causeway was named after Eddie Rickenbacker, a World War I flying ace and former president of Eastern Airlines. The Mackle Construction Company built hundreds of ranch and cottage homes for returning Korean War veterans in the 1950s. Fishing, boating and beachcombing were popular pastimes for the working class residents of the new suburban island community.
President Richard Nixon purchased the first of his three waterfront homes, forming a compound known as the Florida White House, in 1969 to be close to his close friend and confidant, Bebe Rebozo and industrialist Robert Abplanalp (inventor of the modern spray can valve). Bebe Rebozo, owner of the Key Biscayne Bank, was indicted for laundering a $100,000 donation from Howard Hughes to the Nixon election campaign. President Kennedy and Nixon met for the first time after the 1960 Election loss by Nixon in an oceanfront villa at the old Key Biscayne Hotel. Plans for the Watergate break-in at Democratic headquarters were discussed at the Key Biscayne Nixon compound and, as the Watergate scandal unfolded, Nixon spent more time in seclusion there. Nixon visited Key Biscayne more than 50 times between 1969 and 1973. The U.S. Department of Defense spent $400,000 constructing a helicopter landing pad in Biscayne Bay adjacent to the Nixon compound and when Nixon sold his property, including the helicopter pad, there were public accusations that he enriched himself at taxpayer expense.
In 1992, Hurricane Andrew flooded some homes and businesses on Key Biscayne but the eye wall passed over uninhabited Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park which received the brunt of the storm. The storm damage was a blessing for the park because it destroyed all the non-native vegetation that the state had been trying to eradicate. Federal and State funding allowed the replanting with native vegetation making the park a showplace natural area. In recent years the construction of several large resort hotels, condominium complexes and shopping centers on the island as the once bucolic island life continued to accelerate at a frenetic pace. The area was incorporated as a new city in 1992 which gave the Village control over its taxes and future development. The Village has its own fire, police and a newly expanded public elementary and middle school. The tax rate remains the lowest of any city in Miami-Dade County. The Village has just completed a new civic center including fire, police and administration buildings and a well appointed recreation and community center with indoor multi use courts, and outdoor swimming pool.
Key Biscayne increasingly caters to an elite population of business moguls, high-income professionals, and a significant influx of Latin American tourists and part-time residents fleeing political and economic instability in their home countries.
Demographics
As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there were 10,507 people, 4,259 households, and 2,900 families residing in the village. The population density was 8,225.0/mi. There were 6,378 housing units at an average density of 1,923.9/km² (4,992.8/mi²).
