Collins Avenue is named after a farmer who came for avocados.

John S. Collins was born in Moorestown, New Jersey in 1837, a Quaker who ran a plant nursery long before he ever saw Florida. He bought land down here in 1891, and by 1907 his groves were producing mangoes, avocados, tomatoes and potatoes on ground most people still wrote off as swamp. Avocados were sold as alligator pears back then, and hardly anyone in America had tasted one.

From a New Jersey nursery to a bridge across the bay

Then he hit the wall every grower hits. The fruit was ripe and there was no way to move it. No road, no bridge, only boats. Collins dredged a canal through to Biscayne Bay, and when that still was not enough he did something no reasonable 74 year old does. He started building a bridge.

The money ran out halfway across. Carl Fisher stepped in with $50,000 and 200 acres of Collins land in the deal. On June 12, 1913 the bridge opened, two and a half miles of wood, billed as the longest wooden bridge in the world. Two years later Miami Beach became a town. He was a farmer. The city was a side effect.

Did you know who Collins Avenue was named after?

Where to find us on Collins

Green Market sits at 5101 Collins Ave in Miami Beach, open 7am to 10pm every day. Coffee from the espresso bar starts at $2.50, combos from $5.79. Walk in from the beach, or order on WhatsApp at +1 (305) 876-4513 and we deliver across Miami Beach.