El Portal Apartments for Rent

For those wanting to experience authentic 1930s South Florida architecture, the little village of El Portal, a neighborhood in Miami, Florida is just the ticket. This is primarily a quiet, residential community of older single-family cottages and bungalows. It features streets shaded by sprawling live oaks, some more than 75 years old, which provide a haven for wildlife. There is little traffic, considering it is just minutes away from downtown Miami.

El Portal is also a good place to practice language fluency; English is spoken by 52 percent of residents, while French Creole made up 24 percent, Spanish 23 percent, French one percent, and Patois – sometimes mistakenly called “Jamaican” — 0.86 percent.

This small, picturesque and historic village in Miami-Dade County is located between Miami Shores and Miami. Its name is derived from the Spanish word puerta, or gate, after two huge wooden gates, formerly at the entrance to the village on Northeast Second Avenue, which were taken down in the 1940s.

El Portal is a little less than one square mile, and is bordered on the north by 91st Street, Northeast Fifth Avenue on the east and Northwest Fifth Avenue on the west. It is bordered to the south by the Little River, a habitat for a number of native wading birds. The village was designated as an official bird sanctuary by the state for more than 50 years. A nature trail winds its way through the village.

El Portal hosts one of Florida’s most unique historic sites, the Little River Mound, which offers links to prehistoric Indian life here and was the first archeological site to receive historic designation in Miami-Dade County. El Portal was originally the capital of the Tequesta tribal area.

The population of El Portal is approximately 2,500. The median income for a household in the village was $39,681, and the median income for a family was $41,029.

The village does not have a commercial district; residents usually go to nearby neighborhoods to shop. El Portal has one public school, Horace Mann Middle. The Liberty City Charter School, an elementary school, is close by.