Sightseeing in Miami with its low buildings, shopping arcades and storefronts tightly packed with merchandise evoke Miami’s origins as a trading town. On West Flagler Street the original 1920s Olympia Theater has become the Gusman Center for the Performing Arts, a worthy venue for concerts and performances. A few blocks away, a broad Mediterranean piazza is at the heart of the Miami-Dade Cultural Center, cornered by the graceful arches, barrel tile roofs and cream-colored stucco of the main public library. Also on the piazza, the Miami Art Museum showcases changing exhibits of international art, while the Historical Museum of Southern Florida interweaves the tapestry of local and regional history through permanent and special exhibits. On Biscayne Boulevard, the Freedom Tower, built in1925 as Miami’s first skyscraper, recorded city events when it housed the offices of the Miami Daily News and then played a starring part as the gateway to freedom for thousands of Cuban refugees. Across the Boulevard, the white sculpted curves of the American Airlines Arena mark the home of the NBA’s Miami Heat. Football is celebrated in the Orange Bowl, home of the University of Miami Hurricanes team.