Capablanca Street, West Miami

A few months ago, in April 1970 & 1995 'On the Cover' (April 2020), I quoted from the 1994 USCF Yearbook: 'Anchorage, Alaska, has the only subdivision with a chess theme I have seen or heard of.' This photo isn't quite a subdivision, but it still has a story.

Jose Raul Capablanca Street Sign, West Miami © Flickr user Phillip Pessar under Creative Commons.

The description informed,

He was a Cuban world chess champion.

Since you're reading this post on this blog, you undoubtedly know that already. More interesting is 'Why name a Miami street after Capablanca?' From Miami-Dade Legislative Item, File Number: 062148 (miamidade.gov; July 2006):-

WHEREAS, this Board has conducted a public hearing to consider codesignating and urging the City of West Miami to codesignate SW 16th Street from SW 57th Avenue to SW 62nd Avenue as Jose Raul Capablanca Street; and
WHEREAS, Jose Raul Capablanca was born in Havana, Cuba on November 19, 1888; he was educated in the United States and studied engineering at Columbia University; and
WHEREAS, Jose Raul Capablanca learned chess at the age of 4 by watching his father play and in 1901, at the age of 12, he beat Corzo, the Cuban champion; and
[...]
WHEREAS, this Board would like to honor the memory of Jose Raul Capablanca with this codesignation, since he is a legend in the Cuban community and still revered as the superstar he was in his day; and
[...]

To make the change after ten 'WHEREAS'es, 'The Clerk of the Board is hereby directed to transmit a certified copy of this resolution to the':-

• City Commission of West Miami,
• Public Works Department,
• United States Postal Service,
• Traffic Signals and Signs Division of the Public Works Department
• Land Development Division of the Public Works Department,
• Miami-Dade Police Department, and
• Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Department

I bet they don't change street names too often.