Renovations at Miami's Freedom Tower finishing up ahead of its 100th anniversary celebration
Built to impress in the Mediterranean style, 100 years ago it was home to the Miami Daily News and the headquarters for the Cox newspaper chain.
This week workers scrambled to finish a massive $25 million renovation to mark the building's centennial anniversary.
Madeline Pumariega, the president of Miami Dade College. She recently gave CBS News Miami a tour of the facility, noting the planned innovations.
"This hallway is intended to depict a journey, a journey to freedom so many that have come in search of hope and opportunity," she said.
Pumariega is referring to the hundreds of thousands of Cuban refugees who passed the historic building from 1962 through 1974.
The Federal Cuban Assistance Program provided Cuban exiles and refugees with financial aid, food, medical care and guidance on setting up life in America.
Carman Valdivia remembers visiting the Freedom Tower in her childhood.
"They would take us there for the doctors and dentists and things like that," she said.
Cuban exile doctors were allowed to practice inside the Freedom Tower, while new arrivals learned English there.
When the federal refugee funding ran out, the building fell into hard times and was in disrepair. It changed hands several times and was eventually rescued by the family of the late Jorge Mas Canosa.
In 2003, the building gained attention again thanks to a massive memorial to "The Queen of Salsa" Celia Cruz.
Miami Dade College later acquired the Freedom Tower and is now spearheading the renovations which include digital displays and exhibits, like the stacks of suitcases. The Castro regime would only allow exiles three changes of clothes and not much else when they exited the island.
The exiles came to America with all they had packed in one suitcase. They often kept their suitcases along with the airline tickets that flew them to freedom.
Pumariega said the stacks of 1960s luggage is a powerful reminder for many of where they come from.
There is plenty of Miami history in this iconic building which will re-open to the public later this summer or early fall.
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