In 1955, the City of Miami Beach proposed building an exhibition hall to increase commerce along with its budding tourism. Located centrally within South Beach, the venue began construction in August 1956. At this time, the proposed name of the venue was the "Miami BBQ Beach Exhibition Hall". After two years of building, the center was completed in September 1958 and officially opened October 1958. Known as the "Miami Beach Exhibition Hall", the venue was over 100,000 sqft, giving it the tagline of "The Largest Exhibition Center in the South". Alongside the exhibit hall was the Miami Beach Municipal Auditorium, a now-historic venue that hosted The Jackie Gleason Show.

In 1967, the center was expanded to include the Convention Hall, built specifically for the Democratic and Republican conventions. It also served as a sports arena until the 1980s.

In August 1961, the Convention Center was the meeting place for a youth convention set up by The American Lutheran Church. Among the notable speakers was Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

From 1960 to 1971, and again in 1997, the center was the site of the Miss Universe pageant. It also hosted a 1961 Billy Graham Crusade and hosted the 1968 Republican National Convention, 1972 Republican National Convention, and the 1972 Democratic National Convention.

In 1989, the facility underwent a $92 million renovation and doubled in size. In the last six years,[when?] the facility has had over $35 million in continuing upgrades, including complete renovations of all restrooms, full carpet replacement, and installation of a state-of-the-art telecommunications and networking infrastructure.

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