Originally, high school classes took place in Miami's first schoolhouse, a two-story frame structure that was built in 1898 on what is now NE 1st Avenue, between 3rd and 4th Streets.

It was "discovered" in 1983 by a local historian and, in January 2003, was moved to its current location in Southside Park, where it has since been renovated and opened as a community center.

He gave the school an impressive entrance off Flagler Street "of three arched portals befitting a Gothic cathedral," according to the American Institute of Architects' Miami architecture guide.

Structural changes were made to accommodate a newly installed air conditioning system that closed off the building's high ceilings.

The original windows on the building were sealed with bricks before the completion of the work, and students suffered in hot classrooms for a large portion of the year.

As of 2013, Miami Senior High School is 94% Hispanic (primarily Cuban, Honduran, Guatemalan, and Salvadorean), 3% White (non-Hispanic), and 3% Black.

[8] By the 1950s, a large Jewish minority had developed at Miami Senior High School, and Jews made up the majority of the students in some advanced-level classes.

[8] Beginning in 2010, Miami Senior High School underwent a four-year historic restoration, renovation, and remodeling project at a cost of approximately $55 million.