As the Sunday morning sun peeked over the Brickell high rises, volunteers with their dogs, kids young and old, basketball players and roller skaters convened in The Underline Brickell Backyard River Room’s first professional photoshoot.

Working in an active construction site during a pandemic posed challenges: construction fences are still up, masks are still on, heavy equipment can be seen from every angle, the gym is not fully built, and the iconic wayfinding isn’t installed. Oh, and we were rained out the week before.

But things also worked for us: the weather was blissful, our photographer Robin Hill was electric, snapping pictures while grabbing the best light. We did yoga, played, talked, walked and biked.

We made new friends. We also discovered.

There are magical views of the Miami River, carpets of peanut, muhly and gamma grasses, butterflies and bees dancing. We have magical experiences awaiting folks taking a yoga class (especially Triangle pose looking upward to the rails and the buildings beyond), playing dominoes or chess or just strolling watching life go by.

We felt validated.

As neighbors looked through the construction fences while walking their dog or strolling with their kids, they were excited. The Underline will soon be their new backyard with something for everyone. Also, transit, trolley and bus goers saw an oasis from urban mobility and a place to hang out while waiting for their next ride.

As we wrapped our photo shoot, we thanked everyone who contributed their Sunday morning to getting pictures of The Underline. Instead of saying “you are welcome”, they thanked us. They said they had fun.

Which we think is perfect.

Meg Daly, Founder Friends of The Underline

Note: Photo of Robin Hill photographer attempting warrior pose :-)