The tower in the foreground opened in the mid-80's and was in use until December 2002 when operations commenced at the new taller tower. The new air traffic control tower was constructed by the FAA with the Miami-Dade Aviation Department reimbursing them for the costs.

The new tower was built because of the new American Airlines terminal, Concourse D, was so tall that the air traffic controllers could not see aircraft on runway 8R/26L (former 9-left/27-right) or on adjacent taxiways to the south of the runway. The costs of the new tower are never included by anyone in the total costs of the new American terminal at MIA, nor are the costs for the new runway 8L/26R (former 8/26) that was built to accommodate the movement of so many aircraft from the north side of MIA's terminal.