Art Deco District

So, today’s weather forecast sunny, no wind and no rain forecast… Hmm well they get the weather wrong here too, ok so not like yesterday but there was a shower or two whilst out, the wind is still blowing (the lifeguards are now flying yellow not red flags on the beach) and the sun has shown itself a few times – hurrah..!

Todays agenda – The Miami Design Preservation League guided walking tour of the Art Deco District… We started out taking a bit of magical mystery bus tour of Miami South Beach, getting on the Southe Beach local bus which is 25cents per journey! to head down to 10th for the walking tour… However the bus didn’t exactly go the rout I thought it would. Instead we had a bit of a mystery tour, then the bus pulled up outside a supermarket where we were told this was the last stop!!! Walking round the corner there was the next bus stop where we waited for a few minutes for the ‘next’ bus to come along. After a bit of a convoluted route round we did end up at our planned destination and arriving ‘just’ in time for the walking tour!!!

Commencing at the welcome centre with a bit of history of Miami South Beach, the walking tour was underway. John Collins (a new Jersey Quaker) was an advocado grower who came to Miami. He and Carl Fisher, together in 1913 embarked on an agriculture venture on a spit of oceanfront beach and started a bridge across the bay. Miami Beach was born and Carl Fisher felt this would be a good tourist spot!

Much of what they then built was destroyed in a category 4 hurricane in 1926, Miami was devastated. Following this the rebuild commenced going with the styles of the time hence the numerous art deco buildings along Miami beach.

World War II brought another 100,000 people to Greater Miami and the Beaches when the Army Air Corps and the navy established major training centers. Many of these servicemen made the area their permanent home after the war. By the end of the 1950s, South Florida had doubled its pre-war population.

When Fidel Castro took over Cuba in 1959, no one dreamed that the revolution would change Miami as much as Cuba. The Cuban exiles who were just beginning to pour into the area were bringing the next Miami with them. The ’60s and ’80s brought mind-boggling change as more than half-a-million Cuban exiles fled to Miami to start a new life. These enterprising refugees launched the area into its future as what many call the “Capital of the Americas.”

The 1980s and early ’90s brought a multi-billion dollar infusion of investment capital that produced a beautiful new Miami downtown skyline, a reborn Miami Beach, a modernized transportation infrastructure and a new way of life that features the arts, culture, sports and entertainment, all with an international accent. Although it has changed almost beyond recognition (again), Miami Beach has thrived amidst change and overcome many difficulties.

Greater Miami and the City of Miami Beach continue to be an international mecca for travel, business and to establish a home.

And so we commenced our walking tour along Ocean drive and beyond, not all the architecture here is Art Deco (late 20’s/30’s), we also saw mediterranean revival (1950 onwards) and MiMo (Miami Modern 70’s and 80’s). There was no re-building during the 1940’s due to the second world war.

Art Deco’s Identifying Characteristics

Eyebrows:
Cantilevered Window Shades Included In The Buildings Structure. Eyebrows Look Like A “Shelf” Placed Above A Window. Eyebrows Shade Direct Sunlight And Keep Interior Cool.

Ziggurat or Stepped Pediment:
Profiled Like A Staircase – Up Down, Up Down. Also Known As “Zig-Zag” Or “Lightning Bolt.” Ziggurats Are Seen On The Roofline Of Buildings Recreating Egyptian Motifs.

Rounded Corners:
Technology Allowed For Construction To Be Built With Rounded Corners. In The 1930′ s And 1940’s, The Design Of Airplanes, Ships, Trains, And Automobiles Influenced Architecture. Rounded Corners Made Buildings Appear Aerodynamic, Fast And Sleek.

The foyer/entrance of The Carlyle hotel (above) was where filming took place for Miami Vice! This was also where the risque Calvin Klein film shoot for perfume Obsession took place. Some of The Birdcage (film) was also shot here but the pool was actually in another hotel a few blocks further north from here. 

Flat Roofs:
Art Deco Or Streamline Buildings Usually Have A Flat Roof Or Multi-Level Flat Roofs.

Threes:
In Art Deco, Everything Seems To Come In Threes. Three Windows, Or Three Bandings Or Three Eyebrows, Or Three Steps Up. Etc. This Is Probably Due To The Egyptian Influence Of The Pyramids or Just Good Design.

Banding Or Racing Stripes:
Horizontal Banding On The Facades Of Buildings, Which Can Be Incised Or Applied In Decorative Materials Such As Tile. Banding Usually Comes In Groups Of “threes”. This Simplified Ornamentation Reinforces Aerodynamic Concepts Of Streamline Moderne. A Great Way To Accent The Architectural Elements Of An Art Deco Building Is To Paint The Banding In A Contrasting Color.
 

The Cardozo hotel (above) is owned by Gloria Estefan & her husband

Columns:
Many Art Deco Buildings Feature Either Whole Columns, Which Stand Away From The Building Or Sliced Columns Attached To The Front Doorway Facade Acting As An Archway.

Glass Block:
Cool, Translucent Squares Of Glass Used Instead Of Brick. Allows For Light Penetration. Glass Block Easily Creates A Ziggurat “Step” Design. Glass Block Has Made A Tremendous Come-Back In Contemporary Design.

Other Elements Include:
Etched Glass
Relief
Porthole Windows
Neon
Terrazzo Flooring
Futuristic Images
Central Balance
Geometric Forms

Mediterranean Revival is a design introduced in the style of palaces and seaside villas and applied them to the rapidly expanding coastal resorts of California and Florida. 

Structures are typically based on a rectangular floor plan, and feature massive, symmetrical primary façades. Stuccoed walls, red tiled roofs, windows in the shape of arches or circles, one or two stories, wood or wrought iron balconies with window grilles, and articulated door surrounds are characteristic. Keystones (local stone) were occasionally employed. Ornamentation may be simple or dramatic. Lush gardens often appear.

This is the famous Versace mansion… The story goes that Versace bought this small pad and had his eye on the place next door to knock down in order to make way for a pool and guest apartments.  However, due to preservation laws here they tried to stop him as no building built prior to 1949 can be destroyed. Versace not satisfied with this got his layers on to the case which he then won as the building was actually completed in 1950!! He duly went on to knock down the hotel and make his desired renovations. It is also where he was shot on his own front steps in 1997. His killer, Andrew Cunanan, committed suicide days later on a houseboat in Miami Beach.. Now, there are some subtle nods to Versace with the ‘V’ planted palms at the front and the plant pots have medusa on which is his company logo.

The actual property has just been re-purchased by another hotel next door and they plan to open it back to the public as a hotel with a restaurant.

MiMo

Any building here in South Beach has to comply with certain preservation and planning restrictions for new buildings as well as maintaining the facade of the older ones. The have to fit in the style but not be false hence you see some similar characteristics but architects also using clever ways to make them subtly different. Here you can see the use of the portholes but on a vertical rather than horizontal plane.

This is another MiMo style building again with the portholes and curves, but is lower just a 2 storey building     

Walk inside the Art Deco buildings and there are even more delights in store, with typical and original features in some, here the lights are of the period, with the balcony too reflecting the Asian influence within the period.

       

These are backlit aluminium panels with a bamboo design again reflecting an Asian influence

Originally this mural was not permitted to have alligators in it for fear of scaring the visitors however when the artist was asked to restore it (he was then aged 91) he left a small alligator in the right hand corner under his signature!

The tiled floors in this lobby are original and beautifully polished (practical too when you realise this is a very short walk from the beach!)

laid into the floor are some hidden messages, there was plenty of illegal gambling in Miami and rather than gamblers going to the front desk and asking where the gambling was taking place, directions were laid into the floor here it is 3 diamonds pointing the way, and then further along the lobby are another 3 each time pointing the direction. 

Below is an example from another less subtle hotel which inlaid 3 arrows into their floor!

Miami Beach’s Art Deco District is the first 20th-century neighbourhood to be recognised by the National Register of Historic Places, with 800 structures of historical significance, most built between 1923 and 1943. The fanciful pastel buildings, with porthole windows, ship-like railings, sleek curves, glass blocks, shiny chrome, and gleaming terrazzo floors are prime eye candy.