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South Beach Deco Chic
by Bob Brooke
It all began with a
hurricane. The fierce storm temporarily dashed the dream of a vacation
paradise. Nearly 400 people were killed and thousands of buildings
destroyed or damaged. Then the Depression hit. The area fell into a lull
until the mid-1930s, when a new building boom changed the look of
southern Miami Beach: Art Deco architecture began sprouting everywhere.
Radiant pastel buildings sporting geometric and Streamlined Moderne
designs breathed new life into the area.
Miami had been viewed for much of the 20th century as America's tropical
dream destination. Longing for escape and a large dose of sunshine,
visitors continually sought out its palm-fringed beaches and sapphire
waters.
Real estate developer
Carl Fisher envisioned Miami Beach as a seaside paradise. His vision
spurred the construction of streets, hotels, and infrastructure, setting
the foundation for a thriving tourist destination.
 When
the 1920s land boom struck, "binder boys" could be seen standing on
street corners hawking real estate for mere pennies—land that turned
thousands of investors into overnight millionaires. Dazzled by this
new-found investment, wealthy industrialists built fancy oceanfront
estates and began shaping the downtown area.
Waves of "tin can tourists" arrived from the frigid north, setting up
tents and other makeshift homes along Miami's shores. "Miami or Bust"
read the signs along highways across the country as Miami Beach became
the dream vacation destination nationwide..
That all ended suddenly on September 18, 1926 when a catastrophic
hurricane made landfall near Miami Beach in the early morning hours.
Known as the Great Miami Hurricane, the storm cut a path of destruction
across southern Florida. With winds in excess of 150 miles per hour and
storm surge heights topping 11 feet above high tide, the hurricane
nearly wiped out paradise.
After the storm, the rebuilding efforts leaned towards the Art Deco
style to reflect the locale’s nautical, extravagant nature. Art Deco
designs dropped visitors into the world of The Great Gatsby, where
glamour and glitz covered every street corner. Born in the Roaring
Twenties and dancing through the 1930s, this Art Deco style of
architecture embraced edgy, modern expression through glass, concrete,
and steel where sleek lines and zig-zags mingled with chevrons,
sunbursts, and stylized motifs.
 Art
Deco architecture that emerged in the late 1920s and 1930s featured
eclectic forms abstracted from nature, such as birds, butterflies, and
flowers, as well as from ancient Aztec, Mayan, Babylonian, Chaldean,
Egyptian, and Hebrew designs. Streamlined, aerodynamic, and geometric
shapes flourished in the post-Depression building boom
Sherbet-colored buildings with neon signs, rounded corners, vertical
columns, fluted eaves, and Mediterranean arches stand along the streets
of the Art Deco Historic District on the east side of Miami’s South
Beach.
Miami’s version of Art Deco, with its symmetrical, geometric shapes and
vibrant colors, typically included flat roofs, smooth stucco walls with
rounded corners, and lavish use of glass blocks, shiny metals, and neon
lights. As a later phase of Art Deco, the Streamline Moderne movement
introduced aerodynamic design, including horizontal lines and curved
forms to convey a sense of motion and speed.
 Many
featured exotic flora and fauna motifs inside, along with prominent
structural gems, like geometric fountains or statues. Porthole windows
and shiny curves, glass blocks chrome accents and terrazzo floors
embellish whimsical pastel buildings
Bright colors mark the Deco style, from pastel blues and pinks, to
bright oranges, vibrant yellows, greens and more. South Beach’s Art Deco
buildings emerged as bold statements of the times, focusing on symmetry,
ziggurat motifs, and stylized elements borrowed from Egyptian, Mayan,
and other ancient styles.
The Deco Architects
Fancy hotels and luxury condominiums began to crop up along the
coastline, all in the Art Deco style. Fisher knew that to keep up with
the world’s sophisticates, he needed to follow the Art Moderne movement
that was sweeping across Europe at the time, with Floridian architects
Henry Hohauser and Lawrence Murray Dixon creating the signature Miami
Beach style.
Both architects became famous for their introduction of streamlined
curves, window “eyebrows” and the “law of three”—all trademark features
of Miami’s Art Deco buildings. No structure was taller than three
stories high, with each built in three sections, the center of which
played big brother to its smaller twin siblings on either side. The
Colony Hotel on Ocean Drive was a prime example while Murray Dixon’s The
McAlpin apartment building was a perfectly symmetrical, eyebrows and
all, sporting classic shades of pastel pink and turquoise.
Another Deco architect, Albert Anis was one of a group working in Miami
Beach who synthesized the austere architectural principles of the
International Style architecture with their own brand of modern.
 In
the hands of Hohauser, one of the most prolific architects of this
period, the Art Deco style reached its peak. Notable for his designs,
such as the Essex House and the Colony Hotel, Hohauser was responsible
for many iconic buildings that define the Art Deco District today. His
use of nautical elements, tropical motifs, and horizontal lines created
a cohesive yet dynamic rhythm across Miami’s skyline.
 Dixon,
on the other hand, designed such iconic buildings as The Temple House
and The Victor Hotel in 1937, The Tides Hotel in 1936, as well as The
Tiffany, The Marlin, The Senator, and the Tudor Hotel, all built in
1939. He also designed The Raleigh Hotel and the Ritz Plaza Hotel, both
built in 1940, the Regent Hotel, built in 1941, and The Betsy Ross,
built in 1942. His work became known for its curvilinear design.
The Art Deco District
Like a box of candies, the beachfront Ocean Drive between 6th and 23rd
Streets overflows with sherbet colored hotels and cafes. The true
colors, though, emanate from the charming Deco homes and quaint
apartment buildings. Distinct strokes of paint—namely, turquoise, pale
yellow, salmon and seafoam green—have been carefully applied to
cantilevers and parapets, creating a soothing visual effect.
During the post-Depression building boom of the late 1920s and early
1930s,South Beach became flush with an architectural rage called
Streamlined Moderne. These geometric, artsy buildings popped up on every
corner and were soon the neighborhood's mainstay. Now, 80 square
blocks—bounded by the ocean, Lenox Court, and 5th and 23rd streets—bulge
with more than 800 historic buildings, making this the most concentrated
historic district in the country.
Miiami’s Art Deco District houses the largest concentration of Art Deco
architecture in the world. A marble and stained-glass lantern crowns one
of the District’s grandest buildings, the Main Post Office, built in
1928 at 1300 Washington Avenue.. Inside, light streams in through the
glass, reflecting on rich murals and bronze grillwork that creep up a
vast rotunda.
Art Deco hotels line Ocean Drive in South Beach. True to the Deco style,
the powder-blue-and-white 1937 Park Central Hotel is a four-story study
in geometrics. It’s adorned with fluted eaves, octagonal windows and
dramatic vertical columns. sense of the area's past. Also on Ocean
Drive, the Beacon Hotel’s parapets climb the facade and thin racing
stripes slip around the sides of the 1936 building. The "flying saucer
sculptures" at the Clevelander Hotel were all the rage back in 1938.
 The
pink-and-peach Carlyle forms an impressive series of curves, vertical
columns and dramatic circular overhangs called "eyebrows." Built in
1941, the Carlyle features prominent vertical piers and horizontal bands
that typify Art Deco’s love for streamlined forms. On the other hand,
Next door, the 1939 Cardozo Hotel’s U-shaped design snags the most ocean
view possible, and three floors of sleek symmetrical cantilevers and
delicate strokes of cream paint spell streamlined heaven.
The Colony Hotel stands
as a prime example of classic Art Deco design. Renowned for its neon
signage and striking blue hue, this historic hotel continues to be a
beacon along Ocean Drive while the Cavalier features a lobby with
mirrored walls, green marble fireplace, dramatic ceilings and sassy
rattan couches.
Like all trends, the allure of Miami Beach’s Art Deco hotels faded over
time, replaced by the post-war ‘MiMo’ movement—Miami Modern
architecture—a response to the International Style, heavily influenced
by Mies van der Rohe and Oscar Niemeyer.
Miami Beach went from a playground for the rich and famous to a resort
for retirees, as landlords and hoteliers converted many of the 1930s
hotels into retirement homes for the lower and middle classes.
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