The Miami Beach Architectural District (also known as Old Miami Beach Historic District and the more popular term Miami Art Deco District) is a U.S. historic district (designated as such on May 14, 1979) located in the

South Beach South Beach, also nicknamed colloquially as SoBe, is a neighborhood in Miami Beach, Florida. It is located east of Miami between Biscayne Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. The area encompasses Miami Beach south of Dade Boulevard. This area was the ...

neighborhood of

Miami Beach Miami Beach is a coastal resort city in Miami-Dade County, Florida. It was incorporated on March 26, 1915. The municipality is located on natural and man-made barrier islands between the Atlantic Ocean and Biscayne Bay, the latter of which ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and ...

. The area is well known as the district where Italian fashion designer

Gianni Versace Giovanni Maria "Gianni" Versace (; 2 December 1946 – 15 July 1997) was an Italian fashion designer, socialite and businessman. He was the founder of Versace, an international luxury-fashion house that produces accessories, fragrances, make-u ...

lived and was assassinated by

Andrew Cunanan Andrew Phillip Cunanan (August 31, 1969 – July 23, 1997) was an American spree killer who murdered five people over three months from April 27 to July 15, 1997. His victims include Italian fashion designer Gianni Versace and Chicago real esta ...

, in a mansion on Ocean Drive. It is bounded by the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

to the east, Sixth Street to the south, Alton Road to the west and the Collins Canal and Dade Boulevard to the north. It contains 960 historic buildings.

Historical significance

This historic district holds the largest collection of

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unit ...

buildings in the world, an umbrella term covering a range of styles such as “Streamline”, “Tropical”, and “Med-deco” and built mostly between the Great Depression and the early 1940s. Notably, the architectural movement reached Miami after the city’s real estate market took a downturn in 1925, and the "Great Miami Hurricane" of 1926 that left 25,000 people homeless throughout the greater Miami region. The designs are often described as evoking technological modernity, resilience, and optimism. The Miami Beach Art Deco Museum describes the Miami building boom as coming mostly during the second phase of the architectural movement known as

Streamline Moderne Streamline Moderne is an international style of Art Deco architecture and design that emerged in the 1930s. Inspired by aerodynamic design, it emphasized curving forms, long horizontal lines, and sometimes nautical elements. In industrial desig ...

, a style that was “buttressed by the belief that times would get better, and was infused with the optimistic futurism extolled at American’s World Fairs of the 1930s.” In 1989, it was listed in ''A Guide to Florida's Historic Architecture'', published by the

University of Florida Press A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...

.''A Guide to Florida's Historic Architecture'', 1989, Gainesville: University of Florida Press, p. 145, The district includes areas of seasonal hotels, commercial strips, and residential area. 1042 searchable pages of materials from 1979 to 2012. Includes a series of 37 black and white photos, a series of 57 b&w photos from 1978, correspondence, maps, newspaper clippings, additional documentation and a 2012 amendment with 15 color photos from 2010-12. Hotels on Ocean Drive, which can actually face the ocean, run from 5th to 15th Streets and front onto Lummus Park, a public park and beach. Many of these "reflect the influences of the Moderne Style perpetuated at the International expositions of the 1930s": the Chicago World's Fair of 1933 and the New York World's Fair of 1939. These include: *Amsterdam Palace (1930), 1114-16 Ocean Drive, "one of the best examples of the

Mediterranean Revival Mediterranean Revival is an architectural style introduced in the United States, Canada, and certain other countries in the 19th century. It incorporated references from Spanish Renaissance, Spanish Colonial, Italian Renaissance, French Colonia ...

style to be seen in Miami Beach" Built around a central court-yard, it was designed as a replica or derivative of Christopher Columbus' home in Santo Domingo, in the Dominican Republic. *the Victor (1937), 1144 Ocean Drive,

International International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations". International may also refer to: Music Albums * ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011 * ''International'' (New Order album), 2002 * ''International'' (The T ...

*the Tides (1936), 1220 Ocean Drive, Decorated Moderne (See fig. 8 in NRHP document), *the Carlyle (l94l), 1250 Ocean Drive, Moderne (See fig. 5), *the Cardoza (1939), 1300 Ocean Drive, Moderne, *the Netherlands (1935), 1330 Ocean Drive, Decorated Moderne, and *the Winterhaven (1939), 1400 Ocean Drive. The district also includes: *the Greystone Hotel (1939), 1920 Collins Ave., three stories, Decorated Moderne, designed by

Henry Hohauser Henry Hohauser (May 27, 1895 in New York, New York – March 31, 1963 in Lawrence, New York) was an architect in Miami Beach, Florida. He is known for his Art Deco architecture stylings, and is listed as a "Great Floridian"; in 1993, he was ranked ...

Surfcomber Hotel The Surfcomber Hotel is a boutique hotel on Collins Avenue in the Miami Beach Architectural District, historic Art Deco district of South Beach in Miami Beach, Florida, Miami Beach, Florida. The hotel was built in 1948 and was acquired by the Kimpt ...

(1948), Decorated Moderne *

Raleigh Hotel (Miami Beach) The Raleigh Hotel in the South Beach section of Miami Beach, Florida is an art deco building designed by L. Murray Dixon. It is located at 1775 Collins Avenue. The hotel was closed in 2017 after damage from Hurricane Irma. In 2019 it was purchase ...

(1940)

Notable architects

Albert Anis Albert Anis (1889–1964) was an architect in Miami, Florida known for his Art Deco architecture. He was one of a group of American-born architects working in Miami Beach who synthesized the austere architectural principles of the International S ...

Lester Avery Lester Avery was an architect in the United States. Avery began his career in Clearwater and is known for his Mid-Century Modern architecture apartment buildings in Miami and ranch style home designs with angled, flat roofs and merging wings.

* L. Murray Dixon * Charles R. Greco *

Gallery

File:1) Park Central (1937).jpg, Park Central (Henry Hohauser, 1937) File:2) Imperial (1939).jpg, Imperial (1939) File:3) Majestic (1940).jpg, Majestic (Albert Anis, 1940) File:4) Avalon (1941).jpg, Avalon (Albert Anis, 1941) File:5) Beacon (1936).jpg, Beacon (Henry O. Nelson, 1936) File:6) Colony (1935).jpg, Colony (Henry Hohauser, 1935) File:7) Waldorf Towers (1937).jpg, Waldorf Towers (Albert Anis, 1937) File:Breakwater Hotel 2020.jpg, Breakwater (Anton Skislewicz, 1939) File:9) Edison (1935).jpg, Edison (Henry Hohauser, 1935) File:10) Clevelander (1939) 2.jpg, Clevelander (Albert Anis, 1939) File:11) Adrian (1934).jpg, Adrian (1934) File:Leslie, Ocean Drive, Miami Beach, FL.jpg, Leslie (Albert Anis, 1937) File:13) Carlyle (1941).jpg, Carlyle (1941) File:Boulevard Hotel (Neon sign), Miami Beach.jpg, Boulevard Hotel (August Swarz, 1950) File:14) Cardozo (1939) 2.jpg, Cardozo (Henry Hohauser, 1939) File:Art Deco Cavalier Hotel, Miami Beach, Florida LCCN2011631110.tif, Cavalier (1936) File:Miami Beach Architectural District 2012 135.jpg, Netherlands Hotel (1935) File:Miami Beach Architectural District 2012 138.jpg, McAlpin Hotel (L. Murray Dixon, 1940) File:16) Marlin.jpg, Marlin Hotel File:17) Essex House.jpg, Essex House (Henry Hohauser, 1938)

References

External links

*https://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/geo-flor/39.htm National Register of Historic Places Travel Itinerary: Florida Historic Places - Miami Beach Architectural District] *
Miami Beach Architectural District, FL - Google Maps
{{Authority control Miami Beach Architectural District, Geography of Miami-Dade County, Florida National Register of Historic Places in Miami-Dade County, Florida Buildings and structures in Miami Beach, Florida Art Deco architecture in Florida Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Florida Historic American Buildings Survey in Florida