Miami Modernist architecture, or MiMo, is a regional style of architecture that developed in

South Florida South Florida, sometimes colloquially shortened to SoFlo, is the Regions of the United States#Florida, southernmost region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is one of Florida's three most commonly referred to directional regions; the two others are ...

during the

post-war A post-war or postwar period is the interval immediately following the end of a war. The term usually refers to a varying period of time after World War II, which ended in 1945. A post-war period can become an interwar period or interbellum, ...

period. The style was internationally recognized as a regionalist response to the

International Style The International Style is a major architectural style and movement that began in western Europe in the 1920s and dominated modern architecture until the 1970s. It is defined by strict adherence to Functionalism (architecture), functional and Fo ...

. It can be seen in most of the larger

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

and

Miami Beach Miami Beach is a coastal resort city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. It is part of the Miami metropolitan area of South Florida. The municipality is located on natural and human-made barrier islands between the Atlantic Ocean an ...

resorts built after the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

. Because MiMo styling was not just a response to international architectural movements but also to client demands, themes of glamour, fun, and material excess were added to otherwise stark, minimalist, and efficient styles of the era. The style can be most observed today in Middle and Upper Miami Beach along Collins Avenue, as well as along the Biscayne Boulevard corridor starting from around Midtown, through the Design District and into the Upper Eastside. The term MiMo has only recently been associated with the style. Popularity of the term is credited to Miami Beach resident Randall C. Robinson and interior designer Teri D'Amico. Principal examples of MiMo include the Fontainebleau Hotel, Eden Roc, Seacoast Towers,

Deauville Deauville () is a communes of France, commune in the Calvados (department), Calvados department, Normandy (administrative region), Normandy, northwestern France. Major attractions include its port, harbour, Race track, race course, marinas, con ...

, and Di Lido hotels by famed architect Morris Lapidus; Norman Giller's Carillon Hotel, which was voted Miami Beach's "Hotel of the Year" in 1959; and the original Diplomat Hotel in

Hollywood, Florida Hollywood is a city in Broward County, Florida, United States. It is a suburb in the Miami metropolitan area. The population of Hollywood was 153,067 as of 2020, making it the Broward County#Communities, third-largest city in Broward County, th ...

. To some degree, Miami developed the style through the work of younger architects immediately after the war; they were more closely aligned with media promotions and

sensationalism In journalism and mass media, sensationalism is a type of editorial tactic. Events and topics in news stories are selected and worded to excite the greatest number of readers and viewers. This style of news reporting encourages biased or emoti ...

than older architects of the era. The region successfully transposed its extravagant resort styling to a national audience easily captivated by the area’s relative exoticism. The area along Biscayne Boulevard is now the designated "MiMo Biscayne Boulevard Historic District" or more uniquely named "MiMo on BiBo", for "Miami Modern on Biscayne Boulevard". MiMo Historic District runs roughly from 50th Street to 77th Street along Biscayne Boulevard, although MiMo can be found in the Design District and Midtown. Many annual festivals are held to promote MiMo architecture, such as "Cinco de MiMo" a play on "Cinco de Mayo" in early May. The area is bounded by the Little River to the north, Bay Point Estates to the south, the

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to the west, and

Biscayne Bay Biscayne Bay is a lagoon with characteristics of an estuary located on the Atlantic coast of South Florida. The northern end of the lagoon is surrounded by the densely developed heart of the Miami metropolitan area while the southern end is large ...

to the east.

Gallery

Wiki-office.jpg, Kobi Karp offices along Miami's Biscayne Boulevard Lincoln Road Mall-6.jpg, MiMo architectural follies on Lincoln Road MiMo restaurant 20110218.jpg, Restaurant in the MiMo District

Partial list of MiMo buildings

Bay Harbor Islands, Florida *Coral Sea Towers (Carlos B. Schoeppl, 1956) - 10300 W Bay Harbor Drive, Bay Harbor Islands Doral *Pepsi-Cola Bottling Pavilion (Daverman & Associates c: 1965) – 7777 NW 41st Street

*Biscayne Plaza Shopping Center (Robert Fitch Smith, 1953) – 7900 Biscayne Boulevard *Dupont Plaza Center (Petersen & Shuflin, 1957) – 300 Biscayne Boulevard Way (demolished in 2004 to give way to the EPIC Miami Residences and Hotel). *Gold Dust, 7700 Biscayne Blvd *Miami Herald (Naess & Murphy, 1960) – One Herald Plaza (Demolished Aug 2014 – Feb 2015) *New Yorker Boutique Hotel (Norman Giller, 1953) – 6500 Biscayne Boulevard *Shalimar Motel (Edwin Reeder, 1950) – 6200 Biscayne Boulevard *Sinbad Motel (1953) – 6150 Biscayne Boulevard *South Pacific Motel (1953) – 6300 Biscayne Boulevard *Temple Menorah *Thunderbird Motel (Norman Giller, 1955) – 18401 Collins Avenue *Union Planters Bank (Francis Hoffman, 1958) – 1133 Normandy Drive * Vagabond Motel ( Robert Swartburg, 1953) – 7301 Biscayne Boulevard (Reopened as the Vagabond Hotel in 2013)

* The Creek South Beach Motel (Originally Ankara Motel) (Reiff & Feldman, 1954) – 2360 Collins Avenue *Crystal House ( Morris Lapidus, 1960) – 5055 Collins Avenue *Deco Palm Apartments (Gilbert Fein, 1958) – 6930 Rue Versailles * Deauville Beach Resort, (demolished in 2022) *Imperial House (Melvin Grossman, 1963) – 5255 Collins Avenue *International Inn (Melvin Grossman, 1956) – 2301 Normandy Drive, Normandy Isle *

Jackie Gleason Herbert John Gleason (born Herbert Walton Gleason Jr.; February 26, 1916June 24, 1987), known as Jackie Gleason, was an American comedian, actor, writer, and composer also known as "The Great One". He developed a style and characters from growin ...

House (

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.

, 1959) – 2232 Alton Road * Lincoln Road Mall (Morris Lapidus, 1960) *Miami Beach Bandshell (1961 by Norman Giller and Associates) 7275 Collins Ave - North Beach, Miami Beach *King Cole Condominium (Melvin Grossman, 1961) – 900 Bay Dr. *Royal York Hotel (1950), 5875 Collins Avenue (demolished prior to 2004)

References

External links

Vagabond Motel (Robert Swartburg, 1953)

MiMo Historic District

Article on MiMO Architecture with photos.
Wides-Munoz, Laura (AP), ''Offbeat Miami: the Miami Modern District or MiMo'', on ABC News Travel
{{Architecture in the United States American architectural styles Modernist architecture in Florida

Gallery

Partial list of MiMo buildings

See also

References

External links