Art Deco Buildings in South Beach

“What”, you might ask, “is an Art Deco Building and why should I care?” The Art Deco architectural style was one that was made popular in the 1920’s and 1930’s. It represented a leap into the future and embracement of the new world that was emerging.  

Miami Beach was not the only part of the world that came under the influence of the Art Deco Architectural movement. The Golden Gate Bridge, The Empire State Building and the Chrysler Building were also influenced by Art Deco although later than the buildings which were built in Miami Beach during the mid 1920’s....still the Art Deco influence is very apparent in these famous structures.

Sometimes Art Deco architecture is mistakenly identified as “art nouveau” but there is most assuredly a difference. Art Nouveau was a style that was popular much earlier that Art Deco and Art Deco exhibits a stronger connection to modernism. Art Deco emphases function, logic and geometry.

The building facades of the art deco period of the 1920's and 1930’s were inspired by the ancient art of Egypt partly because of the exciting discovery of Tutankhamen's tomb in 1922. Buildings of the 1920's and ‘30’s were constructed of smooth stucco. They had clean lines, terrazzo floors, neon lights, and nautical motifs. With the advancement in travel — cross-Atlantic ocean liners and the beginnings of flight exploration — speed became a metaphor for those times. Art Deco reflected all of these things.

The lines of Art Deco buildings are clean and sleek. The buildings are above all things functional.

The wonderful Art Deco buildings in South Beach were almost lost. The area became blighted and the buildings fell into a sad state of disrepair. Some were torn down and some of those that were left standing were remodeled. It seemed as though these beautiful old buildings that were such a significant part of Miami Beach history would become the causalities of progress.

Then, thankfully, along came Barbara Baer Capitman in 1976. She formed the Miami Design Preservation League (MDPL) and set out to change things. She stated her vision like this: “preserve the architecture and design of the art deco district, and the cultural, social, and economic growth and welfare of the area will follow." It could have turned into the usual war between conservation and progress but it didn’t.

It wasn’t always easy or smooth but the private sector did come to realize the economic value of restoration. There were 800 buildings that were originally slated for restoration. Of that number 755 have been completed. Not bad!

In South Beach the restoration of the buildings was what rescued the district from the brink of financial disaster but the process was occasionally painful. All remodeling that had ever been done to the Art Deco buildings had to be undone. The buildings had to be restored to their original design.

The modernization of the Art Deco buildings has been done of course. Nobody would want to stay in a hotel with all of the conveniences available in 1930 but the modernization has been done in such a way that the ambience of the building is maintained.