South Beach Miami - Art Deco Heaven

South Miami Beach is probably one of the most photographed cities in the United States. It is home to what may be the densest collection of art deco architecture in the United States. It is hard to find something new to say, in fact, when I visited Art Deco Visitors Center I asked if there were any buildings or areas that might not have been well represented in writing. I was told that it was all well documented. How do you write a piece about an area that has been so well covered in print and on the Internet? So I took my camera out and just documented what I found interesting. Here it is.

A good place to start is at The Art Deco Visitors Center on Miami Beach. 

The Art Deco Welcome Center

The Center has an excellent museum ($5) on the history of the development of South Beach along with the development of Art Deco architecture. It is a great place to start your walk around the neighborhood.

As you walk along Ocean drive you will find many wonderful examples of Art Deco buildings.

 
One of the hotels that I found most impressive was The Tides.

The Tides

 As you enter from Ocean Drive there is a courtyard with places to sit and enjoy the sun, shade and to people watch.

The lobby at the Tides is a beautiful example of the best of Art Deco design.

The Tides - Lobby Lamp

The Tides - Wall Mural

The Tides - Lobby

The Tides - Lobby - The large statues are actually chairs

Walking around South Beach there are many more examples of wonderful buildings:

 One example of a smaller but lovely art deco hotel is The South Beach Plaza Hotel. A couple of blocks off of the beach, this small hotel is a couple of blocks off of the beach. Its lobby is also a great example of art deco work.

South Beach Plaza - wall decoration

South Beach Plaza Lobby

South Beach Plaza - Lobby

South Beach Plaza - De Castro Bar

South Beach Plaza - De Castro Bar

If you are looking for a place to eat, walk over to Española Way. This two-block stretch of restaurants replicates a street in Spain, or to me, Puerto Rico.

Anyway you look at it, a walk around South Beach will bring you hours of architectural wonder.