Miami Beach is home to the world’s largest collection of Art Deco architecture—a vibrant pastel canvas of sweeping curves, geometric forms, and breezy coastal flair. Rooted in the Streamline Moderne movement, Art Deco celebrates modernity, technological progress, and an optimistic spirit. Urban historian Bill Keene offers an overview of Art Deco as a worldwide phenomenon, charting the rise, fall, and resurgence of Miami’s noted district. He also explores the distinctive “Tropical Deco” style that flourished in the city’s unique cultural and environmental setting beginning in the late 1920s.
Beginning in the late 1920s, architects like Henry Hohauser and L. Murray Dixon adapted European modernism to Florida’s climate and resort culture. Hotels and apartment buildings featured glass block, terrazzo, nautical lines, and stylized natural motifs, turning Ocean Drive and Collins Avenue into showcases of American modern design.
Keene highlights landmarks such as the Colony and Carlyle hotels and the Bass Museum as he explores how war, postwar development, and changing tastes led to decades of neglect and demolition threats. By the 1970s, many Deco buildings faced destruction as developers pursued high-rise projects, but In 1979, the Miami Art Deco District was officially designated a U.S. historic district.
From neon glow and porthole windows to sunburst details and symmetry, Miami’s Art Deco district reflects both the optimism of its era and the success of preservation efforts. Keene explores how design, tourism, and community advocacy transformed a fading resort town into a celebrated landmark of American style.
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