1674-1 Henry Hohauser mh HENRY HOTEL STILL AN ART DECO BEACON HOHAUSER CREATION HAS NEW 03/28/1999
THE MIAMI HERALD
Copyright (c) 1999, The Miami Herald
DATE: Sunday, March 28, 1999 EDITION: Final
SECTION: Neighbors BC PAGE: 44BC LENGTH: 94 lines
ILLUSTRATION: photo: Henry Hotel (A)
SOURCE/CREDIT LINE: Herald staff
HENRY HOTEL STILL AN ART DECO BEACON HOHAUSER CREATION HAS NEW LIFE
The old adage bigger is better might not necessarily hold true in all
cases. Take for instance the Henry Hotel on 536 Washington Ave.
This modest hotel began serving clientele in 1939, providing affordable
accommodations within walking distance of the beach and stores.
For those unable or unwilling to splurge on a resort hotel, the Henry
offered reasonable prices along with an ideal location to enjoy everything the
Beach had to offer.
, It's named after an individual who is probably familiar to everyone who has
set foot on the beach.
You might not know him by name, but chances are you've seen his work.
He's Henry Hohauser, designer of hundreds of buildings on Miami Beach
during the 30s and 40s and an architect whose name is synonymous with Art
Deco.
Some of his creations: the Albion Market, 1442 Collins Ave. ; Shepley Hotel,
1340 Collins Ave. ; the Commodore Hotel, 1360 Collins Ave. ; the Webster, 1220
Collins Ave. and the Colony, at 736 Ocean Dr.
Between the years of 1934 and 1940, hundreds of hotels and apartment
buildings were built on Miami Beach.
Unlike Miami, where the depression was taking its toll and development was
flagging, Miami Beach was breaking ground for new developments and digging its
way out of the bust.
One man who was responsible for designing many of these buildings was
Hohauser.
He came to Miami Beach from New York in 1932, one of several architects
working in a variety of styles that have come to be known generically as Art
Deco.
These styles included Zig-Zag, Moderne, Streamline and Depression Moderne.
Hohauser is generally credited with being the originator of modernism in
Miami Beach. He was a prolific architect whose firm eventually designed more
than 300 Miami-area buildings.
In 1939, Hohauser designed the Henry Hotel and named it after himself.
Located just a few minutes walk from the beach, the 50-room hotel offered a
prime location for vacationers at a fraction of the price the larger hotels
charged.
Its simple Deco style was attractive and its two large sun terraces were
all some people needed to relax and enjoy themselves.
But Hohauser did not limit his designs to small hotels. That same year he
designed the Cardozo hotel. This Streamline Moderne hotel was named after
Supreme Court Justice Benjamin Cardozo, who served on the court from 1932
until his death in 1938.
The hotel was featured in the Frank Capra movie A Hole in the Head with
Frank Sinatra, Edward G. Robinson and Thelma Ritter.
Both of these Hohauser hotels prospered throughout the 40s and 50s. In
1974, when the Beach was in its period of decline, the Henry was sold to its
present owner, Ludwig Schod.
Schod purchased the Henry from a real estate speculator. In the years prior
to his ownership, the Henry was being used as a retirement home for elderly
Beach residents.
"When I bought it, it was in good shape, " said Schod, "but as the years
went on, it slowly went down. "
Schod turned the Henry into a rooming house where people could rent rooms
by the week, month, or year.
. Throughout the Beach's lean years, the Henry managed to avoid the wrecking
ball, but another one of Hohauser's hotels was not so lucky.
In 1982, the New Yorker at 1611 Collins Ave. , was on its way to becoming
the latest casualty in a South Beach renewal plan aimed at getting rid of
buildings considered derelict or structurally unsound.
Some of these buildings, like the New Yorker, were prime examples of Art
Deco architecture and the Miami Design Preservation League wanted them
protected.
A September 1982 Miami Herald article captured some of the conflict between
aficionados of Deco and those who wanted the buildings torn down.
Squaring off in front of the New Yorker, MDPL Co-Chairman Mitchell Wolfson
Jr. argued with demolitionist Dan Feldman.
"There's a special spirit, a special vocabulary to the building, " said
Wolfson.
"The molding is warped. The windows are warped. This building is falling
down, " argued Feldman.
"The distinction lies in the form, the architecture, " retorted Wolfson.
"What are you going to do when a wall collapses and kills somebody?"
asked Feldman.
Eventually, the New Yorker was torn down, but recognition of the value of
Art Deco buildings was to increase in the coming years.
Today the Henry Hotel, along with many of Hohauser's other buildings, is
acknowledged by the MDPL as a classic example of Art Deco.
In January, an extensive six-month renovation was completed. Schod updated
the plumbing and electrical works of the building. He removed all carpeting
and installed tile floors.
Now, after 24 years of being a rooming house, the Henry is once again
operating as a hotel.
And it stills bears the name of an Art Deco pioneer - Henry Hohauser.
CAPTION: RANDY BAZEMORE / Herald Staff A HOTEL AGAIN: After 24 years as a
rooming house, the Henry Hotel has received an extensive renovation. Henry
Hohauser's building remains a prime example of Art Deco design.
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