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1663-1 Art Deco The American Experience I Mr. Miami Beach I Special Features: Deco Miami Beach Page 1 of 2 4 titli,, ;nimmillurlirif KIDS I HOME THE FILM&MORE POSTCARDS AMERICA BY CAR MIAMI BEACH TODAY SPECIAL FEATURES MAPS Deco Miami Beach PEOPLE A EVENTS MCWS GUIDE Barbara Capitman and Leonard Horowitz visited South Miami Beach in the mid-seventies and discovered a forgotten treasure trove of American architecture.Nestled on the narrow strip of land between the two beaches were hundreds of significant but decaying buildings.Among these was a number of structures built primarily in the 1930's and 1940's in the style known as CAN! E RIlModerne or Art Deco. The principal architects of Deco South Beach,Henry Hohauser and L.Murray Dixon,shared with their peers a design palette featuring streamlined curves, jutting towers,window"eyebrows,"and neon. Smaller,cheaper to build,and less ostentatious than edifices like Carl Fisher's Flamingo,the South Beach Deco buildings seemed perfectly suited to a city created for sun,sand,and relaxation. As the years passed,many of the Deco marvels fell to the wrecking ball or languished in disrepair.But in 1979,Capitman,Horowitz,and the organization they helped found,the Miami Design Preservation League,worked with other preservationists to win National Register Designation for a one-square mile area of South Beach that became known as the Art Deco District. Subsequently,many of the Deco buildings were restored. The Breakwater Hotel(Anton Skislewicz, 1939) Neon signs effectively announced a hotel's presence ' to weary travelers.The cobalt blue of the A r Breakwater's neon conjures the colors of the sea. K t Vi The Senator Hotel(L.Murray Dixon, 1939) t Developers tried to tear down the Senator and build a parking garage,but public protests won the building a temporary stay of execution. .t The Collins Park Hotel(Henry Hohauser, 1939) The glass entryway,rounded corners,window * eyebrows,and"modem"look mark a dramatic ..mosp.,, break from the Mediterranean style of many earlier Miami Beach hotels. e.-` Kti•. t,.. e Surfcomber(McKay&Gibbs, 1948)This building's squared ebrows look forward to a newer *tx ;" e t le.Leonard Horowitz updated the r •xteriors of many of the South Beach ,, o buildings with a confectionary ':stet paint scheme. • The Surfcomber The Essex House Hotel(Henry Hohauser, 1938)The porthole windows and http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/miami/sfeature/decomiamibeach.html 6/21/2004 The American Experience I Mr. Miami Beach I Special Features: Deco Miami Beach Page 2 of 2 smokestack-like neon tower give this building the fantastic air of a landlocked ocean liner. The Cavalier Hotel(Roy F.France, 1936)More serious and less"Moderne,"the Cavalier seems a closer relation to Carl Fisher's Flamingo than to the funky,streamlined works of Hohauser and Dixon. The Shelbome(Igor B. Polevitsky, 1954)Builtr 7:- later and larger than most of its South Beach cousins,the Shelbome lacks the curves of earlier 1 rn-: works but recalls them in its signage.Characteristic 4 ii window eyebrows remain. - i e Century Hotel , mn-- ... .-_ . rp , . ferry Hohauser, 1939) .lightly battered and the Ca:3i er .tripped of its neon,the y Century survives. ourist and development pressure threatens to ;: ' •verwhelm the remaining Deco buildings in South ti t is•ach. -URIf ,e Tyler Hotel(Albert Anis, 1940)Echoing the Streamlined prows of trains,ships,and automobiles, lotiA. .ny of the Deco buildings seem poised to take •tion. F.-P2F.-P2(:ntury Postcards I America By Car I Miami Beach Today I Deco Miami Beach The Film&More I Special Features I Maps I People&Events I Teacher's Guide The American Experience I Kids I Feedback I Search I Shop I Subscribe © New content 1999-2000 PBS Online/V BH http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/miami/sfeature/decomiamibeach.html 6/21/2004