Everything you ever wanted to know about art deco

Miami Beach is much more than a tropical paradise and a popular tourist destination, it is rich in history, culture and some of the most amazing and unique architecture in the world. Art Deco is the most prevalent and recognizable architectural style in Miami Beach. Art Deco is an eclectic art and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally during the 1930s, in the World War II era. Miami Beach’s Art Deco District contains the largest concentration of Deco resort architecture in the world, with some thirty vibrantly colored hotel blocks and apartment houses dating from the 1920s to 1940s. These buildings represent an era in which Miami was heavily promoted and developed as a “tropical playground”.

Art Deco is considered one of the first architectural styles of the 20th century in America to break away from traditional Revival forms to embrace influences from many different styles, including Neoclassical, Constructivism, Cubism, Modernism, and Futurism. Building forms in the style were typically angular and clean, with stepped facades, symmetrical or asymmetrical massages, and strong vertical accents. The preferred decorative language included geometric patterns, abstract natural forms, modern industrial symbols, and ancient cultural motifs employing Mayan, Egyptian, and Native American themes.

At Ocean Beach (now known as South Beach), the architects used a unique form of local imagery to create what we now call “Tropical Deco.” The style employed nautical themes as well as floral and tropical fauna motifs. Ocean liners, palm trees, and flamingos adorned the exteriors and interiors of the new local architecture. Preferred materials for executing this distinctive “artistic” decoration included bas-relief stucco, keystone, etched glass, a variety of metals, cast concrete, patterned terrazzo, and others.

Much of the Art Deco design can be attributed to the architect Morris Lapidus. His first major commission was the Miami Beach Sans Souci Hotel, followed closely by the Nautilus, the Di Lido, the Biltmore Terrace and the Algiers, along Collins Avenue, which involved single-handedly redesigning an entire district. . The hotels were an immediate popular success. Then, in 1952, he landed the job at Miami Beach’s largest luxury hotel, the Hotel Fontainebleau, one of the most historically and architecturally significant hotels in Miami Beach and considered the most important building of Lapidus’ career. Before the 27 colors of paint on the Fontainebleau had dried, Lapidus had his second big commission, the Eden Rock, a luxury hotel to be located right next door. Around 1960, Lapidus was commissioned to redesign Lincoln Road. Lapidus’s design for Lincoln Road, complete with gardens, fountains, shelters and an amphitheater, reflected the style of Miami Modern Architecture, or “MiMo,” that Lapidus pioneered in the 1950s. The Road was closed to traffic and became one of the first pedestrian malls in the country.

Art Deco remains a popular style among shoppers who come to the South Beach Market. I have sold more Art Deco properties than I can count and enjoy discovering the unique attributes of each Art Deco property…no two are alike. I recently closed a sale at Harriet Court at 1508 Pennsylvania Avenue for $385,000. Harriet Court, like many Art Deco properties, has been completely renovated and elegantly blends the past with the present, encompassing all of today’s modern conveniences and design features.