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Miami is renowned for its Deco architecture so, for the next few hours, prise yourself away from the beaches and soak up some of the prettiest concrete around. The best place to start is at the Art Deco Welcome Center, at Ocean and 10th Street. This stretch is named Barbara Capitman Way after the preservationist who founded the Miami Design Preservation League in 1976. Step inside for a permanent exhibit on Deco style, then head outside and go north along colourful Ocean Ave; between 12th and 14th Streets you'll see three classic examples of Deco hotels: the Leslie, a typically boxy shape; the Carlyle, more modernistic and featured in the film The Birdcage ; and the elegant Cardozo, built by Henry Hohauser and featuring sleek, rounded edges. Stop at 14th St to see the sun-drenched Winter Haven Hotel with its fabulous terrazzo floors. From there, turn left and head to Washington Avenue at 13th St to the US Post Office, a curvy block of white Deco and the first restoration project for South Beach's revitalization in the 1970s. The interior sports a WPA-project wall mural, domed ceiling and marble stamp tables.
Keep it in theme when you stop for lunch by eating at the 11th Street Diner, a gleaming aluminium Pullman car. Get a window seat to take in the view of the stunningly restored 1936 Hotel Astor across the street. Saddle up a coffee then walk half a block south to the imposing Wolfsonian/FIU, an amazing museum of design that was formerly the Washington Storage Company, storing the sparkly goods of wealthy holidaying snowbirds of the '30s. From there, turn left on 7th St, continuing north along Collins to The Hotel, built in 1939 and now featuring an interior and roof deck by Todd Oldham. Finish up by turning right on 9th Street and walking one block to Ocean Ave, where you'll spy non-stop Deco beauties - enough to make you want to swan into the nearest hotel for a martini and pithy F. Scott Fitzgerald-esque conversation.
A Top Day in Miami
Ouch. What did I drink last night? An ashtray, based off the taste of my mouth. Best get some caffeine to stave off the hangover, and fresh Florida orange juice to wash off the tongue, at Puerto Sagua in South Beach. Then I believe I'll sleep on the beach...What? Oh, you want a full top day. Well, assuming my head is clear, after a swim I might stroll past some Deco hotels and visit the Wolfsonian-FIU to put their design in cultural context. I'll sip a coffee and browse the shelves in Books and Books on Lincoln Road, and then roll up Collins Ave in my station wagon, listening to '80s music and imagining I'm in Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. I'll hang a left onto Arthur Godfrey Rd, Miami Beach's Jewish main street, because its lunch time and I want a chopped liver sandwich, stat. Except the deli, while delicious, doesn't help my stomach. So I head over Julia Tuttle Causeway and into Little Haiti to stop at a botanica to visit a vodou doctor. I don't know if his medicine helps me, but the colors and smells of this neighborhood always lift my spirits. As evening sets in I have a great meal at Michy's on Biscayne Blvd, then drive into Downtown to catch live shows at PS 14 and Transit Lounge. As last call rings out, the sun is rising and I'm craving a Colombian hot dog topped with mayonnaise and God-knows-what-else, plus a refajo (beer with red soda) at great, late-night diner La Moon. Then it's back over AIA, cranking out the '80s again as the sun rises, to sleep the next day off - another perfect itinerary, come to think of it.
Author: Kim GrantRelated Travel Stories
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