Miami Center for Architecture & Design

Downtown Miami


It makes sense that the Miami branch of the American Institute of Architects would pick the Old US Post Office as headquarters of their Center for Architecture & Design. Constructed in 1912, this was the first federal building in Miami. It features a low-pitched roof, elaborate doors and carved entryways, and was purchased in 1937 to serve as the country’s first savings and loan association.

Today it houses lectures and events related to architecture, design and urban planning, and hosts a small but vibrant exhibition on all of the above subjects. Two-hour walking tours on alternate Saturdays depart from here (at 10am), and take in some of the historic buildings of Downtown. Visit the website for upcoming times and reservations.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby Downtown Miami attractions

1. Void Projects

0.17 MILES

If you'd like to meet local artists and see how life is lived on a smaller, more modest scale in Miami's creative pockets, visit this arts collective –…

2. Miami-Dade County Courthouse

0.23 MILES

If you end up on trial here, at least you’ll get a free tour of one of the most imposing courthouses in the USA. Built between 1925 and 1929, this a very…

3. HistoryMiami

0.27 MILES

South Florida – a land of escaped slaves, guerrilla Native Americans, gangsters, land grabbers, pirates, tourists, drug dealers and alligators – has a…

4. Miami-Dade Public Library

0.33 MILES

To learn more about Florida (especially South Florida), take a browse through the extensive Florida Collection, or ask about the Romer Photograph…

5. Bayfront Park

0.35 MILES

Few American parks can claim to front such a lovely stretch of turquoise as Biscayne Bay, but Miamians are lucky like that. Noted artist and landscape…

6. Museum of Art and Design at MDC

0.36 MILES

Miami-Dade College operates a small but well-curated art museum in Downtown; the permanent collection includes works by Matisse, Picasso and Chagall and…

7. Freedom Tower

0.37 MILES

An iconic slice of Miami's old skyline, the richly ornamented Freedom Tower is one of two surviving towers modeled after the Giralda bell tower in Spain’s…

8. Miami Riverwalk

0.49 MILES

This pedestrian walkway follows along the northern edge of the river as it bisects Downtown, and offers some peaceful vantage points of bridges and…