Miami Design Preservation League is pleased to make a selection of archival photos, documents, and collectibles available online. Please see below for our most recent posts. Keep this page in your bookmarks and come back to see the latest postings of history, memorabilia, and more! Our archives are interactive and we encourage discussion in the comments section of each post. Stay tuned as we work on new updates and features.
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In honor of Black History Month….did you know The ROYAL PALM HOTEL at 1545 Collins Avenue in 2002 was the first full-service luxury hotel in America to be owned, developed
The Georgian Hotel was located on 1621 Collins Avenue near Lincoln Road. It was designed by architect Joseph J. DeBrita and built in 1940 at a cost of $140,000. Constructed
From 1925 to 1992, Gatti Restaurant at 1427 West Avenue held its place as a shining star with Miami Beach eateries, serving up delicious Northern Italian homemade pasta and fresh
Being that last weekend was our virtual Art Deco Weekend, we wanted to bring you a flashback to a year when the festival was also not able to be held
The Boulevard Hotel is lost but not forgotten….located on Dade Blvd. & Meridian Avenue, it was one of the last hotels developed by Carl Fisher. Designed by Englishman William F.
The Flamingo Hotel was built by pioneering Miami Beach developer Carl G. Fisher on 15th Street & Bay Road. It was designed by Rubush & Hunter and officially opened at
Curry’s Restaurant located at 7433 Collins Avenue was a North Beach favorite among many locals far and wide. It was built in 1937 as an Epicure Restaurant (yes, the same
The Plymouth Hotel is located at 336 21st Street in the Collins Park neighborhood. It was designed by Anton Skislewicz in 1940, as a three story Art Deco Streamline Moderne
Espanola Way Village, which is so popular with tourists and locals now, was the brainchild of developers William Whitman and N.B.T. Roney in the early 1920’s. Originally named The Spanish
The White House Hotel at 15th Street and Ocean Drive was a three story, 178 room structure designed by Roy E. France in the Neocolonial or Georgian style. Meant to
In the seventies, the porch at the Cardozo Hotel at 1300 Ocean Drive had no more than a row of aluminum chairs, with equal numbers of senior citizens who lived in
In 1934, the young artist Earl LaPan, a Massachusettes native came to Miami Beach in search of work. Between 1934 and 1939, he painted murals and created sculptures for more
Excerpt from 1940 Life Magazine article entitled “Miami & Miami Beach; Biggest U.S. Winter resort has biggest boom”….. “In 1912 Miami, Fla., was a sleepy town of 7,500 people and Miami
The many shades of 1430 Ocean Drive…MDPL 1940’s archival postcard of the Clyde Hotel designed by L. Murray Dixon in 1941. In the 1970’s the name changed to Delnick’s Hotel.
Miami Beach sunbathers in the early 20th century would flock to Casinos, which actually were “bathing pavilions” that had nothing to do with gambling. The first bathing casino was built by
“It used to be called Motel Row. And for good reason. Dozens of two-story motels lined Collins Avenue. Some had whimsical themes and architectural flourishes. Concrete camels, mermaids and pyramids…Families
This past year MDPL member Nancy Usatschew generously donated her family’s vintage photographs and articles from the 1930’s- 1940’s. In the 1940’s, twenty-four year old Walter Bura was the world’s
Buttons that had a saying or a political statement were a very popular item to wear in the 1970’s – 1990’s. Courtesy of the Kinerk-Wilhelm Collection shown are photographs of
Barbara Baer Capitman was always an art and design lover. Perhaps she inherited this passion from her mother, Mrs. Myrtle Baer, who was an artist in her own right in the 1950’s.
Developer Carl G. Fisher (1874–1939)—was a self-made millionaire who transformed Miami Beach into a winter tourist destination at the beginning of the twentieth century. It was Fisher who built several of Miami
La Flora Hotel at 1238 Collins Avenue, when opened in 1924, was a Mediterranean Revival Hotel designed by architect George L. Pfeiffer. It was three stories high and had 45 rooms, each
On June 1, 2020, artist Christo, known in South Florida for his public art project “Surrounded Islands”, passed away. Christo’s 30-month project to encircle eleven islands in Biscayne Bay with bright pink plastic
Here at MDPL we love Art Deco buildings with decorative spires! Pictures from our 2001 archives of the Tudor, Kent and Tiffany Hotels were taken by Alex Rodriguez (the late
Flamingo Plaza at 1051-1055 Meridian Avenue in the Flamingo Park area, was a classic Art Deco Hotel. Designed by L. Murray Dixon in 1937, this 38 room structure has a
1450 Collins Avenue is an Art Deco structure in the Nautical Moderne style that has had many lives. With wave-like designs and vertical images it evokes the feeling of a