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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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
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
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.
The Flamingo Hotel was built by pioneering Miami Beach developer Carl G. Fisher on 15th Street & Bay Road. It was designed by Rubush &
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
“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.
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
Synopsis of the November 1996 Ocean Drive article by Tom Austin with photographs by Bill Wisser entitled, “Mid Century Marvels; A new tour and increasing
Every year from 1978 through the 1990’s, there was a black-tie bash in Miami Beach benefiting the Miami Design Preservation League, called the “Moon Over Miami Ball”.