from the Archives

La Flora Hotel 1238 Collins Avenue

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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 with a private bathroom and bathtub and a private telephone. Rates in 1926 were starting at $5 a day for a single person in a room and $6 a day for two people in a room.

In 1937, plans for a remodeled hotel were announced by new owners Mrs. Rose Ritter and William Mechanic. The new building exterior was to be an Art Deco style designed by A.J. Simberg and David Ellis and would include construction of an expansive porch and remodeling the front of the building with a new neon sign. In 1939, there was to be an addition of a passenger elevator, something uncommon in buildings of that time with three stories or less.

Seven decades later, in 2012 the La Flora Hotel went through an extensive renovation and is still preserved today in wonderful condition.

1926 Miami Herald ad
1932 Miami Herald ad
Classified ad from Jewish Floridian on January 7, 1938 for restaurant with kosher dietary laws.
Vintage 1940’s postcard of La Flora Hotel redesigned in the Art Deco Style
Current day photo of La Flora Hotel
Terrazzo floor design today on the front porch of the La Flora Hotel
La Flora built in 1924 as a Mediterranean Revival Hotel.

What would Miami Beach be like without Historic Art Deco, Mediterranean, and MiMo buildings?

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