Art Deco Miami At Its Best

When it comes to Art Deco Miami is one of my favorite places. Between 1920 and 1940 it becomes a world wide movement in architecture, interior design and even industrial design. You will find that there are many things like films and pieces of art that also fashion this type of style.

Title picture: The Beach Patrol Headquarters Building mimics the lines of 1920’s era ocean liners and was designed by Robert Taylor in 1934.

Something that you’ll want to think about it that the beautiful designs of art deco architecture has become very modern and also it still is mixing things up with even today’s styles.

Let’s Start Our Art Deco Tour Miami.

Art Deco Miami Beach: The Berkeley Shore, designed by Albert Anis in 1940.

The movement was a mixture of many different styles, incorporating cubism, modernism, Bauhaus, Art Nouveau, Futurism and its popularity peaked in the roaring twenties. Miami’s Art Deco District contains the largest concentration of vibrant pastel colored resort architecture in the world.

Art Deco district Miami Beach: Peter Miller Hotel, created by architect Russell Pancoast.

Art deco Miami is a must see.

There were many other architectural styles that also had some political roots, and also they had some philosophical influences, but when it comes to Art Deco in Miami it is just more than simple decoration.

The Surfcomber combines the ornamental Art Deco styles with the streamlined design of the late forties and fifties, McKay & Gibbs in 1948.

But why do we find so many art deco buildings in Miami?

It’s just all about the right timing. When Miami Beach was built up from the ground, the Art Deco movement was just in full swing and the style of choice. The typical Miami art deco “tropical deco” buildings show ornamentation featuring whimsical flora, fauna and ocean-liner motifs to shape the image as a recreational seaside resort.

Art Deco hotel Miami: The Colony, by Henry Hohauser in 1935.

Miami Beach Art Deco district: Senior High School. The Miami Art Deco District is within Alton Road, Collins Canal and 6th Street, in total it counts more than 800 buildings.

design by Henry Hohauser in 1938

Designed to be elegant, functional and modern it is maybe not one of the best-known pieces of Art Deco architecture in Miami but it’s Art Deco in it’s most simplest form, the Art Deco Miami Beach post office.

Miami Beach Art Deco: Post Office

Miami Art Deco: The Governor Hotel, built in 1939 by architect Henry Hohauser.

With the art deco architecture it is mainly composed of many man-made pieces with lines were very symmetrical and repetitive throughout structures. Materials commonly used in Art Deco being concrete, stucco, concrete, and marble.

Miami Art Deco district: The Lincoln-Drexel Building built in the 1930´s.

Very simple and very practical, Art Deco became most popular during the depression, but still reminded people of the better times and gave them hope of one day reliving them. Although after Second World War people lost interest in the art deco style it is seen in interior design well into the 1960’s.

Something that you’ll want to think about it that the beautiful designs of art deco architecture has become very modern and also it still is mixing things up with even today’s styles. Throughout the United States, you will still find that Art Deco is still alive in some of the bigger cities, but combined with the tropical atmosphere and lifestyle, Art Deco Miami is simply unique in its way.

Art Deco district Miami Beach: The Cavalier Hotel, Roy F. France, 1936

Picture credit: colros – License Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic (CC BY-SA 2.0)