By Ron Ortiz
A few years ago, I came across a cache of real photo postcards that captured the fascinating Art Deco hotel architecture of South Miami Beach in the pre-World War II period. I've visited South Beach many times since but this winter, I decided to try to find the structures pictured in my postcards.
My quest took me up Collins Avenue and down Ocean Drive but unfortunately, most of the structures as they are pictured in my postcards no longer exist, either torn down and replaced or dramatically changed. Alas, gone were the White House Hotel, the Hotel New Yorker, the Bancroft, the Shorecrest and the Sands.
Of course, South Beach has gone through many changes since 1939 when it was the destination for wealthy Easterners who boarded high speed trains traveling the railroad lines built by Henry Flagler in the early part of the 20th century. Flagler's railroad was the primary influence in the development of Miami and Miami Beach.
World War II brought about the first dramatic change in South Beach when the US Government took over the hotels to house the military units that were training in Florida's sunshine. After the war, the tourist business resumed but gradually moved north when affluent structures like the Fontainebleau and Eden Rock were built. With the exodus of the tourists from South Beach, the once elegant Art Deco hotels fell into disrepair and became havens for the economy traveler and the older indigent retirees. Many beautiful Art Deco buildings were torn down during this period. as well as other Art Deco architecture. Today this area is considered one of the richest commercial districts on the beach.
THE NATIONAL HOTEL is pretty much unchanged from the original architecture as it was built in 1939 by noted architect Roy France. As South Beach's popularity began to decline in the 1960s, the National, along with many other hotels, began to deteriorate. Fortunately, the current owners purchased the hotel in 1996 and have spent over $20 million restoring this genuine Art Deco classic to its original stylish and sophisticated elegance. Fortunately, Miami Beach's very own Barbara Capitman spearheaded a drive in 1977, to place the Art Deco historic district on the National Register of Historic Places, thereby saving the dying hotels and
ORIGINALLY A TWELVE-STORY HOTEL, THE ST. MORITZ is now the Lowe's Miami Beach Hotel Complex with the historic Art Deco structure connected to an adjacent 18-story tower. Fortunately, the original hotel is virtually untouched and still remains a South Beach Art Deco classic even though the Lowes Complex appears to overpower its original clean lines and during a drive-by on Collins Avenue, the St. Moritz is nearly unnoticed.
HOFFMAN'S CAFETERIA, originally built in 1939 was a Henry Hohauser masterpiece located at Collins Avenue and Espanola Way in the heart of the Art Deco district. It was later converted into the Warsaw Ballroom, which fell into despair in the 1960s. After several attempts as nightclubs and dance studios, the structure has re-opened as Jerry's Famous Deli, a California chain with nine locations, mostly in California. The 24-hour deli still retains Art Deco flair both inside and outside with its nautical looks complete with the original glass block windows and "portholes."
Today South Beach (SoBe to the hip crowd) is alive with nightlife, celebrities, leggy models and many sidewalk restaurants where the "people watching" is as varied as the cuisine. While the area has changed dramatically since 1939, efforts continue to preserve the Art Deco atmosphere, especially during the Art-Deco Weekend that has been presented by the Miami Design Preservation League every January since 1977.
