By Jay Whipple
Trend Magazine Online™
Well Done!cont′d
Trend Magazine Online™
Well Done!cont′d
Our guide stated that the now world famous Art Deco
area of South Beach extends from 1st to 22nd
Street (south to north), and that Mr. Carl Fisher (Fisher
Island), an industrialist from Indiana (bet you can't say it fast 3
times), spearheaded the movement to convert South Beach into a
playground for the rich and famous beginning in the roaring 1920's. Two
major setbacks followed beginning with the infamous hurricane of 1926
and the stock market crash in 1929. Right about then -- believe
it or not -- it began to rain seemingly on cue. South Florida is well
known for a flash rain lasting for a few minutes and then, Walla, sunshine
again! Our down pour began at 10:45 A.M., we ran for shelter, and then
it stopped.
Our guide Gina continued with the 1930's
and the New Deal U.S. government headed up by former President Franklin
D. Roosevelt. This phenomenon paved the way for workers to receive
vacations and back then, she said, you could rent a hotel room here for just $7
(US) per night. Today that won't cover the cost of the key card.
Prohibition then ended, per our guide, and that opened the door for Rum
runners from the Bahamas, the mob, and gambling to invade South
Beach. We were then given our first lesson on local architecture beginning
with the Breakwater Hotel at 940 Ocean Drive which displays a
nautical design influenced by ships. Next up was the old Congress Hotel
at 1036 Ocean Drive which was completed in 1936 and is now a
store.
Gina then stated that the term Art Deco
was conceived at an art exposition in Paris, France, in 1925,
and adopted here in the early 1980's not too long after I graduated from
Miami Beach Senior High School (1978) off Prairie Avenue and 23rd
Street. She then pointed out that the buildings are typically white with
porches like the old Congress Hotel where the older women used to sit
and watch the traffic go by back in the 1970's. I took a summer job with
the City of Miami Beach's maintenance department back during high school
and our supervisor would make sure we began our work day with a trip up Ocean
Drive (north) and ended with a trip down Ocean Drive (south). I
wonder if he is still around today so that I can thank him for that memory?
