Florida Art Deco

Florida's South Beach
Art Deco

Ocean Drive
The southern end of Miami Beach is home to the
Art Deco National Historic District, the only
location in the United States to be so designated.

Art Deco is an art form developed around the turn of the century.
Around the mid-thirties, a handful of architects started
building hotels for middle-class vacationers in South
Beach in the Art Deco style.

When the first buildings were completed in the 1920's during
prohibition, South Beach soon became associated with
liquor and gambling and attracted such people as
Al Capone. The area fell on hard times and neglect
in the fifties, by the early 1980's, much of the
Art Deco district had become a slum and a center
for drug traffic. nearly bound for ruin until
some farsighted individuals set about saving
it in the mid-1980's.

Ocean Drive, South Beach
Famous for its Art Deco architecture.
Photo credit: ©The Florida Center for Instructional Technology,
University of South Florida

The Breakwater,
which was built in 1939.

Photo credit: ©The Florida Center for Instructional Technology, University of South Florida

The Cardozo Hotel,
which was built in 1939.
Photo credit: ©The Florida Center for Instructional Technology,
University of South Florida

The Ocean Plaza.
Photo credit: ©The Florida Center for Instructional Technology,
University of South Florida

Art Deco 2

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Photos and information courtesy of: Exploring Florida