An Art Deco Time Capsule
Please don't knock down this newsletter and turn it into high-rise condos too.
Note: This post has a lot of pictures so I suggest opening in your browser or the Substack app.
Earlier this week, I found myself scrolling through my camera roll of the tens of thousands of images I’ve taken since moving to Miami at the age of 18. A common thread throughout my so many eras of images is Art Deco buildings and homes. I’ve many times found myself making a U-turn to snap a picture of a home or walking further up a street just to get a better look at a building.
Then, Friday morning I drove to Bal Harbour to go for a walk on the beach with my friend Jeanne. On the 20-minute drive over, I passed by a dozen construction sites, wrapped in glossy billboards all promising ‘the future of Miami condo living’ in one way or another. I mentally noted a few as I drove by– Fendi Chateau, Elle Residences, Continuum, Shell Bay Residences, and Rivage, all at different points in the construction process. One particular site caught my eye, a massive overgrown field with just a small two-story Art Deco building sitting on the edge of the lot like a dollhouse set on the curb to be picked up with the trash.
Walking along the boardwalk, the ocean to one side of us and the oceanfront condos to the other, I kept stopping to take photos of the of the Art Deco buildings (see below), wondering how much longer they’ll stand before a developer comes along to knock it down and build something more glossy with the promise of ‘panoramic views’ and ‘open concept kitchens’ and ‘sun-drenched living spaces.’
As someone who builds brands and loves hospitality, I do want to note that I have always been fascinated by real estate development; how neighborhoods are creative directed (this is a dream job btw), how the branding is built, and just purely exploring new properties. I’m not anti-newness, but I am anti-tearing down everything with history.
With an upcoming move to to NY at the end of August after seven years in Miami, I’ve found myself getting sentimental about everything I love most about this city; spending more time floating in the ocean, admiring the palm trees, complaining less about the heat and traffic, and taking more pictures of the design elements that made me fall in love with this city in the first place.
With that, I present some Art Deco designs I’ve collected in my camera roll over the years and if you happen to be a developer reading this, please don’t get any ideas…
Key Biscayne, January 2022
Miami Beach, September 2021
Miami Beach, March 2024
North Bay Village, December 2022. This motel is getting knocked down and turned into the aforementioned ‘Continuum’ condos
Miami Beach, October 2022. I love these two-story buildings with big windows and have multiple identical buildings sitting on the same property.
Mayfair Hotel, Coconut Grove, November 2023
Bal Harbour, August 2024. My favorite building from Friday’s beach walk.
Bal Harbour, August 2024. Another one from Friday’s beach walk. I love the accordion-style shutters that close around the balconies.
Miami Beach, December 2023. I posted the other day about my affinity for glass blocks in design and I especially love ‘em here.
And now I didn’t take these pictures…
But I love Stephan Weishaupt’s home built in 1932. The curved walls, the marble floors. And of course his furniture, it’s all so perfect.
While the above home is Midcentury modern and not Art Deco, it’s one of my favorite properties in Miami. Architecturally the design is just so fun, getting its nickname of the Jetsons house from its curved, floating staircase. It was designed and built in 1949 by Rufus Nims. I first discovered the home in September 2021, and found myself driving by to admire it before moving nearby and making admiring the home part of my walk route.
Over the past couple of years, I’ve watched as they’ve sold the home and prepped it for construction. Above is the home in October 2022 when they added the “we’re going to knock this thing down” fence.
In March 2024, I noticed the inside of the home had been dissected. But not all hope was lost, this choice made it a possibility that the structural integrity would be kept intact while giving the interiors a facelift (admittedly, they needed it a bit).
Then yesterday, while writing this newsletter, I decided to walk by the house to get inspired and see what was happening. My jaw dropped when I saw the new additions being put on.
So I did what any nosy, overly invested person, would do. I found the renderings for the home online. As it would turn out, the home was purchased by a fan of the property who commissioned Doo Architecture to remodel and update while keeping the original structure intact.
I could go on and maybe something is brewing inside me on the preservation of historical homes (I also just went to Philip Johnson’s glass house for the first time since I was 12), but it will be interesting to see what the final product looks like for this home and more generally how Miami, in a time of hyper-expansion, continues to grow while preserving its history. And if the city finds itself ready to face the music bring in a creative director, NY is just a short flight away.
What is new, you ask?
gr8 collab has a website! A place to learn more about my work as a brand consultant, cultural curator, and design journalist.
I went on
podcast.
To the same tune of this week’s letter, I toured the internet around my mid-century modern childhood home, juxtaposing its 1958 feature in House Beautiful to today.
so fun to see Miami through your eyes! Was there a few weeks ago and was inspired by all the unique sense of design. It’s cool that a place can be “so ___” (aka “so Miami”) as cities all increasingly look the same. good luck in NYC 🤍
Miami really is that girl. I can’t think of any other place that combines such unique elements the same way Miami does 🦩