Time for some #truthtelling.
We don’t L-O-V-E Art Deco Weekend.
There, it’s out.
Beauty's Where You Find It: An Insider's Look Into Art Deco Weekend
Time for some #truthtelling.
We don’t L-O-V-E Art Deco Weekend.
There, it’s out.
While we fully recognize (and applaud) the need to study and preserve the iconic buildings that give South Beach its distinct brand of charm, for one weekend, the neighborhood we hold so near and dear turns into a three-ring circus. We like to skip the pot-bellied car aficionados and tutu’ed Chihuahuas in favor of a more focused approach to celebrating the architectural landscape.
Started by the Miami Design Preservation League to commemorate and preserve the beautiful Art Deco buildings of South Beach, over the years Art Deco Weekend has added events like retro fashion shows and classic car parades to the schedule. This year’s programming includes over 85 events - and while we can’t recommend them all, we suggest taking part in a few of our favorite Art Deco Weekend extracurriculars:
1. The Wolfsonian Museum - A South Beach landmark in its own right, The Wolfsonian hosts informative programming throughout Art Deco Weekend. Our fave this year: Tropicana Modern: A Cultural Journey Through Havana’s Nightclub Era 1925–1959, Saturday January 13th at 3PM. (Check here for more info).
2. Guided Tours by the Miami Design Preservation League — Take in the architecture and learn the difference between Art Deco and Art Nouveau (if you don’t already know, you should). We especially like: Art Deco Secrets Hiding in Plain Sight, which explores how architects embedded political messages in their designs. Relevant timing, no? (Check here for more info).
3. And if we must indulge in a little kitsch (because we’re not that highbrow), we go to the Jazz Age Party at Lummus Park. With music by Michael Armanella and the Dreamline Orchestra, we love seeing the drag queens do their best Zelda Fitzgerald while drinking Prohibition-era cocktails under the stars.
Art Deco weekend was started nearly 41 years ago as a way to call attention (and funding) to the preservation of the historic buildings that date back to the 1920s. The event is the work of the great Miami Design Preservation League, who were the catalyst for getting the area designated a national Historic District. And let’s not forget that Art Deco was showcased for the whole world to see in such big-hit big screen films as Birdcageand Bad Boys, and perhaps most essentially, on TV in pastel-colored drug-laced Miami Vice.
The iconic Art Deco buildings of Ocean Drive and beyond are an inextricable part of the identity of South Beach and feature more than 800 historic buildings built during the 20s, 30s and 40s. Most are actually “Streamline Moderne,” a Deco style that began after the stock market crash and ended with WWII. It’s a bit less ornate but still features the tropical elements (whimsical flora and fauna and ocean-liner motifs) that reinforce the idea of Miami as a beachside paradise. Confession: for all our grumpy kvetching, we do love the Art Deco style so much we featured it in our Jacober Creative coloring book, High Tides: Tales of Mermaids, Mayhem & Miami Beach (click here to buy it).
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