In front of the building that houses the Miami Design Preservation League's Art Deco Museum is this…read morehistoric marker that is part of the Historical Marker Program, one of the Division of Historical Resources' most popular and valued public history programs. The markers raise awareness of Florida's cultural history while enhancing the enjoyment of historic sites for residents and tourists. The blue historic markers tell the stories of the people and places that were important to Florida's history and they can be found in front of schools, roads, archaeological sites, battlefields, cemeteries, churches, historic districts, forts, and historic buildings like this one. Historic marker F-1001 was installed in 2018 by the City of Miami Beach and the Florida Department of State. This marker honors Barbara Baer Capitman (1920-1990). The history of South Beach dates back to 1910 when Carl Fisher began to transform the community into a world class resort destination. In the 1920's during Florida's land boom years, many hotels and mansions were built. The 1930's and 40's were the height of the art deco design movement inspired by Paris and many of the hotels were built in this style. By the 1970's South Beach was run down by neglect and salt water damage. Things were so bad that the movie Scarface used to South Beach to stand in for a drug infested ghetto neighborhood. Barbara Baer Capitman and a group of activists banded together to preserve the Art Deco buildings of South Beach. Capitman founded the Miami Design Preservation League in 1976 with Leonard Horowitz which started a movement to place one square mile of South Beach on the National Register of Historic Places. Their efforts enabled 800 of the historic Art Deco buildings to be saved. Formerly run down hotels on Ocean Drive were refreshed in pastel colors chosen by Horowitz. In the late 1980's South Beach had a resurgence. Models and the fashion industry moved in. Barbara Baer Capitman saved the Art Deco treasures of South Beach by taking a local movement to save important architecture and spreading it nationally and internationally. Her impact on South Beach can not be understated. An area that once had people thinking twice about driving through became home to the wealthy. Today it is walking friendly and generally low crime. You can find a bronze bust of a 19 year old Barbara Baer Capitman next door in Lummus Park.

Nestled in the heart of South Beach is a street filled with European charm. The idea of a Spanish…read moreVillage was conceived by NBT Romney and William Whitman in 1925. It's a two block corridor between Washington and Pennsylvania Avenues designed to look like the Mediterranean villages of Spain and France. In the 1920's Espanola Way was where the wealthy went to dine and dance. It was also a gathering place for the gangsters of the time. Al Capone used known to have used the Clay hotel for gambling. By the 1970's Espanola Way had become dilapidated like all of the South Beach Art Deco district surrounding it. In the 1980's Linda Polanski purchased the south side of Espanola Way. Her restoration efforts of the area along with the Clay Hotel attracted the attention of the producer of the T.V. show Miami Vice who filmed 12 episodes of the show on Espanola Way, including the first and last. Music videos, advertisements, and movies like the Bird Cage would go on to be filmed there. Today Espanola Way is lined with restaurant with outdoor seating, art galleries, and shops. Popular restaurants include Havana 1957 serving Cuban cuisine and Mare Mio Restaurant, an Italian eatery. As you walk down the street the waiters and hostesses call out aggressively for your business. Hey lady, come back! With so many choices it was a bit overwhelming. We were also looking for a Happy Hour with food, not just drink specials. In retrospect we should have just ordered some small plates. With everyone pushing so hard to get your attention it was hard to look over the menus. I fell in love with the street and plan to go back when it's cooler and I can study the restaurants a bit online. The main problem with this area is the lack of parking. We were able to snag a spot in summer in late afternoon. That is not the case on the weekends and I am sure not when it is in season. It will be worth the extra effort to come though as this a very unique and charming area of Miami.

The Art Deco Welcome Center is the starting point for exploring Miami Beach's famous Art Deco…read moreHistoric District. Inside, you'll find information about the architecture, history, and guided walking tours of the area. The building itself is a beautiful example of the pastel Art Deco style that defines South Beach. It's a great place to stop if you want to understand the story behind the iconic buildings around Ocean Drive.

Well how many times have I been on this roundabout and NEVER noticed this in the centre of it? says…read moreit all really imo! This is a gorgeous area - don't get me wrong - as it is located right on the canal, Near a park, and has huge dripping Banyan trees and is most definitely in a POSH area. But these shoes are hard to see, and get to! The sculpture is set right in the centre of this HUGE roundabout. Anyway I sauntered across dodging traffic to get a closer look. They call this area Cocoplum, but it is actually called the "Cartagena Plaza." Supposedly named after the city of Cartagena in Colombia and this is where the original shoe statue is found. Luis Carlos Lopez, a Columbian poet wrote a poem honouring the city where he was born and comparing his emotions to that love that one feels towards an old pair of shoes. Go figure!! This replica was given to the City of Coral Gables in the mid 1980's and is to signify the bond between our "City Beautiful" and that of Cartagena. Cartagena was the first "sister city" of Coral Gables, a program developed back in 1956 to link the US with citizens of other countries, promoting cultural and commercial ties. Anyway back to the shoes, mmmmm

This is a traffic circle at the edge of the Coral Gables Waterway. It is sometimes called Cocoplum…read moreCircle because it is at the entrance of the exclusive Cocoplum neighborhood where the average house sells for 3 million dollars. The circle connects LeJeune Road, Sunset Drive, Old Culter Road, Cocoplum Road and Ingraham Highway. In the center of the circle is a replica of a sculpture titled My Old Shoes by Colombian-born Luis Carlos López. López wrote a poem that compared his love of Cartagena to his love of an old pair of shoes. The sculpture was presented to Coral Gables by it's first sister city Cartagena, Colombia in the mid 1980's. The original sculpture is in Cartagena, Colombia. Matching US cities to cities in other countries in order to promote business ties was a program that was started in 1956. I love the art in public spaces in Coral Gables. This is just one of the many works of art you can find in the roundabouts in the city. The art is just one of the reasons Coral Gables is called the city beautiful.

900 Collins Avenue is a historic coral rock house in the heart of South Beach. It looks like a…read moresandcastle in the middle of the Art Deco buildings of Collins Avenue. The house is known as the Avery/Coral Rock house. It was built in 1916 by Avery Smith who lived in the home with his family until 1931. Smith ran the ferry service from the mainland to the beaches before the causeways were built which allowed for the first tourists to get to the beach. Avery Smith sold the home to Isadore Roth whose son Dr. Edward Roth, was the first physician practicing in Miami Beach. He ran his practice in the house until the 1970's. After that it was always used as a home until 1990 when it was turned into a fishing club. In 2007 a developer purchased the property and allowed it to deteriorate for the next four years. He bribed three city officials with money and goods to allow him to bulldoze the property which he started to do. The three city officials were arrested for taking bribes in connection with the destruction of the home. By 2011 all that remained was a shell of the house. Preservationists fought to have the house restored. The Miami Beach Historic Preservation Board approved a design and the house was reconstructed using the original coral but this time it was linked to a retail store that is leased. Located only one block from the beaches and Ocean Drive the house is currently for sale and being advertised as a restaurant location. The exterior of the house has been rebuilt but the interior is still under construction. There is a historic marker on the front of the house.

As a fan of architecture and history I was delighted to spot this historic marker in the North…read moreShore neighborhood in Miami Beach. Stopping for a minute to read a historic marker is a great way to learn more about the history of an area. I have gained so much knowledge about Florida from these blue historical markers that can you find all around the state. This marker is on a median next to Tatum Park and it recounts the history of the mid century North Shore neighborhood. The North Shore Historic District in North Beach, Miami Beach is famous for having the most intact mid-20th century resort architecture (MiMo) in the Greater Miami area. The neighborhood was platted in 1929 and is bounded by 87th Street, Collins Avenue, 73rd Street, and Hawthorne Avenue. After WWII many GI's moved to Florida where the warmer weather was beneficial for helping to recover from their war wounds. A post WWII construction boom saw the creation narrow garden apartments with features designed to adapt to Miami. These architectural details included patios, loggias, flat roofs with broad overhanging eaves, exterior staircases, and catwalks. The architecture in the district is primarily Miami Modernism MiMo style featuring futuristic and modern elements, unique to Miami. Design features include acute angles, delta wings, pipe columns, sweeping curved walls, and soaring pylons. Other architectural styles reflected in the district, include Mediterranean Revival, Art Deco, and Moderne. The North Shore Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2009. Marker F-1090 was erected in 2020 by The City of Miami Beach and the Florida Department of State.

This is another of Coral Gables "villages". It is called the Florida Pioneer Village/Colonial…read moreVillage. These homes are regal and HUGE and located right near or over looking the Biltmore Golf Course...or PRIME real estate. This thematic village was designed by the architectural firm of John Pierson, and John and Coulton Skinner.  Constructed in 1925-1926 to evoke the image of a New England streetscape of stately homes, the village includes 4320, 4409, 4515, 4520, and 4620 Santa Maria Street. In November of 2007 these homes were included in the Santa Maria Street Historic District.

George Merrick is the founder of the City of Coral Gables. His family came to Miami from PA two…read moreyears after Henry Flagler brought the railroad to Florida. It was the dawn of the development of Florida. George Merrick attended Rollins College in Winter Park and in 1922 he meticulously planned Coral Gables. The houses were so well made that they survived hurricanes before there were building codes and his architecture was so charming that Coral gables is called the city beautiful. He also created the University of Miami. At first he wanted his buildings to be strictly Spanish and later Mediterranean style. Eventually he expanded his vision to include seven unique villages inspired by different international influences. The villages were built during the land boom years in the 1920's. It was a joint venture between Merrick, The American Building Company and former Ohio Governor Myers Cooper. The original plan was for more 1,000 residences in a series of villages based on architecture from around the world. The plan was never fully realized when the housing boom crashed from two hurricanes followed by the Great Depression. In the end only seven villages were built including this Pioneer Village. By 1928 George Merrick was forced out of the city he founded and ended up in the Keys. He returned to the city two years before he died to serve as postmaster. You can learn more about George Merrick by taking a tour of his family home in Coral Gables. The Pioneer/ Colonial Village was designed by the architectural firm of John Pierson, and John and Coulton Skinner. It is located south of the Biltmore Hotel and it borders the Riviera Country Club golf course. The five homes were built in 1925 and 1926 And took their inspiration from the elegant New England houses of the late 19th- and early 20th-century. The homes were designed in a Colonial Revival style with two-story porches, symmetrical facades, and picket fences. New England architects at that time took elements from the Georgian-style buildings in Europe and England. The homes in this village have gone through renovations through the years but when you see one it is still an impressive sight. Homes in this village include 4320, 4409, 4515, 4520, and 4620 Santa Maria Street. They are not in a row so you have to look for them. In November of 2007 these homes were added to the Santa Maria Street Historic District. The properties in the villages rarely hit the market and they are highly sought after. Today there are 80 homes left. Since there are only five of the Pioneer Village homes, they are especially limited. Zillow estimates them to be around 4 million dollars. You can also get a peek at the interiors of these privately held homes there.

Well, most of the tourists are not aware of it, but you'll notice it when you pass by…read more It's located at Ocean Dr × 5th St. It's very colorful, has a lively vibe, and sometimes there's a line to take a photo with it--other times it's completely empty, depending on the timing. It's totally an Insta-worthy and cute photo spot. The bright colors really pop in pictures, especially on a sunny day with the beach vibe around. If you're already walking on Ocean Drive, it's just a quick stop, but it makes for a fun little photo memory. The bright pastel colors perfectly match the city's tropical vibe and Art Deco style. It's usually the first landmark people stop at when entering Miami Beach. Early morning or late evening is best if you want photos without long lines. It's a quick stop, but definitely an iconic Miami picture.