Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Your first stop here should be the
Art Deco Welcome Center
, run by the
Miami Design
Preservation League
(MDPL). To be honest, it's a bit of a tatty gift shop, but it's located
in the old beach-patrol headquarters, one of the best deco buildings out there. You can
book excellent $20 guided walking tours (plus audio and private tours), which are some of
the best introductions to the layout and history of South Beach on offer. Tours depart at
10:30am daily, except on Thursday when they leave at 6:30pm. No advance reservations
required; just show up and smile. Call ahead for information on walking tours of Lincoln
Rd and Collins Park, the area that encompasses upper South Beach.
Wolfsonian-FIU
MUSEUM
$7/5; noon-6pm Thu & Sat-Tue, to 9pm Fri)
Visit this excellent design museum early in your stay to put the aesthetics of Miami Beach
into fascinating context. It's one thing to see how wealth, leisure and the pursuit of beauty
manifests in Miami Beach, it's another to understand the roots and shadings of local artist-
ic movements. By chronicling the interior evolution of everyday life, the Wolfsonian re-
veals how these trends were architecturally manifested in SoBe's exterior deco. Which re-
minds us of the Wolfsonian's own noteworthy facade. Remember the Gothic-futurist
apartment-complex-cum-temple-of-evil in
Ghostbusters
? Well, this imposing structure,
with its grandiose 'frozen fountain' and lion-head-studded grand elevator, could serve as a
stand-in for that set.
Lincoln Road Mall
ROAD
Calling Lincoln Rd a mall, which many do, is like calling Big Ben a clock: it's technically
accurate but misses the point. Yes, you can shop, and shop very well here. But this outdoor
pedestrian thoroughfare between Alton Rd and Washington Ave is really about seeing and
being seen; there are times when Lincoln feels less like a road and more like a runway. We
wouldn't be surprised if you developed a slight crick in your neck from whipping around
to check out all the fabulously gorgeous creatures that call 'the road' their natural environ-
ment. Carl Fisher, the father of Miami Beach, envisioned the road as a '5th Ave of the
South.' Morris Lapidus, one of the founders of the loopy, neo-baroque Miami Beach style,
designed much of the mall, including several shady overhangs, waterfall structures and
