South Beach | |
|---|---|
 Ocean Drive on South Beach | |
| Nickname: SoBe | |
 Interactive map of South Beach | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Florida |
| County | Miami-Dade County |
| City | Miami Beach |
| Established | 1886 |
| Subdistricts of South Beach | Neighborhoods list |
| Government | |
| • Miami Beach Mayor | Steven Meiner[1] |
| • Miami-Dade County Commissioner | Eileen Higgins (D) |
| • House of Representatives | Fabián Basabe (R) |
| • State Senate | Ileana Garcia (R) |
| • U.S. House | Frederica S. Wilson (D) |
| Population (2010) | |
• Total | 39,186 |
| Time zone | UTC-05 (EST) |
| ZIP code | 33139 |
| Area codes | 305, 786 |
South Beach, is aneighborhood inMiami Beach, Florida. It is located east ofMiami betweenBiscayne Bay and theAtlantic Ocean. The area encompasses Miami Beach south of Dade Boulevard.
This area was the first section of Miami Beach to be developed, starting in the 1910s, due to the development efforts ofCarl G. Fisher, the Lummus Brothers, andJohn S. Collins, the latter of whose construction of theCollins Bridge provided the first vital land link between mainland Miami and the beaches.
The area has gone through numerous artificial and natural changes over the years, including a booming regional economy, increased tourism, and the1926 hurricane, which destroyed much of the area. As of 2010, 39,186 people lived in South Beach.[2]
South Beach started as farmland. In 1870, Henry and Charles Lum purchased 165 acres (67 ha) forcoconut farming. Charles Lum built the first house on the beach in 1886. In 1894, the Lum brothers left the island, leaving control of the plantation toJohn Collins, who came to South Beach two years later tosurvey the land. He used the land for farming purposes, discovering fresh water and extending his parcel from 14th Street to 67th in 1907.[citation needed]
In 1912, Miami businessmen the Lummus Brothers acquired 400 acres (160 ha) of Collins' land in an effort to build an oceanfront city of modest single family residences. In 1913, Collins started construction of a bridge from Miami to Miami Beach. Although some local residents invested in the bridge, Collins ran short of money before he could complete it.[3]
Carl G. Fisher, a successful entrepreneur who made millions in 1909 after selling a business toUnion Carbide, came to the beach in 1913. His vision was to establish South Beach as a successful city independent of Miami. This was the same year that the restaurant Joe's Stone Crab opened. Fisher loaned $50,000 to Collins for his bridge, which was completed in June, 1913. TheCollins Bridge was later replaced by theVenetian Causeway.[4]
On March 26, 1915, Collins, Lummus, and Fisher consolidated their efforts and incorporated the Town of Miami Beach. In 1920, the County Causeway (renamedMacArthur Causeway in 1942[5]) was completed.[6] The Lummus brothers sold their oceanfront property, between 6th and 14th Streets, to the city. To this day, this area is known asLummus Park.[citation needed]
In 1920, the Miami Beach land boom began. South Beach's main streets (5th Street, Alton Road, Collins Avenue, Washington Avenue, and Ocean Drive) were all suitable for automobile traffic. The population was growing in the 1920s, and several millionaires such asHarvey Firestone,J.C. Penney,Harry C. Stutz,[7] Albert Champion,Frank Seiberling, and Rockwell LaGorce built homes on Miami Beach. PresidentWarren G. Harding stayed at theFlamingo Hotel during this time, increasing interest in the area.[citation needed]
Until the mid-1920s, antisemiticcovenants were used in South Beach to exclude Jews from living or staying in neighborhoods north of Fifth Street. Explicit and covert policies targeted Jewish property owners, tourists, and tenants through racial covenants in property deeds and hotel policies.[8]
In the 1930s, an architectural revolution came to South Beach, bringingArt Deco,Streamline Moderne, and Nautical Modernearchitecture to the Beach. South Beach claims to be the world's largest collection ofStreamline Moderne Art Deco architecture.Napier, New Zealand, another notable Art Deco city, is architecturally comparable to Miami Beach as it was rebuilt in the Ziggurat Art Deco style after being destroyed by an earthquake in 1931.[9]
By 1940, the beach had a population of 28,000. After the December 7, 1941 attack onPearl Harbor, the Army Air Corps took command over Miami Beach.[citation needed] That year, tourism brought almost two million people to South Beach.[10]
In 1964, South Beach became even more famous whenJackie Gleason brought his weekly variety series,The Jackie Gleason Show to the area for taping, a rarity in the industry. Beginning in the mid 1960s and continuing through the 1980s, South Beach was used as a retirement community with most of its ocean-front hotels and apartment buildings filled with elderly people living on small, fixed incomes. This period also saw the introduction of the "cocaine cowboys," drug dealers who used the area as a base for their illicit drug activities.Scarface, released in 1983, typifies this activity. In addition, television showMiami Vice used South Beach as a backdrop for much of its filming. A somewhat recurring theme of earlyMiami Vice episodes was thugs and drug addicts barricading themselves in run-down or empty buildings. Only minor alterations had to be made for these scenes because some buildings in South Beach were in poor condition at the time.[citation needed]
While many of the unique Art Deco buildings, such as the New Yorker Hotel, were lost to developers in the years before 1980, the area was saved as a cohesive unit byBarbara Baer Capitman and a group of activists who spearheaded the movement to place almost one square mile of South Beach on theNational Register of Historic Places. TheMiami Beach Architectural District was designated in 1979.[citation needed]
Before the days ofMiami Vice, South Beach was considered a very poor area with a very high rate of crime. Today, it is considered one of the wealthiest and most prosperous commercial areas on the beach. Despite this, poverty and crime still exist in some isolated places surrounding the area.[11]
In 2009, Natalie O'Neill of theMiami New Times said, "Until the 1980s, Miami Beach was a peculiar mix of criminals, Cubans, and little old ladies. Then the beautiful people moved in."[12] In the late 1980s, a renaissance began in South Beach, with an influx of fashion industry professionals moving into the area. In 1989,Irene Marie purchased the Sun Ray Apartments (captured in the chainsaw scene inScarface) located onOcean Drive and opened Irene Marie Models.[13]
Thomas Kramer is credited with starting the construction boom in South Beach, driving thegentrification of the area. It is now a popular living destination for the wealthy. Condominium units in the upscale high rises sell for millions. There are a number of vocal critics of the developments. The high-rise and high-density buildings are derided as a "concrete jungle". However, even critics concede that the development has changed the area into a pedestrian friendly, low-crime neighborhood.[14][15]
In both daytime and at nightfall, the South Beach section ofMiami Beach is a major entertainment destination with hundreds[citation needed] ofnightclubs,restaurants,boutiques andhotels. The area is popular withtourists fromCanada,Europe,Israel and the entireWestern Hemisphere, with some having permanent orsecond homes there.
South Beach's residents' varied backgrounds are evident in the manylanguages spoken. In 2000, 55% of residents of the city of Miami Beach spokeSpanish as afirst language, whileEnglish was the first language for 33% of the population.Portuguese (mainlyBrazilian Portuguese) was spoken by 3% of residents, whileFrench (includingCanadian French) was spoken by 2%, andGerman by 1%.Italian,Russian,Yiddish andHebrew were all spoken by less than 1%.[16]
Another unique aesthetic attribute of South Beach is the presence of several colorful and unique stands used by Miami Beach'slifeguards on South Beach. AfterHurricane Andrew, Architect William Lane donated his design services to the city and added new stops on design tours in the form of lifeguard towers. His towers instantly became symbols of the revived City of Miami Beach.
South Beach is considered a hub of LGBT lifestyle. In the 80s and 90s, South Beach was the center of Florida's gay life and nightlife. It is home to many hotels, clubs, and nightlife that caters to the LGBT community.Ocean Drive is a hotspot to socialize and there is LGBT friendly shopping and cocktailing onLincoln Road. TheWorld Erotic Art Museum on South Beach is considered a local favorite to visit.
South Beach is also the location of the Pride Parade and Pride Festival events during Pride Week of the annual Miami Beach Pride celebration. Both of the events run through Ocean Drive from Fifth to 15th Streets.[17] First started in 2009, Miami Beach Pride now draws over 130,000 people to South Beach every year.
South Beach is traversed by numerical streets which run east–west, starting with Biscayne Street, now popularly known as South Pointe Drive, one block south of First Street and the largely pedestrianizedLincoln Road (running parallel between 16th and 17th streets). It also has 13 principal roads and avenues running north–south, which, from theBiscayne Bay side, are Bay Road, West Avenue,Alton Road, Lenox Avenue, Michigan Avenue, Jefferson Avenue, Meridian Avenue, Euclid Avenue, Pennsylvania Avenue, Drexel Avenue,Washington Avenue,Collins Avenue (State Road A1A), andOcean Drive. There are three smaller avenues (that do not run the entire length of South Beach) in the Collins Park area, named Park, Liberty, and James. Most locals agree that South Beach's northern boundary runs along Dade Boulevard from Lincoln Road on the bay side of the island, and heads east-north-east until it connects with 24th Street, which forms the northern boundary on the ocean side.
Köppen-Geiger climate classification system classifies its climate astropical monsoon (Am).
| Climate data for South Beach | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 75 (24) | 75 (24) | 79 (26) | 82 (28) | 84 (29) | 88 (31) | 90 (32) | 90 (32) | 88 (31) | 84 (29) | 81 (27) | 77 (25) | 83 (28) |
| Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 59 (15) | 61 (16) | 64 (18) | 68 (20) | 72 (22) | 75 (24) | 75 (24) | 77 (25) | 75 (24) | 72 (22) | 66 (19) | 61 (16) | 69 (20) |
| Averageprecipitation inches (mm) | 2.4 (62) | 2.4 (61) | 2.4 (60) | 3.0 (77) | 5.9 (150) | 8.5 (215) | 5.5 (140) | 6.2 (157) | 7.5 (191) | 6.5 (166) | 3.5 (89) | 2.1 (54) | 55.9 (1,422) |
| Average rainy days | 7 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 16 | 16 | 18 | 17 | 14 | 9 | 6 | 131 |
| Mean dailysunshine hours | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 9 |
| Source:Weather2Travel[18] | |||||||||||||
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24 °C (75 °F) | 24 °C (75 °F) | 24 °C (75 °F) | 25 °C (77 °F) | 27 °C (81 °F) | 28 °C (82 °F) | 29 °C (84 °F) | 30 °C (86 °F) | 29 °C (84 °F) | 28 °C (82 °F) | 26 °C (79 °F) | 25 °C (77 °F) |
South Beach, along with a handful of other neighborhoods in GreaterMiami (such asDowntown andBrickell), is one of the areas where a car-free lifestyle is commonplace. Many South Beach residents get around by foot, bicycle, motorcycle, trolley, bus, or taxi as the neighborhood is very urban andpedestrian-friendly.Lincoln Road,Ocean Drive,Washington Avenue, andCollins Avenue are popular shopping, eating, and entertainment streets for pedestrians. Lincoln Road is a pedestrian-only shopping street, and Collins Avenue around 5th Street is mostly upscale retail.
Automobile congestion in the area is frequent, so getting around in South Beach by car can often prove more difficult than simply walking or bicycling. Recently, Miami Beach has begun bicycle initiatives promoting citywide bike parking andbike lanes that have made bicycling much more popular for residents and tourists. TheVenetian Causeway, for example, is a popularbicycle commuter route that connects South Beach to Downtown.
Public transportation in South Beach, along with Downtown Miami and Brickell, is heavily used, and is a vital part of South Beach life. Although South Beach has no directMetrorail stations, numerous Metrobus lines (operated byMiami-Dade Transit), connect to Downtown Miami and Metrorail (e.g., Metrobus lines S and 120). TheMiami International Airport can be reached quickly from several bus stops in South Beach via the Airport-Beach Express (Metrobus line 150). That ride costs $2.35 and runs every 30 minutes from 6:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. seven days a week.[19]
Various City of Miami Beach-operated trolley routes provide free rides throughout South Beach and connect it to the other major areas of Miami Beach: South Beach Loop travels throughout South Beach, Middle Beach Loop connects South Beach to Mid-Beach's main street (41st Street) via State Road A1A and along 41st Street, and Collins Express connects South Beach to Mid-Beach and North Beach via State Road A1A. Using Collins Express to connect to the North Beach Loop allows free travel from South Beach to several areas of North Beach. All four trolley lines operate from 8 a.m. to midnight on Sunday and from 6 a.m. to midnight the rest of the week.[20]
Miami-Dade County Public Schools operates area public schools:
Miami-Dade County Public Schools operates area public schools:
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Lincoln Road is anopen-air pedestrian mall, considered South Beach's premiere shopping area. While Lincoln Road was one time rather downtrodden, it began a renaissance in the 1980s as an arts and cultural center. It has "an esoteric chic that maintains its trendy appeal."[23] It runs parallel in between 16th Street and 17th Street and spans the Beach in an east–west direction. Lincoln Road was fully accessible to automobile traffic until the 1950s when automobile access was limited fromAlton Road toBiscayne Bay on the west end and Washington Avenue to the beach on the east end of Lincoln Road with Lincoln Mall limited to pedestrians stretching from Alton Road to Washington Avenue. Among the late 1990s restaurants on Lincoln Road was one owned by actorMichael Caine, and managed by one of his daughters. The restaurant has since closed. The Miami Beach Preservation Board approved the closure of automobile traffic on the westward part of Lincoln Mall, in favor of the renovation of theSunTrust building including the development of the1111 Lincoln Road parking garage. Several other parking garages nearby greatly facilitate commerce.
Ocean Drive is the easternmost street in South Beach, and stems from South Pointe Drive to 15th Street, running in a north–south direction. Ocean Drive is responsible for the South Beach aesthetic that most out-of-town visitors expect. It is a popular tourist area. It is also home to several restaurants (including "A Fish Called Avalon"," "Mango's," and the MTV-popularized "Clevelander") and is the site of Gianni Versace's former ocean front mansion.
Collins Avenue runs parallel to Ocean Drive, one block west. It is alsoState Road A1A. Collins is home to many historic Art Deco hotels, and several nightclubs to the north, including Mynt and Rokbar.
Española Way, which runs from Collins Avenue to Pennsylvania Avenue, was conceived by N.B.T. Roney (of Roney Plaza Hotel fame) in 1925 as "The Historic Spanish Village," modeled after Mediterranean villages found in France and Spain.[citation needed] Today it consists of restaurants, bars, art galleries, and shops.
Alton Road is the main westside north–south street located 1-3 blocks from Biscayne Bay. On the part that traverses South Beach, the road is host to many local businesses, including dry cleaners, small furniture stores, small grocery markets, non-chain restaurants and fast food restaurants. It is mainly residential once it crosses Michigan Avenue north of South Beach.
Washington Avenue is one of the best-known streets in South Beach. Running parallel with Ocean and Collins, Washington is notorious for having some of the world's largest and most popular nightclubs, such as Cameo and Mansion. During "season" the street is jammed with traffic until early in the morning (as late as 6 am) every night of the week. In the 1990s explosion of South Beach as a nightclub venue, its nightclub moguls included Ingrid Casares, whose investors included the singer Madonna. Washington Avenue is also home to countless shops, hotels, and such noted architectural features as Temple Emanu-El.
Flamingo/Lummus, named for the two parks it encompasses, is the largest residential district of South Beach and is home to over 15,000 residents. It is bound by 5th Street to the south, Alton Road to the west, Lincoln Road to the north, andLummus Park to the east. It contains Flamingo Park, a 36.5-acre (14.8 ha) park with an aquatic center, 17 tennis courts, a baseball stadium, handball and racquetball courts, a softball field, basketball courts, football field, soccer field, running track, playground, walking trails, and a dog park. A diverse working and middle class neighborhood, Flamingo/Lummus contains a wealth of Art Deco and Mediterranean Revival apartment buildings from the 1920s and 1930s.
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The West Avenue Corridor extends from 5th Street north to 17th Street and is bounded by the east side of Alton Road and Biscayne Bay. Development in the West Avenue Corridor began in the 1920s when three grand hotels were built on the shores of Biscayne Bay: The Flamingo, The Fleetwood and the Floridian. Al Capone and vacationing billionaires from the Golden Age made these hotels their winter hideaway. By the 1950s the hotels fell into ruin and tourists abandoned this side of South Beach for the oceanside.
All three properties, along with the rest of the Corridor, have since evolved into a middle-class, mixed use residential neighborhood. Each passing decade saw the addition of new architectural styles that enhance the diversity and appeal of the neighborhood. Amenities for residents and visitors include shopping, houses of worship, cafes, restaurants, parks and gyms.
The Corridor is home to almost 10,000 residents, over 40 different condominiums, several single family homes and a number of rental buildings. The neighborhood has changed over the years. The recent Census shows the neighborhood to be much younger and more year-round than in years past. It is highly walkable since it is a quiet neighborhood and is close to many amenities - Flamingo Park, Lincoln Road, the ocean, the nightlife of Ocean Drive and Washington Avenue, grocery stores and many restaurants.
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Travel information from Wikivoyage25°46′55″N80°08′11″W / 25.781875°N 80.136262°W /25.781875; -80.136262
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