What is Tropical Deco?

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The blending of styles that can occur between, architecture, art and design is perhaps nowhere more extreme than in the remarkable tropical deco style evident in the architecture of Miami Beach, Florida. The area, once a coconut plantation, became transformed into a major tourist destination starting in the late nineteenth century and culminating by the 1930s. At the time of its major expansion, it provided both a playground and "testing ground" for the architects of the day to learn their trade and create a regional style. The plethora of designs that now define the look of Tropical Deco combined the visual appearance of art moderne (as revealed through the Paris exposition of 1925), the futuristic style of Hollywood´s Flash Gordon, and the new aerodynamic theory of the day-streamlining. Although art modern developed independently from streamlining, there was, without question, a strong influence from architects such as Raymond Loewy and Norman Bel Geddes, whose contributions to the visual appearance of wind tunnel tested vehicles spilled into their own architecture, and subsequently into what would become known as Miami Modern.

Breakwater Hotel, 1939, Anton Skislewicz

The term "art deco" was not part of the vernacular until 1968, when it was coined by historian Bevis Hillier to describe early 20th century modern design. The "Tropical Deco" style that emulated from its influence was sometimes referred to as "Miami Modern," with a sudden popularity that rose at such a rate that by 1937 well over 400 buildings in the Miami and Miami beach area were developed based upon the basic visual principles and colors of the new style.

The Commodore, 1939, Henry Hohauser

Thanks to a major preservation initiative, one can still see and feel a part of this historic era. When you visit Miami Beach now, you first notice the light. It is a light that might have appealed to Monet, refracted from thousands of square feet of pale yellow, pink, peach, orange, aquas and greens, all combined in an atmosphere that encourages the consumption of margaritas and daiquiris while taking in the ambiance of the sidewalk cafes and clubs. At night, the light changes to an artificial (yet no less euphoric) atmosphere of neon. The like all cities and microcosms of culture, the Miami Beach scene has undergone many changes since its transformation from a plantation into a playground for south Florida hipsters.

The Plamer House, 1939, L. Murray Dixon

In just over 75 years the area has gone from being modern hotels, to army barracks, to run down relics, to restored national treasures. At night Miami beach, especially SoBe (South Beach) is frequented by a transient population of mostly 20 somethings out looking to meet or make friends and simply have a good time. The bars and lounges, which once featured formal wear and cocktails, now feature big screen televisions, sometimes even outside where college football games or music videos are projected onto the walls of neighboring hotels! On weekend nights the air vibrates at 10th avenue and Ocean Boulevard from the sound of rowdy partygoers. This neo-leisure class lifestyle is reminiscent of another timeãperhaps an era of 1920s playfulness, of flappers and jazz, of Hollywood style, or even a lively Parisãcirca 1890. Indeed, the feeling of history surrounds you, as if by being in the midst of the deco district, you have style by simply being there, and that you ultimately become a part of the history.

This area of Miami Beach reflects an interesting blend of two important trends in design history which Henry Sayre discusses in A World of Art. First, Art Deco (pages 399-400), as it evolved up to the 1925 Paris Exposition des Arts Decoratifs et Industriels Modernes (page 391), and streamlining, (pages 406 - 408) the result of scientifically evaluating objects for their aerodynamic qualities. The Paris Exposition brought about a reorientation of American design. Upon being invited to exhibit at the exposition, "American designers realized they had nothing to submit that was representative of the U.S. character. American arts were still highly derivative, fixed upon such antique and period styles as American Colonial, Spanish and Italian Renaissance, Tudor and eighteenth century French and English. As the American decorator Paul Frankl (page 391) explained, "we found we had no decorative art. Not only was there a sad lack of any achievement that could be exhibited, but we discovered that there was not even a serious movement in this direction and that the general public was quite unconscious of the fact that modern art extended into the field of business and industry." 2 It is as is he were reciting the ruminations of Owen Jones at the Great Exposition of 1851, some 75 years earlier (page 391).

1925 was an important time for America, even as it unknowingly stepped boldly toward the financial abyss that would be the great depression. In the field of design, the exposition provided the necessary "kick in the pants" to get American designers moving forward again, and move they did. When the first wind tunnel testing labs were created through the Carnegie grants in 1926, discoveries about aerodynamic design soon began to impact much of the style to evolve through the 1930s. Norman Bel Geddes, Raymond Loewy, and R. Buckminster Fuller began bringing streamlining to automobiles, houses, toasters, radios and pencil sharpeners! Soon hundreds of products produced by industry demonstrated some connection back to streamlining. (Interestingly, at the same time the first truly American painting style was being defined at the hand of a painter named Georgia O¼Keeffe).

The result of this blend of streamlining, modernism and art deco, is an almost magical, other worldly square mile of visual pleasure that occupies an approximate square mile of old Miami Beach. The Art Deco District of Miami Beach is located between 5th Street to the south and 23rd Street to the north; and from Ocean Drive on the east to Lenox Court on the west. The primary architects or artists responsible for this area were Albert Anis, L. Murray Dixon, Roy France, Henry Hohauser, and Anton Skislewicz. „Among them, they constructed at least seventy of the most notable Deco buildings in the District. Furthermore, they acted as channels, open to the contiguous aesthetic forces of the time to recognize trends that were more than just economically viable. In Tropical Deco architecture they evolved a style that was vital, inviting, and perfectly suited to the time and place of its being.¾ 1

The history of these buildings is interesting. They first served the purpose for which they were intended, hotels for hosting a leisure class seeking to escape the city, or simply the humdrum of the world. However, with our entry into World War II, they were all transformed overnight into army barracks, housing several thousand military personal through 1945.

The wear and tear on these structures during the war and post war years, though not totally devastating, none the less dated them, and tourists soon began to favor newer luxury hotels to the north. Old Miami Beach began to fall into disrepair by the 1960s, and many of the tropical deco gems were torn down to make way for newer structures. In 1979, the efforts of a few citizens of Miami, created the Miami Design Preservation League, which was successful in having the area designated as a national historic district in 1980. This feat in itself says much for the effort to attain NHD status, as the buildings are the newest, or most recent of an era to gain such a designation.

Visual Characteristics The Beachcomber, 1937

"The style of Tropical Deco has a number of distinguishing trademarks. Quite often the buildings, particularly the smaller ones, are based on absolute bilateral symmetry, with combinations of flat and curved walls; the use of glass block, circular windows balanced by rectangular framing, and metal railings. Whether symmetrical or asymmetrical in design, tropical Deco structures are generally composed with geometric deliberation." (1

The Webster, 1938, Henry Hohauser

Their surfaces are often stucco-a mix of cement and sand applied over an exterior grade plywood or lathe with an attached steel mesh. Architectural details would likely include a patterned frieze, a "stepped parapet" (the progressive elevation of the roof line) with fluted molding, flagstaff finials. and a streamlined masthead-like structure on which the hotel´s name was displayed, surrounded by ornamental glass blocks. The colors are reminiscent of southern Florida, bright yellows, aqua blues and greens, peach, and flamingo pink not only covered the general surfaces of the buildings, but in combination were often used to accentuate architectural details. These color accents also highlighted the rhythmic nature of various structural elements, especially the "eyebrows"-cantilevered sunshades over the windows. The linear effect of the eyebrows along the surfaces of the buildings could be underscored by the horizontal and sometimes wavy racing stripes. Such lines, added to the facades, "combined with applied medallions called "bosses." friezes, and vertical moldings, consciously dividing the spatial planes to accentuate the Tropical Deco sense of geometry." (1.

"Set backs" or stair stepping, referencing the "set back laws" that dictated the rules of modern skyscraper design codes (page 375) found their way into many of the forms, often as emblematic upper story attachments, defining the "crown" of many of the buildings. A use of "set-backs"ãthe dimensional staggering of the facade planeãamplifies the qualities of lightness and openness

Line was used decoratively to restate symmetry, as well as suggest modernist design influences derived from streamlining.

Nautical themes were often referenced with the addition of port holes, wave forms, or ionic capitals.

The "nautical and tropical references also heighten the romance and fantasy which flavors a great deal of Tropical Deco buildings. After all, this was resort architecture, intended to lift the visitor from the gloom of the Depression, to merge his shelter with the glories of surrounding nature, and even, perhaps, to remind him of the spirituality of light and air and openness. This was an architecture designed to evoke feelings of delight. (1.

Credits:

1) Laura Cerwinske, Tropical Deco The Architecture and Design of Old Miami Beach, Rizzoli International, New York, NY. 1979

2) Martin Battersby, The Decorative Twenties, McMillan Publishing, New York, NY. 1969.

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