Guided Tours A list of MD

Art Deco Weekend 2023 MDPL Tour Offerings

THANK YOU FOR PARTICIPATING IN ART DECO WEEKEND, the Miami Design Preservation League’s annual fundraising event. Tours are a great way to get a look at the city and the architecture of Miami Beach’s Art Deco Historic District— Art Deco, Mediterranean and Miami Modern. Book your tours at artdecoweekend.org/walking-tours

Tickets: Adults $35; Seniors (65+), Military, & Students $30; Children 12 & under are free. Friday, January 13th • Saturday, January 14th • Sunday, January 15th

OCEAN DRIVE ARCHITECTURAL TOUR This 90 - 120-minute walking tour provides an introduction to the Art Deco, Mediterranean, and Miami Modern (MiMo) styles of architecture found within the Miami Beach Historic District. Explore hotels, restaurants, and other commercial structures with visits to a number of interiors. Free for MDPL members. Friday: 10:30 am, 2 pm Saturday: 10:30 am, 12:30 pm, 4 pm Sunday: 10:30 am, 12:30 pm, 3:30 pm

SOUTH BEACH SCANDALS TOUR This 90-minute walking tour focuses on illegal activities and shady characters in Miami Beach history. Topics include political corruption, illegal gambling, alcohol during prohibition, and organized crime figures. Saturday & Sunday: 2 pm - 3:30 pm

JEWISH MIAMI BEACH TOUR This walking tour explores the rise and fall of the Jewish population of Miami Beach over the past 100 years, including a look at the impact of selected key Jewish individuals and institutions, plus an overview of architectural styles in the southernmost part of the city. Tour starts at the Welcome Center tent and ends at the Jewish Museum of Florida - FIU, at Third Street and Washington Avenue. Saturday & Sunday: 11 am - 12:30 pm

HOTEL NAMES, BAS RELIEFS AND TERRAZZO FLOOR — ART DECO SECRETS HIDING IN PLAIN SIGHT The architects of Art Deco buildings embedded cultural, artistic, and political messages into the designs and names of their hotels. Join our tour guide Joel Levine in an adventure to discover these messages hidden in front of your eyes. Explanations will be provided to understand the historical and political context of the 1930’s and 1940’s and why the meaning of these messages today is sometimes lost or intentionally obscured. • Saturday: 1 - 3 pm

DECO NIGHTS & NEON LIGHTS TOUR Similar to our regular Ocean Drive Tour but focuses on neon lighting. Our Art Deco buildings come alive when the lights go on! Neon lighting has always been associated with glamour and excitement. Learn about the history of neon lighting, its rise, its fall, and its resurgence. Saturday & Sunday: 5 pm - 6:30 pm

FLAMINGO PARK WALKING TOUR The Flamingo Park Walking Tour will focus on the Art Deco multi-family apartment buildings which typify the Flamingo Park neighborhood (west of Washington Ave.) It’s not for the faint of heart: 2 1/2 miles over 3 hours with a 15 minutes rest stop in the middle. The tour will be led by Jack Johnson, Chair of the Miami Design Preservation League and a resident of the Flamingo Park neighborhood. Jack developed this tour for the 16th World Congress on Art Deco, which will be held in Miami Beach, April 20-27, 2023. All proceeds from this tour will go to the Flamingo Park Neighborhood Association. Depart from Art Deco Welcome Center, 1001 Ocean Drive. Sunday: 10 am - 1 pm COLLINS PARK TOUR Starting at one of the grandest of the “Grand Dame” hotels on Collins Ave, the National Hotel, our guide will wind his way through an up-and-coming neighborhood named for one of the earliest founders of Miami Beach. Stroll past storied historic structures by iconic Miami Beach architects. See where WWII Cadet Clark Gable stayed. Find an under-the-radar bar listed as one of America’s best. History, art, celebrity, architecture all within a few blocks. Departs from the National Hotel 1677 Collins Ave. Saturday: 11:30 am - 1 pm

ART DECO WALKING TOUR EN ESPAÑOL A free Art Deco Walking Tour sponsored by the Miami Design Preservation League. Tour guide Carolina Isabela, also known as Caro the Tour Guide, will lead the tour around the district. The tour will last between 90 minutes and 2 hours. This tour will be conducted by Spanish. Free tour but registration is required. • Sunday: 11 am - 12:30 pm

LEGENDS OF LINCOLN ROAD TOUR Take a stroll down one of Miami Beach’s most famous thoroughfares, once referred to as the “Fifth Avenue of the South”. Discover how geography and history influenced the architecture of Lincoln Road from 1912 to the present and what led to the revitalization of the area we experience today. Depart Albion Hotel, 1650 James Ave (Corner of James Ave & Lincoln Rd.) Sunday: 12 pm - 1:30 pm