Thoughts on Miami Beach from My Recent Visit, Pt. 1
Recently I was in Miami Beach for the annual Rail~Volution Conference. I was on a panel talking about —- yes, blogging. Although many hours were spent in the hotel conference area I did manage to walk around and see quite a bit of Miami Beach. This post is my first go around with some of the many images I took. I plan to do a second post on Miami Beach as well as posts on Miami and West Palm Beach.
Enjoy…
Ocean Drive is very beautiful, the old Art Deco hotels are stunning individually and even more so as a collection. At right is the Winterhaven where I stayed during the conference.
Over on their Washington Ave, just a few blocks from the beach, bikes and scooters filled the official on-street parking spaces and the available bike racks.
Scooters were quite popular with several scooter rental places such as the one above.
I’ve never really been a fan of the beach but it was nice to sit out there for a while and take in the power of that much water.
They are serious about not blocking this intersection, “Up to $500 in fines, up to 12 points.” The 3-way intersection has a fancy hotel on the 4th side, the hotel where the conference was held.
Above, and here is part of the hotel. Very auto centric. I do like that along the street front they have retail shops with the covered drive hidden behind there — nice touch. Coming from the south pedestrians had a few ways to enter the hotel without walking through the auto drive but if you were to arrive from the other side you pretty much had to walk up the driveway.
Throughout much of the area they used the Pay-N-Display system. Keep in mind that many of the visitors are tourists so it is likely someone may be using these for the first time. Unlike the ones tested here in St. Louis, these accept dollar bills. The Pay-N-Display system allows them to park more cars than with our one size fits all spaces —- and the look & feel is basically the same.
Scooter/Motorcycle parking is distributed throughout the Miami Beach area. While the cars have Pay-N-Display the two wheel vehicles get meters as you can’t very well display a receipt on a motorcycle.
It was windy while I was there, luckily the hurricane passed us by. This park is between the deco hotels and the beach (far left).
Another view of the Winterhaven. I didn’t have a front room but if I twisted my head a bit I could see the ocean from my room.
The Winterhaven has a nice roof-top deck toward the back of the building, interesting views can be had.
And this is a typical alley in Miami Beach, located behind the hotel.
While having lunch one day I spotted, among all the people, a guy on a skateboard waiting for the green light so he could go.
Espanola Way is an interesting little narrow street lined with restaurants and shops. On the weekend evenings they close the street to cars as pedestrians take over the place.
Lunchtime diners enjoy the many sidewalk cafes that line Espanola Way. The scale along the street was very intimate and pleasant.
Lincoln Blvd, is quite different. This 5-6 block long pedestrian mall is looking a bit tired and dated by day.
However, on the saturday night I was there a few blocks were packed with people and much of the landscape was consumed by restaurant tables and chairs. It was so packed with alfresco diners you had to look at the style of the tables and chairs to know who was dining where. Musicians were playing at various points along the mall. Local stores, such as a great bookstore, and big name chains, such as the Apple Store, were all packed with shoppers. However, it was a special weekend and without the various forms of entertainment along the strip I don’t think it would be as successful.
Convention goers taking a break from talking transit to checking out the ocean view from the 2nd floor of the hotel. It rained frequently but after a short time it was over and the sun was back out.
Nice, great views, streets closed to cars, bike parking, many small shops, numerous outdoor restaurants, … sounds like you had your eyes reopened to what makes successful communities. Feels alive doesn’t it? The conference had presentations on making cities attractive for cyclists, did you go? Have a nice Thanksgiving!
Miami: There’s an expensive city with a lot of crime! And pretty art deco buildings and nice beaches, too. Smart move to live in St. Louis and vacation in Miami!
I lived on south beach adjacent to flamingo park and many of the long time residents are eager, desperate, shell shocked to get off that horrible area
For example they have laid so much concrete that in the summer it is almost impossible to breathe because of the heat that is generated in the day and at night.
And yes there is the usual noise, smells, et-cetera. But more importantly once the gap, starbucks and the rest of “those” landed on south beach it was a signal that the uniqueness of the area was fading. And boy did it fade now it looks and feels like a crowded mall
Many are returning to Coconut Grove
Far more people friendly
Any important tidbits from the conference that are relevant to St. Louis?
We were in Miami Beach last December, and our hotel on Collins was only two blocks from Lincoln Road, so we went there several times for dinner, lunch, morning coffee, and shopping. I was quite surprised at how active it was at all times of day, especially in the evening. It seems to somehow defy the fact that most other pedestrian malls around the country have died a slow painful death. Not sure exactly what it is… obviously the climate doesn’t hurt, and it is really the one of only places to shop in Miami Beach. I would guess that good management also factors into the equation. It was very noticeable that the two blocks off Collins that are not closed to traffic seem to have crappy stores compared to the malled blocks.
You are quite right about the massive number of outdoor dining tables. While its great to see that many tables, the umbrellas that many of the restaurants use really compete against and sometimes overwhelm the elegant pavilions by Morris Lapidus that line the center of the mall. Overall though I found Lincoln Road to be a pleasant experience.
I’ve said it before but anytime you find good streetscapes, you’ll find nice wide sidewalks as well. Sidewalks to accomodate diners, bikes and pedestrians.
St Louis has some great potential streets. However, even Washington is turning crowded.
Market is ripe for some sort of redevelopment and if planned carefully, could certainly be a great parallel to Washington.
Good solution for motorcycle parking – any thoughts on designated spots? Any worries about getting backed into without having more space around the bike? And that Porsche driver across the street better plan on leaving before the van needs to do the park-by-numbers thing to get out of his space!
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Ocean Drive is one of those cases where benign neglect paid huge dividends, eventually. In the ’60’s and ’70’s, that part of Miami Beach definitely wasn’t cool and the art deco hotels survived simply because it was cheaper to do nothing with them/there was no market (like there is today) to tear them down and put up highrise condos. With the historic district and a newfound appreciation of both the specific architectural style and overall urban fabric, along with some careful nurturing, a unique area has become very valuable.
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There are more than a few parts of St. Louis that have the same potential, places like the CWE and the Southtown/Hampton Village areas. There are undoubtedly areas on the northside as well, both in the city and the county, that are being “overlooked” and neglected, both benignly and not so, that have the potential for a future renaissance, as well. We walk a fine line between preserving and nurturing versus respecting private property rights. The trick, both here and there, is keeping it vibrant and unique, not making it a cliche or a museum.
Now that I am done rolling on the floor laughing at how good this post made Miami look, I can finally type a response. Miami..great place to vacation, worst place to live. I traveled here in 2001 and loved it; moved here in 2003 and have been dying to leave ever since.
What makes you want to leave Miami, and how would a life in St. Louis compare, misaligned sidewalks and all?