Miami and Miami Beach from the ground up "This book provides an important--and readable--addition to the bookshelf addressing the context of contemporary Miami and Miami Beach. By presenting the built environment of the Miami area for its compelling variety and unique mélange of styles, the authors go far in interpreting a long overlooked portion of our continent."--Gregory W. Bush, coauthor of Miami: An American Crossroad A major urban center perched between vast natural ecosystems, Miami is known for a strikingly diverse built environment that is barely 100 years old. Within this brief span, the city has constantly reinvented itself, seeking a tangible identity as Florida's largest metropolis. In this invented landscape, architecture, landscape design, and urban planning have played a particularly important role in creating Miami's modern character and unique identity. Miami Architecture grew out of the Miami Architecture Project, a community-based, nonprofit association that organized more than a dozen local forums to develop deeper appreciation of architecture and the role of architecture in community revitalization. Ideal for residents, professionals, vacationers, and day-trippers, this authoritative guidebook provides a broad, accessible architectural overview of the notable buildings that can be found in the core of downtown Miami, Miami Beach, and Coconut Grove.

This guidebook organizes 100 architectural highlights into walkable tours in downtown Miami and Miami Beach. From the tropical vernacular of the Barnacle House to the Art Deco neighborhoods of Miami Beach, from the Midcentury Modernism of Morris Lapidus to the sophisticated rhythms of Arquitectonica, Judith Paine McBrien captures the vibrancy and diversity of architecture in Miami and its environs. Set in a stunning seaside site, the buildings of Miami, Miami Beach, Coral Gables, and Coconut Grove tell a fascinating story of artifice, innovation, charm, and international influence. This masterfully illustrated guide highlights the buildings that visitors will want to see, among them the City Beautiful planning of Coral Gables; the classical glory of Vizcaya; and the New World Symphony, Frank Gehry’s twenty-first-century reinterpretation of the music hall.

This guidebook organizes 100 architectural highlights into walkable tours in downtown Miami and Miami Beach. From the tropical vernacular of the Barnacle House to the Art Deco neighborhoods of Miami Beach, from the Midcentury Modernism of Morris Lapidus to the sophisticated rhythms of Arquitectonica, Judith Paine McBrien captures the vibrancy and diversity of architecture in Miami and its environs. Set in a stunning seaside site, the buildings of Miami, Miami Beach, Coral Gables, and Coconut Grove tell a fascinating story of artifice, innovation, charm, and international influence. This masterfully illustrated guide highlights the buildings that visitors will want to see, among them the City Beautiful planning of Coral Gables; the classical glory of Vizcaya; and the New World Symphony, Frank Gehry’s twenty-first-century reinterpretation of the music hall.

Coral Gables: Miami Riviera was the original title for the many publicity and informational brochures published by the Coral Gables Corporation. These brochures revealed, to a winter-weary nation, the intentions, achievements, and progress of George E. Merrick's grand vision for "America's Most Beautiful Suburb," created during the Florida land boom of 1921-26. This book is specifically designed as a history and a pocket guide to showcase the many unique architectural features and places of this premier "boom time" city, from its beginnings until the present. The guide is organized into three sections. The first is an essay that compares the concept of the city with the influences of American 19th- and 20th-century city planning. The second section illustrates the patterns of Coral Gables development with original maps and the many grandiose planning functions for the "Master Suburb" that became a city. The third section offers six self-guided tours by sectors and themes of the city, featuring more than 90 sites and landmarks. These are illustrated with more than 120 archival and contemporary photos and the original advertisement drawings of Merrick's grand vision. Aristides J. Millas is associate professor of architecture at the University of Miami. Ellen J. Uguccioni is director of the Historic Preservation Division, City of Coral Gables.