Miami

The city of Miami was incorporated July 28, 1896. The city was known to have the finest buildings in Florida. The very first hotel was the Hotel Miami on Avenue D which was considered the early main street of the city. Henry Flagler was persuaded to expand his rail line, the Florida East Coast Railway and construct a luxury hotel on the north bank of the Miami River. Flagler eventually wrote Julia Tuttle a letter recapping her offer of land to him in exchange for extending his railroad to Miami, laying out a city, and building a hotel. In December 1895, the site was being cleared for the construction of the Royal Palms hotel. On April 7, 1896, the railroad tracks to Miami were finally completed and the first train arrived April 13th. Less than year later, the Royal Pams hotel was finally opened to the public. From the 1900’s - 1930’s the city of Miami rapidly grew. Large and tall buildings started being constructed. In the mid 1930’s, the famous art deco district was being developed. Many hotels were constructed from the 1930’s into the 1960’s. Most of the art deco hotels are located in Miami Beach. These hotels were built to accommodate the wealthy individuals visiting the city. Miami developed its own style of architecture called MiMo. Morris Lapidus was well known for using that style on his hotels located within the city. A couple hotels have gained notoriety for being featured in films, tv shows, and celebrity appearances. Many retro hotels have since been demolished, but some still exist to this day. The Miami Design Preservation League has fought to preserve many of the art deco buildings located on South Beach, including Fontainebleau and Eden Roc. There is a high level of enthusiasm for the historical buildings of Miami. People have come to photograph and film these unique buildings. There are now multiple historical preservation districts.

List of hotels from first built to 1980’s

Hotel Miami (1897)

Royal Palms (1897)

Hotel Halcyon (1903)

Lincoln (1917)

Strand hotel (1919)

Mcallister (1919)

Martinique (1919)

Columbus (1920’s)

Alcazar (1920’s

Flamingo (1921)

Wofford Hotel (1921)

Nemo Hotel (1921)

Pancoast (1923)

Nautilus (1924)

Fleetwood (1924)

King Cole (1925)

Watson (1925)

Clay (1925)

Roney Plaza (1925)

The Floridian (1925)

Blitmore (1926)

Everglades hotel (1926)

Boulevard Hotel (1926)

Robert Clay (1926)

Patricia (1926)

Whitman (1926)

Casa Faena (1928)

Blackstone (1929)

Clinton hotel (1934)

Colony (1935)

Gulf service station and hotel (1936)

Cavalier (1936)

Netherland (1936)

The Tides (1936)

Ocean Spray (1937)

Leslie hotel (1937)

Winterhaven (1937)

Waldorf Towers (1937)

Beachcomber (1937)

Helmor hotel (1938)

Barcelona (1938)

Adams (1938)

National (1939)

New Yorker (1939)

Senator (1939)

Traymore (1939)

Clevelander (1939)

Albion (1939)

Graystone (1939)

Tudor (1939)

Cardozo (1939)

Ritz Plaza (1939)

Marlin (1939)

Cadillac (1940)

Raleigh (1940)

Abbey (1940)

Majestic (1940

Shelbourne (1940)

Lord Tarleton (1940)

Rendale (1940)

Shorecrest (1940)

Viscay (1941)

Caribbean (1941)

Avalon (1941)

Sovereign (1941)

Betsy Ross (1942)

Golden Strand (1946)

Kenilworth (1946)

Delano (1947)

Frontenac (1947)

Saxony (1948)

Surfcomber (1948)

Continental (1948)

Monte Carlo (1948)

Saxony (1948)

The Sea Gull (1948)

Sorrento (1948)

Sans Souci (1949)

Shore club (1949)

Boulevard Hotel (1950)

Casablanca (1950)

Holiday Inn (1950)

San Marino (1950)

Empress (1952)

Biscayne Terrace (1953)

Hotel Algiers (1953)

Fontainebleau (1954)

Eden Roc (1955)

Lucerne (1955)

Seville (1955)

Americana (1956)

DuPont Plaza (1957)

Deauville (1957)

Carillion (1958)

Beau Rivage (1959)

Lido Spa (1960)

Miami International (1960)

Doral Beach (1963)

Howard Johnsons (1965)

Coronado (1967)

Marco Polo (1967)

Omni (1977)

Hyatt Regency (1982)

InterContinental (1982)

Berni hotel (???)

Alamac (???)

Sea Breeze (???)

Atlantis (???)

Arlington (???)

Billows (???)

Golden Gate (???)

Graylynn (???)

Tamiami (???)

Blue Horizon Motor hotel (???)

Blue Waters (???)

Indian Queen (???)

Bal Harbour hotel (???)

Belmar (???)

Lombardy (???)

Sands (???)

Shoreham (???)

Shoremede (???)

Adrian (???)

Possibly more not listed

1. ↑ Picture credits

http://miamiarchives.blogspot.com/2015/06/hotel-row-miami-beach-1960s.html
http://miamiarchives.blogspot.com/2015/06/vintage-1960s-miami-beach-postcards.html