Art deco, entre
Posted: Friday, October 31, 2008
by Gregory Lewis
PopGnosis
The wind was fierce in the hill towns of Massachusetts at 4:00, Wednesday morning. The snow had pretty much stopping, leaving only a couple inches on the ground and a bitter chill in the black morning air.
Albany, one-and-a-half hours away had escaped the snow storm that brought central New York to a limp. No flight delays today.
Luggage (a single seven liter backpack, the biggest I could find) checked, boarding pass printed out at home, I climbed aboard the 737, patting her hull as I entered.
She was well behaved, flying ever so smooth at 34,000 feet.
While the entire east coast was shivering to an unusual cold front, south Florida was warm and clear.
Here I find myself in South Beach, an enclave encompassing the southern tip of Miami Beach, from South Pointe Drive to about 5th Street (although I might be wrong about that; it might be much further north). Miami Beach, as I have learned is a whole different ball game from Miami proper. Miami is a sprawling metropolis, and so is Miami Beach, but at least it's contained on an island, separate from Miami.
South Beach is simply beautiful, to my eye. No building stands that isn't built in the Spanish style, the art deco, or both. It is pastel playground decorated with date and coconut palms, and some other kinds of trees whose identity is unknown to me.
The balmy weather drove me to seek a dip in the sea this afternoon. Turquoise waters and white sand are postcard-perfect. Photographs of the fruit colored lifeguard huts--lime, orange, raspberry--are suitable for framing.
Walking on the southernmost tip of Ocean Drive, a car approached carrying two couples.
"Excuse me," asked one of the men, "Can you tell us where we would find art deco?"
"I'm not from here," I answered, "and I just got here yesterday." I told him I was from Massachusetts.
"Well then, welcome to Miami!" he beamed graciously.
Looking for art deco? It surrounds you, even as we speak.
I've identified two broad categories of art deco: a modern retro family, evident in the newer hotels, and an authentic art deco in the older hotels. The hi-rises are categorically different, so I'm not sure where they fit in.
Brown's Hotel is the simplist version of authentic art deco.
On Friday morning I learned about the coleda. It's a Cuban version of espresso; sweet and mucho potente, uno dolar.
Friday, October 30
Discovered some amazing new sections of South Beach today, Lincoln Rd. and Espanola Way. Both are densely congested with cafes, restaurants and stores, all lined with date and coconut palms, even a papaya tree or two.
As I hoofed it up Washington Ave. I noticed a digital publishing business, which gave me the idea of writing a small book that might be popular with the tourists.
Food and accommodations can be found for cheap here if you look around. Some hostels offer bunks for as low as $10-$15 a night. I bought a Florida avocado today the size of a small melon for $1.47. There's lunch!
This Article has been viewed 209 times. (Not updated in real-time.)
No comments yet.We want your comments! If you can read this, you don't have javascript enabled, so you can't use this comment system. Please enable javascript.