Roark
March 7th, 2005, 03:19 AM
It was a beautiful day today, so I loaded up the iPod, digital camera and a big gulp and went for a walk.
Many people have only been to South Beach for visits or come down on weekends...this is quick little walking tour
that lasted as long as my camera battery (about 90 minutes) Here it is the path that I took starting at 12 noon and
went around this path to the north...the pictures are in that order.
http://www.restainer.com/skyscrapers/sundaystroll/path.jpg
The starting point is about 3 blocks from Lincoln Rd. as you walk up Alton you would pass Einstein’s Bagels, Pollo Tropical,
plenty of local retailers and neighborhood services, Blockbuster, dry cleaners, art galleries, photo lab, Nextel, T Mobile, Laundromat,
Starbucks, Liquor store, Firestone, McDonald's, and plenty more in these 3 blocks. Most of these buildings are designed in the art
deco style...the Firestone is an original. The "Electrowave" is Miami Beach's circulator bus...for two bits you can ride around in an electric bus.
http://www.restainer.com/skyscrapers/sundaystroll/02.jpg
Firestone stays busy even though only 33% of the households in the entire city of Miami Beach do not own cars, I'd bet that
on South Beach (from 1st Street to 23rd Street, and 12 blocks wide at the most) less than 50% of the residents have cars,
you just don't need them.
http://www.restainer.com/skyscrapers/sundaystroll/03.jpg
This is the 18 screen AMC movie theatre that marks the entrance to the Lincoln Road shopping mall...notice that you can buy
nice pre-construction skyscrapers in that little office in the right hand corner...tell 'em Roark sent cha.
http://www.restainer.com/skyscrapers/sundaystroll/04.jpg
This building was designed by Bernard Zyscovich...it marks the last block before Lincoln Road becomes purely a pedestrian mall.
(5 minutes elasped time)
http://www.restainer.com/skyscrapers/sundaystroll/05.jpg
This is the former Federal Home Loan Bank System building...as you can see a national retailer now occupies it. They still use the
original teller windows as check out counters. This is the "other" Banana Republic on South Beach...the first one is on 6th and Collins Ave
(only 18 blocks away) across for the other GAP. The Collins Ave stores cater mostly to tourists. Lincoln Road tends to cater to locals.
http://www.restainer.com/skyscrapers/sundaystroll/06.jpg
Lincoln Road was turned to a pedestrian mall in the 1950's and Morris Lapidus designed a great place...he put together some great fountains and sitting areas.
http://www.restainer.com/skyscrapers/sundaystroll/07.jpg
Sunday's sure are great! Fresh fruit, orchids/flowers, plants, and other vendors take to the Road.
http://www.restainer.com/skyscrapers/sundaystroll/08.jpg
http://www.restainer.com/skyscrapers/sundaystroll/09.jpg
This my favorite building on Lincoln Road...this photo doesn't do it justice, but you may be able to make out the retail on
the ground floor...Books and Books is the one on the left...the glass in the display windows were once one piece of curved glass
...these were meticulously fabricated in the 30's...it's probably just too expensive to replicate these days and they are now several
panes of some plexi glass something or another.
http://www.restainer.com/skyscrapers/sundaystroll/10.jpg
We are also in front of Pacific Time...a great restaurant. Owner Chef Jonathan Eisman has been doing a great job
for well over 10 years. Not too flashy...just damned good.
By the way, we are now 10 minutes into our walk.
My man is playing "Sunny Side of the Street"...great song for this day.
http://www.restainer.com/skyscrapers/sundaystroll/11.jpg
This is the VanDyke cafe...it used to be the tallest building on Lincoln Road after the Collins bridge was built and was used
as a Real Estate development/sales office when Miami Beach was first developed.
http://www.restainer.com/skyscrapers/sundaystroll/12.jpg
VanDyke Cafe...DAMN TRAFFIC! I'm getting road rage....:laugh:
http://www.restainer.com/skyscrapers/sundaystroll/13.jpg
Shops next to VanDyke...I love the detail on the windows and the awnings.
http://www.restainer.com/skyscrapers/sundaystroll/15.jpg
What used to be a street open to vehicular traffic are now fountains and dining.
http://www.restainer.com/skyscrapers/sundaystroll/14.jpg
Nexxt Cafe has about 1,000 sq ft of dining area inside and about 7,000 square feet outside...packed. Don't these people know
that there is free parking in Aventura!!!
http://www.restainer.com/skyscrapers/sundaystroll/16.jpg
Sony Building...beautiful!! This office building was just condominiumized and the office space is being sold by the Katrina
Campins from the Apprentice.
http://www.restainer.com/skyscrapers/sundaystroll/17.jpg
This is the Lincoln Theater...home of the New World Symphony... the city has agreed to use the surface parking
lot behind this building to be used to create a new facility for the NWS ...designed by FRANK GEHRY.
The "soundscape" will feature a public bowl with multimedia projection and the Symphony will be required to provide several free
performances for the citizens of Miami Beach. By the way...the elapsed time is about 20 minutes.
http://www.restainer.com/skyscrapers/sundaystroll/18.jpg
Here are some happy customers that have just purchased some furniture at the Lincoln Road antiques fair held every Sunday.
http://www.restainer.com/skyscrapers/sundaystroll/19.jpg
Here we are on the corner of Drexel and 16th Street looking east...that is the Lennar building and the 800+ Lowes
hotel in the background.
http://www.restainer.com/skyscrapers/sundaystroll/20.jpg
Here is the big turn on Espanola way...30 minutes elapsed time (that would be the time that it would take to drive
to Aventura on a weekday).
http://www.restainer.com/skyscrapers/sundaystroll/21.jpg
This street is loaded with art galleries, restaurants and live work lofts. Very funky and very close in feel to Spain.
http://www.restainer.com/skyscrapers/sundaystroll/22.jpg
http://www.restainer.com/skyscrapers/sundaystroll/23.jpg
Boy...look at that boring generic building in the background :)
http://www.restainer.com/skyscrapers/sundaystroll/24.jpg
This is looking back at the entrance to Espanola from Washington..the Clay Hotel is a Youth Hostel...or hostile,
if you have ever stayed in one....
http://www.restainer.com/skyscrapers/sundaystroll/25.jpg
Turning to look north...you would be remiss not to look at Ace Ventura's apartment (pets not allowed).
http://www.restainer.com/skyscrapers/sundaystroll/26.jpg
This is the historic Cameo Theatre...now Crobar. They changed the Marquee pretty quickly...last nigt Carl Cox and
Paul Oakenfold were on it and playing inside...NICE. Those guys played at Groove Jet about 10 years ago!!
Yes, they had electronic music on South Beach 10 years ago.
http://www.restainer.com/skyscrapers/sundaystroll/27.jpg
Just some boring building on the Ocean. There is a Starbucks in this ocean front building called Il Villagio. The barristas
were a bit backed up and it took 20 minutes to get a Frappucino!!! I could have driven to Aventura in that amount of time!!!
AND, there wouldn't be a crowd of scantily clad girls in bikini's...
http://www.restainer.com/skyscrapers/sundaystroll/28.jpg
Generic boring cookie cutter architecture...some one has to tell this guy to stop building these buildings! :)
Boy, I'd hate to live here with all that pesky salt water blowing on my windows.
http://www.restainer.com/skyscrapers/sundaystroll/29.jpg
Gloria Estefan's Cordozo hotel, the Cavalier, and the Netherlands
http://www.restainer.com/skyscrapers/sundaystroll/30.jpg
The Tides...my favorite...this is Ace Ventura's first delivery in the opening scene of the first Pet Detective movie.
http://www.restainer.com/skyscrapers/sundaystroll/31.jpg
The Carlyle...formerly owned by Renzo Rossi owner of Diesel Jeans...and also the site of Birdcage...
it is now a hotel condo sold for $1,000 per square foot. Each apartment comes with a membership to Casa Casaurina
(private club that used to be Versace's Mansion) next door. Marketed by guess who...tell 'em Roark sent cha...better yet...
private message me!!! :)
http://www.restainer.com/skyscrapers/sundaystroll/32.jpg
It's 1:10pm and the battery is starting to go....so we're heading back....
The Hotel Victor just opened a couple of weeks ago...it is pretty nice.
http://www.restainer.com/skyscrapers/sundaystroll/33.jpg
11th Street and Washington...the Miami Beach Police Department and Courthouse...the gun is a WWII memorial.
http://www.restainer.com/skyscrapers/sundaystroll/34.jpg
These are a couple of condo buildings on the corner of 11th and Meridian...you may have guessed the Meridian
is the street the runs down the middle of Miami Beach. This is a very beautiful tree lined street.
http://www.restainer.com/skyscrapers/sundaystroll/35.jpg
Flamingo Park is over 3 city blocks wide and about 4 city blocks in length in the center of South Beach. The park has over 30 clay
tennis courts, a public pool with toys for kids, basketball courts, racquetball courts, soccer fields, a track, a football field and
3 baseball diamonds. Oh, and a doggie park with the little ramps, hoops for the mutts to jump through and a separate caged area
where the dogs can sniff each other and not strolling photographers.
http://www.restainer.com/skyscrapers/sundaystroll/36.jpg
This is obviously the pool...there is lap pool for the big kids...notice the clock on Aquatectonica's Waverly...1:20pm
http://www.restainer.com/skyscrapers/sundaystroll/37.jpg
Home again, home again...this is the Grand Flamingo...for the old timers, that was Mortuary Towers...er, Morton Towers.
3 old 1950's ish buildings that did not make very good use of space...the building was purchased for an "outrageous" amount
by (help me out here fellas) Charles E Smith/AIMCO and they wisely hired Zyscovich to put a tower up in the middle of the
parking lot, build another building with parking to handle the extra apartments and then clad the parking with townhomes
so that there is pleasing pedestrian activity moving along Bay Road.
http://www.restainer.com/skyscrapers/sundaystroll/01.jpg
I hope you enjoyed that...thanks for joining...
Next time anyone tells you that South Beach is overpriced... you can count on the fact that they have never lived here.
Or they don't know how to live! If you aren't happy here...it isn't the city's fault!!!
It is worth every penny living in South Beach, and South Beach is priceless... That is just a quick walk around...on an average Sunday...
Last weekend was the International Wine and Food Festival...the pictures really wouldn't have been in focus as the camera man was seeing double.The weekend before was the Largest Boat Show in the world...all within walking distance...gotta go, they are shooting fireworks off for some reason, maybe a celebration to honor a parking meter revenue milestone!!!!!
:cheers:
Many people have only been to South Beach for visits or come down on weekends...this is quick little walking tour
that lasted as long as my camera battery (about 90 minutes) Here it is the path that I took starting at 12 noon and
went around this path to the north...the pictures are in that order.
http://www.restainer.com/skyscrapers/sundaystroll/path.jpg
The starting point is about 3 blocks from Lincoln Rd. as you walk up Alton you would pass Einstein’s Bagels, Pollo Tropical,
plenty of local retailers and neighborhood services, Blockbuster, dry cleaners, art galleries, photo lab, Nextel, T Mobile, Laundromat,
Starbucks, Liquor store, Firestone, McDonald's, and plenty more in these 3 blocks. Most of these buildings are designed in the art
deco style...the Firestone is an original. The "Electrowave" is Miami Beach's circulator bus...for two bits you can ride around in an electric bus.
http://www.restainer.com/skyscrapers/sundaystroll/02.jpg
Firestone stays busy even though only 33% of the households in the entire city of Miami Beach do not own cars, I'd bet that
on South Beach (from 1st Street to 23rd Street, and 12 blocks wide at the most) less than 50% of the residents have cars,
you just don't need them.
http://www.restainer.com/skyscrapers/sundaystroll/03.jpg
This is the 18 screen AMC movie theatre that marks the entrance to the Lincoln Road shopping mall...notice that you can buy
nice pre-construction skyscrapers in that little office in the right hand corner...tell 'em Roark sent cha.
http://www.restainer.com/skyscrapers/sundaystroll/04.jpg
This building was designed by Bernard Zyscovich...it marks the last block before Lincoln Road becomes purely a pedestrian mall.
(5 minutes elasped time)
http://www.restainer.com/skyscrapers/sundaystroll/05.jpg
This is the former Federal Home Loan Bank System building...as you can see a national retailer now occupies it. They still use the
original teller windows as check out counters. This is the "other" Banana Republic on South Beach...the first one is on 6th and Collins Ave
(only 18 blocks away) across for the other GAP. The Collins Ave stores cater mostly to tourists. Lincoln Road tends to cater to locals.
http://www.restainer.com/skyscrapers/sundaystroll/06.jpg
Lincoln Road was turned to a pedestrian mall in the 1950's and Morris Lapidus designed a great place...he put together some great fountains and sitting areas.
http://www.restainer.com/skyscrapers/sundaystroll/07.jpg
Sunday's sure are great! Fresh fruit, orchids/flowers, plants, and other vendors take to the Road.
http://www.restainer.com/skyscrapers/sundaystroll/08.jpg
http://www.restainer.com/skyscrapers/sundaystroll/09.jpg
This my favorite building on Lincoln Road...this photo doesn't do it justice, but you may be able to make out the retail on
the ground floor...Books and Books is the one on the left...the glass in the display windows were once one piece of curved glass
...these were meticulously fabricated in the 30's...it's probably just too expensive to replicate these days and they are now several
panes of some plexi glass something or another.
http://www.restainer.com/skyscrapers/sundaystroll/10.jpg
We are also in front of Pacific Time...a great restaurant. Owner Chef Jonathan Eisman has been doing a great job
for well over 10 years. Not too flashy...just damned good.
By the way, we are now 10 minutes into our walk.
My man is playing "Sunny Side of the Street"...great song for this day.
http://www.restainer.com/skyscrapers/sundaystroll/11.jpg
This is the VanDyke cafe...it used to be the tallest building on Lincoln Road after the Collins bridge was built and was used
as a Real Estate development/sales office when Miami Beach was first developed.
http://www.restainer.com/skyscrapers/sundaystroll/12.jpg
VanDyke Cafe...DAMN TRAFFIC! I'm getting road rage....:laugh:
http://www.restainer.com/skyscrapers/sundaystroll/13.jpg
Shops next to VanDyke...I love the detail on the windows and the awnings.
http://www.restainer.com/skyscrapers/sundaystroll/15.jpg
What used to be a street open to vehicular traffic are now fountains and dining.
http://www.restainer.com/skyscrapers/sundaystroll/14.jpg
Nexxt Cafe has about 1,000 sq ft of dining area inside and about 7,000 square feet outside...packed. Don't these people know
that there is free parking in Aventura!!!
http://www.restainer.com/skyscrapers/sundaystroll/16.jpg
Sony Building...beautiful!! This office building was just condominiumized and the office space is being sold by the Katrina
Campins from the Apprentice.
http://www.restainer.com/skyscrapers/sundaystroll/17.jpg
This is the Lincoln Theater...home of the New World Symphony... the city has agreed to use the surface parking
lot behind this building to be used to create a new facility for the NWS ...designed by FRANK GEHRY.
The "soundscape" will feature a public bowl with multimedia projection and the Symphony will be required to provide several free
performances for the citizens of Miami Beach. By the way...the elapsed time is about 20 minutes.
http://www.restainer.com/skyscrapers/sundaystroll/18.jpg
Here are some happy customers that have just purchased some furniture at the Lincoln Road antiques fair held every Sunday.
http://www.restainer.com/skyscrapers/sundaystroll/19.jpg
Here we are on the corner of Drexel and 16th Street looking east...that is the Lennar building and the 800+ Lowes
hotel in the background.
http://www.restainer.com/skyscrapers/sundaystroll/20.jpg
Here is the big turn on Espanola way...30 minutes elapsed time (that would be the time that it would take to drive
to Aventura on a weekday).
http://www.restainer.com/skyscrapers/sundaystroll/21.jpg
This street is loaded with art galleries, restaurants and live work lofts. Very funky and very close in feel to Spain.
http://www.restainer.com/skyscrapers/sundaystroll/22.jpg
http://www.restainer.com/skyscrapers/sundaystroll/23.jpg
Boy...look at that boring generic building in the background :)
http://www.restainer.com/skyscrapers/sundaystroll/24.jpg
This is looking back at the entrance to Espanola from Washington..the Clay Hotel is a Youth Hostel...or hostile,
if you have ever stayed in one....
http://www.restainer.com/skyscrapers/sundaystroll/25.jpg
Turning to look north...you would be remiss not to look at Ace Ventura's apartment (pets not allowed).
http://www.restainer.com/skyscrapers/sundaystroll/26.jpg
This is the historic Cameo Theatre...now Crobar. They changed the Marquee pretty quickly...last nigt Carl Cox and
Paul Oakenfold were on it and playing inside...NICE. Those guys played at Groove Jet about 10 years ago!!
Yes, they had electronic music on South Beach 10 years ago.
http://www.restainer.com/skyscrapers/sundaystroll/27.jpg
Just some boring building on the Ocean. There is a Starbucks in this ocean front building called Il Villagio. The barristas
were a bit backed up and it took 20 minutes to get a Frappucino!!! I could have driven to Aventura in that amount of time!!!
AND, there wouldn't be a crowd of scantily clad girls in bikini's...
http://www.restainer.com/skyscrapers/sundaystroll/28.jpg
Generic boring cookie cutter architecture...some one has to tell this guy to stop building these buildings! :)
Boy, I'd hate to live here with all that pesky salt water blowing on my windows.
http://www.restainer.com/skyscrapers/sundaystroll/29.jpg
Gloria Estefan's Cordozo hotel, the Cavalier, and the Netherlands
http://www.restainer.com/skyscrapers/sundaystroll/30.jpg
The Tides...my favorite...this is Ace Ventura's first delivery in the opening scene of the first Pet Detective movie.
http://www.restainer.com/skyscrapers/sundaystroll/31.jpg
The Carlyle...formerly owned by Renzo Rossi owner of Diesel Jeans...and also the site of Birdcage...
it is now a hotel condo sold for $1,000 per square foot. Each apartment comes with a membership to Casa Casaurina
(private club that used to be Versace's Mansion) next door. Marketed by guess who...tell 'em Roark sent cha...better yet...
private message me!!! :)
http://www.restainer.com/skyscrapers/sundaystroll/32.jpg
It's 1:10pm and the battery is starting to go....so we're heading back....
The Hotel Victor just opened a couple of weeks ago...it is pretty nice.
http://www.restainer.com/skyscrapers/sundaystroll/33.jpg
11th Street and Washington...the Miami Beach Police Department and Courthouse...the gun is a WWII memorial.
http://www.restainer.com/skyscrapers/sundaystroll/34.jpg
These are a couple of condo buildings on the corner of 11th and Meridian...you may have guessed the Meridian
is the street the runs down the middle of Miami Beach. This is a very beautiful tree lined street.
http://www.restainer.com/skyscrapers/sundaystroll/35.jpg
Flamingo Park is over 3 city blocks wide and about 4 city blocks in length in the center of South Beach. The park has over 30 clay
tennis courts, a public pool with toys for kids, basketball courts, racquetball courts, soccer fields, a track, a football field and
3 baseball diamonds. Oh, and a doggie park with the little ramps, hoops for the mutts to jump through and a separate caged area
where the dogs can sniff each other and not strolling photographers.
http://www.restainer.com/skyscrapers/sundaystroll/36.jpg
This is obviously the pool...there is lap pool for the big kids...notice the clock on Aquatectonica's Waverly...1:20pm
http://www.restainer.com/skyscrapers/sundaystroll/37.jpg
Home again, home again...this is the Grand Flamingo...for the old timers, that was Mortuary Towers...er, Morton Towers.
3 old 1950's ish buildings that did not make very good use of space...the building was purchased for an "outrageous" amount
by (help me out here fellas) Charles E Smith/AIMCO and they wisely hired Zyscovich to put a tower up in the middle of the
parking lot, build another building with parking to handle the extra apartments and then clad the parking with townhomes
so that there is pleasing pedestrian activity moving along Bay Road.
http://www.restainer.com/skyscrapers/sundaystroll/01.jpg
I hope you enjoyed that...thanks for joining...
Next time anyone tells you that South Beach is overpriced... you can count on the fact that they have never lived here.
Or they don't know how to live! If you aren't happy here...it isn't the city's fault!!!
It is worth every penny living in South Beach, and South Beach is priceless... That is just a quick walk around...on an average Sunday...
Last weekend was the International Wine and Food Festival...the pictures really wouldn't have been in focus as the camera man was seeing double.The weekend before was the Largest Boat Show in the world...all within walking distance...gotta go, they are shooting fireworks off for some reason, maybe a celebration to honor a parking meter revenue milestone!!!!!
:cheers: