Art Deco Historic District

The Art Deco District in Miami Beach is roughly a square mile of 1920s to 1950s hotels, apartments and shops in South Beach, centered on Ocean Drive, Collins Avenue and Washington Avenue. Walking it costs nothing, takes two to three hours at an easy pace, and the guided tour from the Art Deco Welcome Center at 1001 Ocean Drive is the best way to understand what you are looking at.

It suits anyone with a free morning in South Beach, design fans and photographers in particular. We'd go early, before 10am, when the light is soft, the sidewalks are empty and the heat is still bearable.

Why is the Art Deco District protected?

The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on May 14, 1979, as the Miami Beach Architectural District, and was the first 20th-century urban district in the country to get that status. The listing came after a small group of residents, led by Barbara Baer Capitman, fought to stop the old hotels being torn down.

Capitman and industrial designer Leonard Horowitz organized the Miami Design Preservation League (MDPL) in 1976. National Register status did not stop demolitions on its own: the Senator Hotel on Collins Avenue, a 1939 L. Murray Dixon design, came down in 1988 despite a long "Save Our Senator" campaign. In 1992 the city extended local historic protection across the whole mile-square district, which is what keeps it intact today.

Which architectural styles will you see?

Three styles dominate: Art Deco and its streamlined cousin from the 1930s, Mediterranean Revival from the 1920s, and Miami Modern (MiMo) from the 1950s and 1960s. Once you can tell them apart, a walk down Collins becomes much more interesting than a row of pastel hotels.

The "tropical" touches are what make Miami Beach Deco its own thing: flamingos, waves and palm motifs etched into glass, and eyebrows over the windows that shade rooms from the sun. The pastel paint schemes most people associate with the district came later: designer Leonard Horowitz introduced them in the 1980s revival, when many facades that had been plain white or cream were repainted to highlight their details.

A self-guided Art Deco walking route

This loop is about 1.5 to 2 miles and takes two hours with stops. Start at the Welcome Center at 1001 Ocean Drive, head south on Ocean Drive, come back north on Collins Avenue, then finish on Washington Avenue.

1. Art Deco Welcome Center, 1001 Ocean Dr. On the beach side of the street, in Lummus Park.
2. Edison Hotel, 960 Ocean Dr. A 1935 Henry Hohauser building, one of several by the architect along this stretch.
3. Colony Hotel, 736 Ocean Dr. Hohauser again, 1935. The vertical neon sign is the most photographed on the street, best after dark.
4. Park Central Hotel, 640 Ocean Dr. A taller 1937 Hohauser design with strong vertical lines.
5. Turn inland at 6th Street and walk north on Collins Avenue. The blocks between 6th and 14th Streets are packed with smaller 1930s hotels. Look for the Essex House at 1001 Collins Ave (Hohauser, 1938), whose nautical "ship's prow" corner and tower are classic Streamline.
6. Back to Ocean Drive at 11th Street: Villa Casa Casuarina, 1116 Ocean Dr. The former Versace mansion, built in 1930 and now a hotel, is the clearest Mediterranean Revival example on the drive.
7. The Tides and the Cardozo, 1220 and 1300 Ocean Dr. The Tides is one of the tallest Deco hotels on the drive; the Cardozo (Hohauser, 1939) shows off rounded corners and racing-stripe banding.
8. Miami Beach Post Office, 1300 Washington Ave. Walk two blocks west. This 1937 Art Moderne building by Howard Lovewell Cheney has a round domed lobby and a 1940 three-panel mural by Charles Hardman. If it is open, step inside.
9. The Wolfsonian–FIU, 1001 Washington Ave. Finish at this 1927 Mediterranean Revival storage building turned design museum. Check its site for current hours before planning around it.

If you only have 45 minutes, walk Ocean Drive from 14th Street down to 7th Street and back. You will see most of the headline facades. To see the Streamline neon at its best, repeat the Ocean Drive stretch after sunset.

Is the guided Art Deco walking tour worth it?

Yes, if you want the stories behind the facades. MDPL's Art Deco Walking Tour runs daily from the Welcome Center, lasts about two hours, covers roughly 1.5 miles and caps groups at 20. When we checked in October 2026, prices were $50 for adults, $40 for seniors 65+, $35 for ages 13 to 17, and free for children 12 and under.

Headsets are included. Book online through the MDPL site; start times are shown in the booking calendar. MDPL also offers private group tours (from $400) and a self-paced app-based audio tour. For other options, including combined city tours, see our Miami tours page.

Art Deco Welcome Center: hours and what's there

The Art Deco Welcome Center is at 1001 Ocean Drive and is open daily from 9am to 5pm. It closes on Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Year's Day.

When is Art Deco Weekend?

Art Deco Weekend is MDPL's annual street festival, held each January along Ocean Drive. The 2027 edition, billed as the 50th, is scheduled for January 15 to 17, 2027, running from 5th Street to 14th Place.

Expect tours, talks, sketch walks, live music, a classic car show, an artisan market and a kids' zone. The schedule is published closer to the date, so check artdecoweekend.org before you go. It is a busy weekend for South Beach hotels, so book a room early; our Ocean Drive hotels page covers staying right on the strip.

Tips for visiting

• Timing: In summer walk before 10am or after 5pm, and come back after dark for the neon.
• Parking: Street parking near Ocean Drive is limited and metered. Public garages on Collins Avenue and Washington Avenue are easier; check rates on the City of Miami Beach parking pages.
• Combine it: The beach in Lummus Park is across the street, and South Pointe Park is a 20-minute walk south.