My first #ArtRoute through Miami

theartroute
Sep 13, 2018
6 min read

Updated: Oct 22, 2018

Discover a weekly Art Route through the best spots in Miami. Enjoy a detailed guide with tips, pictures and more!

Stop #1: Miami Beach Art Deco

There isn't a better place to start with than Miami Beach; it is definitely my favorite spot in Miami. The mixture between its Art Deco architecture and its amazing vibes makes this place so unique. I love walking around admiring the different squarely shaped, retro buildings, filled with pastel colors while imagining the story behind each one of them.

If you are not in the mood for walking, you can rent a City Bike! When you are done, you are free to leave it at any bike station along the way. I'd start my route at Collins Avenue between 40th and 39th street with The Cadillac Hotel. Built in 1940, The Cadillac is the one of the tallest Art-Deco buildings in South Miami and it was designed to look like a car, from the grey finial peak that leads up to a glimmering hood ornament, to the portico over the driveway that looks like a hood. My second stop would be at The Delano Hotel, even though it's not the typical Art-Deco style, I absolutely love this building and it's finned Delano finial that crowns the building, making your pictures look amazing from any angle. Architect Robert Swatburg designed it in 1947. If you keep on pedaling you will find four streets below, between the 13th and the 12th street, The Webster. It was designed in 1939 by Henry Hohauser, who happens to also be one of the master architects behind the urban landscape of South Beach. The Webster's has the typical Art Deco style, with its perfectly symmetrical shape and neon lights. If you feel you can keep on going, then I'd suggest you go four more streets down until you get to the famous Ocean Drive. Along this street you will find buildings such as The Carlyle, The Breakwater, The McAlpin, and so many others!

I promise that after you finish this route, you will thank me for adding a little exercise to your day. You will for sure stop along the way for an ice cream and/or food while admiring these beautiful buildings.

Stop #2: The Bass Museum

This Museum is a MUST on your art route. It is absolutely beautiful, both inside and outside, the Art Deco architecture of the Bass is the finest and oldest example of it. It was designed by Russell Pancoast and built in 1930 as the Miami Beach Public Library and Arts Center. The Bass Museum of art opened in 1964 through the donation of a private collection by John and Johanna Bass to the city of Miami Beach. My favorite part is the unique skin the structure has, it is covered in fossilized Paleolithic coral that adds texture and a naturally aging hue to it. I love how these coral walls and Art Deco design bring together the most beautiful things about Miami Beach: its beaches and architecture. By the way, you won't miss Ugo Rondinone's sculpture before coming inside, the giant rainbow totem is there for you to admire.

Inside this architectural gem, there are incredible art exhibitions you won’t want to miss. The Bass Museum focuses on exhibitions of international contemporary art, it presents mid-career and established artists reflecting the spirit and international character of Miami Beach. Currently there is an amazing exhibition called Deceptive Constructions, created by Karen Rifas. Employing densely hued shapes and irregular lines, Rifas creates spaces that oscillate between the two- and three- dimensional.

Ugo Rondinone - Echoes Seven Magic Mountains installation in Nevada

Stop #3: Miami Design District - ICA Museum & Museum Garage

Miami Design District is also one of my favorite places, and not because it’s surrounded by design brands, but because of the unique and stylish architecture each of these stores has. It’s also filled with internationally important art collections, phenomenal temporary and permanent art and design installations, and great restaurants. I also admire the entrepreneur Craig Robins greatly. He is the CEO of Dacra Development and the visionary behind this architectural playground that never stops to impress me.

During your stay at Design District, you must go see Museum Garage, it's a masterpiece! I wouldn’t have ever imagined myself driving by several times a month to contemplate a car garage, but its just amazing. The story behind this structure is my favorite: five architects were asked to design part of the facade without letting any of them know their position in the overall landscape or who their work would be placed next to and that's how this crazy structure came to live. My favorite building’s facade is called “Dippin” designed by the New York artist Jamian Juliano-Villani.

Just across Museum Garage you must also make a stop at the Institute of Contemporary Art Miami, which luckily for you, admission is free of charge. ICA is dedicated to promoting continuous experimentation in contemporary art, advancing new scholarships, and fostering the exchange of art and ideas throughout the Miami region and internationally. When you visit it, make sure to step to the patio and take a look at the cool sculptures they have.

Stop #4: Perez Art Museum Miami

This is an absolutely mandatory stop. Perez Art Museum’s architecture captures your attention instantly, you won’t know whether to go inside the gallery or to just sit and contemplate the building. What I love about it is how it makes you feel instantly welcomed and relaxed, you'll just want to sit down and chill there for a while. That’s because of its open space design that faces a spectacular ocean view and its vertical gardens, which create a feeling of the park coming inside the museum. The genius architects behind this project are Herzog and de Meuron, who created a design that is highly responsive to the city’s climate and the needs of a young, rising art museum.

I must add more details about the hanging gardens because they are perfect. They were conceptualized and designed by the French botanist and inventor of the vertical garden, Patrick Banc, well known for his work around the world. Inside the columns of the vertical gardens are fiberglass tubes wrapped in felt. The felt is sliced and plants are placed inside. Different kinds of plant materials were tested to see which would thrive under local conditions.

Perez Art Museum is a contemporary art museum that is made up of a series of distinct galleries and other public areas connected by a series of interstitial spaces displaying permanent collection, allowing for a fluid visitor experience.

Stop #5: Downtown Miami - Cafe Galleria

Downtown Miami is filled with cool spots, so it’s so worth it to go for an afternoon walk while admiring the buildings and discovering new places. I promise, beauty is everywhere, you just have to look up more often…

Thanks to social media I found this little nice spot in Downtown Miami, so I decided to make a stop for a delicious coffee in this cute place called Cafe Galleria. It was so worth it! The decoration of the place makes you feel inside an art gallery, the coffee was delicious, and the nice music made it even better. The pink and blue colors and the touch of green given by the plants, makes this place just perfect. After I left I realized these decorations are for sale. So if you are looking to buy something really nice for you home, you might want to stop here!

Stop #6: Vizcaya Museum & Gardens

I couldn’t believe there was such a spectacular place like this hidden in Miami Avenue. As soon as you get off the avenue and drive through the entrance, there’s a trail of beautiful trees that suddenly open up to this beautiful castle’s entrance making you feel as if you suddenly stepped into a place in Italy. When you think this building can’t get any better, you then notice how the main terrace opens up to an incredible ocean view, giving you a breathtaking look of Miami.

Vizcaya was the winter home of James Deering. F. Burrall Hoffman designed this building in 1914 with an Italian Renaissance and Baroque style adapted to the subtropical climate of South Florida. The name “Vizcaya” comes from the northern Spanish province of the same name, suggesting the project’s European inspiration. Another reason James Deering chooses this name is the connection with Biscayne Bay.

The overall landscape design is conceived as a series of rooms. Low hedges dominate the central space in geometric arrangements. The gardens were characterized for the abundance of antique sculptures and porous coral stones, which gave a weathered appearance soon after their completion.

Tip: If you go in the morning, don’t forget to bring a water bottle with you. Walking through the gardens without it isn’t such a great idea.