1993 Cityscape Graphics Pictorial View of South Beach, Miami Beach

A large and impressive pictorial view of South Beach, Miami Beach, Florida, produced in 1993 by Cityscape Graphics. In addition to highlighting local businesses and attractions, it also focuses on the area's distinctive art deco style architecture.

A Closer Look

Oriented towards the west, this view takes in the South Beach neighborhood of Miami Beach. Beachgoers engaged in a variety of leisure activities fill the foreground, along with shops, restaurants, hotels, and greenspace along Ocean Drive. Towards left is the Art Deco Welcome Center, managed by the Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau, which helps visitors learn about the famed art deco architecture throughout South Beach. In the background, additional restaurants, shops, parks, government offices, and landmarks appear, further demonstrating the area's unique architectural heritage. A previous owner appears to have labelled individual buildings for reference or research purposes.

Miami Beach

In 1900, Miami Beach was part of the John S. Collins (1837 - 1928) avocado plantation. Collins understood the potential of the barrier islands as a resort hub, but the farmlands, tangled mangrove swamps, and general inaccessibility stood in the way of serious development. Nonetheless, with help from investors, Collins persisted and in 1913 constructed a 2.5-mile wooden bridge, the Collins Bridge - at the time the world's longest - connecting Miami to Miami Beach (replaced in 1925 by the Venetian Causeway seen in the background here). Collins, and his fellow investors Carl G. Fisher (1874 - 1939) and the Lummus brothers, built elegant mansions on the island, setting off the Miami Beach building rush and the Florida Land Boom in general, which reached its apex in the mid-1920s, bequeathing the city the fabulous art deco architecture for which it is renowned.

Publication History and Census

This view was produced by Cityscape Graphics in 1993, with illustrations by Gary Whitney and Rob Zell-Breier, and color by Terry Cheney. No information is available about these artists or the firm, and the only other known examples of this view are held by the University of Miami School of Architecture's Architectural Drawings and Maps Collection (noted as being 'Sponsored by the Miami Beach Development Corp.,' perhaps indicating an alternative printing).