LETTER FROM MIAMI
The images are sad, but there is still hope. The Deauville Hotel in Miami (Florida) is being demolished. Built in 1957 on the North Beach seafront, it is nevertheless one of the emblems of the MiMo style (Miami Modern) imagined after the Second World War by young architects adept at geometric and spectacular shapes. Part of Miami’s history was written in this establishment which hosted President Kennedy, Frank Sinatra, the Beatles and Sammy Davis Junior for memorable evenings.
Bought in 2004 by the Cuban-American billionaire Alex Meruelo and closed since 2017 following an electrical fire started during the passage of Hurricane Irma, the building is, claims its owner, in a state of disrepair so advanced that it would be impossible to save it. An argument often used by city developers to destroy historic buildings in order to build larger, more expensive new buildings in their place…
The security argument to wipe the slate clean
The Deauville Hotel has become in recent weeks the symbol of this evolution that the Miami Design Preservation League has been fighting for years. Founded in 1976 by an architecture enthusiast, the association fights to save the historic buildings of the famous city in South Florida. She filed “an appeal to the town hall to stop the demolition” du Deauville, explains Daniel Ciraldo, who has been at the head of the association since 2017.
This native of Miami Beach worked for a time on Wall Street before returning to settle in Florida about ten years ago. “They have already knocked down the emblematic facade of Deauville – which could easily be rebuilt – and are now attacking the lobby, with its magnificent chandeliers”, he continues.
Since the tragedy of Surfside, in June 2021, during which the collapse of a building claimed the lives of 98 people, the subject of security has been brandished by promoters eager to wipe the slate clean. Sometimes with barely concealed dishonesty. To promote the cause of Deauville, the Miami Design Preservation League has hired an engineer to draw up a second opinion (which concludes that there is no risk of imminent collapse) and has already paid 20,000 dollars (19,200 euros ) in attorneys’ fees to contest the decision. “These buildings have no voice. We are their voice.” argues Daniel Ciraldo.
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