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Official Guided Walking Tours of the Art Deco District
Category: Hotels & Travel Tours Tours [Edit]
Art Deco Welcome Center1001 Ocean Dr
Miami Beach, FL 33139
(305) 531-3484
- Hours:
Mon-Wed, Fri-Sun 9:30 am - 5 pm
Thu 9:30 am - 6:30 pm
3 reviews for Official Guided Walking Tours of the Art Deco District
3 reviews in English
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Review from Eve C.
7/2/2008 ROTD 7/28/2008
The self-guided walking tour of the Art Deco district of South Beach is a great way to get acquainted with the wonderful art deco buildings that spot our lovely beach town.
The Miami Design Preservation League sponsors these tours, and you can pick up your iPod and headphones, along with a map, at the Art Deco Welcome Center, at 12th & Ocean (this is the temporary location while the original 1001 Ocean Dr space is being renovated). The cost is $15 per person, and the tour lasts about 90 minutes, depending on how fast you walk, and whether you want to stop somewhere along the way.
I'm a fan of the self-guided tour because you can go at your own pace, and if something just doesn't interest you, you can skip it. The iPod contains descriptions of about 15 stops along the tour, and provides quality information about the origins of the Art Deco movement, as well as certain common Art Deco features that you will no doubt be pointing out for years to come!
The tour is great for tourists and locals alike. I'd been living down here over 3 years before I finally went on the tour, and now I recommend it to everyone who even expresses the faintest interest!
At the end of the tour, a book containing several other walking tours is described, yet it always seems to be sold out of the gift shop!Listed in: La Premiere Critique, ROTD for the E-V-E, It's Winter Time!!
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Review from Min T.
Los Angeles, CA
4/27/2009 4 photos
Since Eve C reviewed the tour back in July 2008 and said the headquarters were set up in a temporary location, I called to see where they are currently located. They are indeed still at the temporary location at 12th & Ocean. The warm woman who answered the phone was a great help in directing me to their location once I got off the bus.
For your $15, you get a simple map and an iPod with the tour info. I didn't find it difficult to use the iPod but felt the tour should really be more like an hour and half, if not more depending on how many pictures you take along the way. The tour states it can be done in an hour, ha! Only if you speed walk and don't take pictures. I also was scribbling down almost everything that was said as well as marking the locations on the map. I did wish the stops had been labeled on the simplified map.
For instance, the first stop is the Amsterdam Hotel but if the counter woman had not told me it was the Versace Mansion, I probably would have kept going on Ocean until I found it. You are not given street addresses either, just landmarks and approximate street corners. Bringing a compass might be useful.
Still, for the most part, I found every stop tour. As I said, I think it should be updated because one of the stops, the Coral Rock House was being torn down when I walked by.
Once you're back in the shop, you hand over the equipment and get whatever ID or credit card you left behind to hold it. I suppose they don't want anyone to run off with their shabby earphones and much abused iPod.
The shop has a lot of knick knacks and the usual assortment of postcards to buy. I thought about buying a pill box but really had no use for it.
After touring the 12 or so stops, I thought I had became an expert on Art Deco! Or at least, actually noticing the colorful buildings and admiring them for an era long gone.Listed in: Miami Heat
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Review from Minika L.
San Francisco, CA
7/1/2009
What a great way to explore and learn about the art deco district! I love self guided tours because you can go at your own pace. The lady at the gift shop (where you pick up the ipods) told us that the tour would take about an hour........it was more like 2 hours. Not a big deal but if we knew that before hand, we would have put more money in the meter instead of having to go back to the car midway. I had a little difficulty finding certain places but perhaps that was due the ridiculously hot sun or my sense of no direction. The sound on my ipod wasn't the best (it skipped a little).
Overall it was a great experience and something both tourists and locals can enjoy.
Specialties
Miami Design Preservation League is a non-profit organization devoted to preserving, protecting, and promoting the cultural, social, economic, environmental and architectural integrity of the Miami Beach Architectural Historic District. Originally organized by Barbara Capitman and friends in 1976, it is the oldest Art Deco Society in the World.
MDPL provides cultural and educational programs to Dade County residents, surrounding counties, citizens of Florida and to national and international visitors and tourists. Our programs are developed for the general public and have special appeal to those interested in art, design, architecture, history, preservation, urban and community planning and development
History
Established in 1976
MDPL was the first Art Deco Society in the world. Back in 1970s South Beach, when MDPL's founders fought against all odds to save the Art Deco architecture from demolition, few could imagine the impact their activism would have on Miami Beach's future.
Thanks to their vision and passion, on May 14th, 1979, the Art Deco District was designated a historic district by the National Register of Historic Places. Since then, every element of South Beach's success story can be traced back to this defining moment.
The League's ongoing efforts include government and community advocacy, tours, educational programs, events (including the annual Art Deco Weekend), exhibits, lecture and film series, plus national and international outreach.
Today, MDPL continues to champion the legacy of its founders, with vigilance and dedication via its mission to preserve, protect and promote the Art Deco District.
