Miami’s metamorphoses

Does anyone still remember Miami Vice? Don Johnson and Philipp Michael Thomas as cool cops in casual clothes and fast cars on the hunt for criminals on Ocean Drive? That was in the 80s and testified to an attitude to life that only seemed to exist in sunny, carefree Florida. Back then, Miami was a place for robbers and bandits, but also for peaceful retirees and young families who appreciated the sun and the low cost of living.

Since then, Miami has reinvented itself several times. No sooner had South Beach, with its Art Deco buildings, gone from being a retiree’s paradise to a hipster hotspot than tourists from all over the world began arriving, turning the somewhat seedy flair of Ocean Drive, which the young Madonna and fashion king Gianni Versace had used as a backdrop for their eccentric appearances, into the mainstream for everyone. Today, the pastel-colored houses are perfectly renovated, unaffordable for pensioners and mostly occupied by chic boutique hotels, restaurants and bars.

However, the trendsetters have long since moved on. In the late 1990s, visionary entrepreneur Craig Robins began buying the abandoned warehouses of a rundown Midtown neighborhood and developing the chic Design District. Today, shopping temples and flagship stores of luxury brands such as Burberry, Bulgari and Balenciaga stand side by side, interspersed with cool cafés, expensive restaurants, art halls and the fantastic Museum Garage – a parking garage whose eclectic mix of styles involved five architectural firms. A few blocks further south, Wynwood was established, a gigantic art district where Miami’s private collectors such as the Rubells, the Margulies or the Cisneros converted extensive former factory buildings and filled them with their valuable works of art. The main attraction, however, are the numerous magnificent murals and graffiti that adorn building facades, walls and even roofs. Some of them are created by world-famous street artists whose colorful works the established museums of this world would also like to have.

Downtown presents itself quite differently. Ten years ago, it was still grey and dangerous, and visitors were advised to leave the district before nightfall. Today, you can walk around at any time of day and admire the impressive new and old architecture. Chic restaurants like Zuma and Cipriani have opened in the high-tech towers, luxury hotels like the Mandarin Oriental and the Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM), designed by the Swiss Herzog & de Meuron and boasting some 1,800 works by the best and most famous contemporary artists.

The city’s newest in-district is called MiMo (Miami Modern), a comparatively intact potpourri of architectural styles on the Upper East Side – a little 1920s Spanish Colonial, some 1930s Art Deco and plenty of modernist architecture from the 50s and 60s. Shabby Chic can be understood literally here: Petrol stations, discounters and diners still look just as unattractive as they did 20 years ago, but casually styled restaurants like Phuc Yea and the Vagabond Hotel, renovated in the most beautiful retro look, shine all the brighter for it.

Even if the six-lane Biscayne Boulevard running through MiMo resembles a highway, there are residents who walk or cycle in this neighborhood, people who live here and use the new services with enthusiasm. In this respect, MiMo is the most successful resurgence Miami currently has to offer. It’s certainly not the last but you should explore it before everyone else does.