|
|
Miami Beach: America's Tropical Resort
June 23, 2006 - January 14, 2007
Watch movie (1686 K wmf, plays for 30 seconds)
Glorious sun … miles of sandy beaches …stylish hotels … dazzling nightlife … beautiful people … this is Miami Beach, “America’s Year ‘Round Playground.” Tour the exhibition at the Historical Museum to revisit the glamorous story of how a mangrove-covered sandbar was transformed into Miami Beach: America’s Tropical Resort.
Recreating that magical tourist experience, “check in” to a replica of a Miami Modern hotel and begin your journey through the glamorous history of Miami Beach. Explore the beach’s early history, advertising, transportation, hotels and motels, recreation, workers and celebrities.
Artifacts on display include:
- vintage bathing suits from the late teens to the 1950s
- a piece of the wooden 1913 Collins Bridge
- a 1930s switchboard from the Skylark Hotel
- a 1935 slot machine
- a polo mallet from 1926
- hotel silver and china
- uniforms
- swizzle sticks and matchboxes
- postcards and photographs dating back to the early 1920s
Footage from the Louis Wolfson II Florida Moving Image Archive will feature home videos of vacationers and promotional films.
The exhibition offers several interactive activities for families. Kids will have an opportunity to build their own Art Deco hotel puzzle and have their photo taken as 1956’s Miss Miami Beach.
Miami Beach: America’s Tropical Resort is made possible from the generous personal and institutional contributions of the following: Seth Bramson, Antolin Carbonell, Jerry and Jane Goodman, Dr. John Nordt, Patsy West, the City of Miami Beach, the City of Sunny Isles Beach and the Jewish Museum of Florida.
