Pam and I went on a sketch walk with
Gaston McKenzie of the Tampa Urban Sketchers group at Art Deco Weekend in Miami Beach. The Beach Patrol Headquarters were built in 1936 by Robert Taylor. Backside of the building is a prime example of Tropical or Nautical Deco, a style that mimics the lines of 1920s era ocean liners with port holes and ships railings. It would make sense to see people lounging on the top deck.
The MiMo (Miami Modern) facade along Ocean Drive fronts the Oceanfront Auditorium which is home to the Miami Design Preservation League’s Art Deco Welcome Center, designed by Leonard Glasser in 1954. In the center is a nautical flagpole flying the flags of the U.S. and Miami Beach. Inside are public bathrooms and concessions for visitors. The Urban Sketcher’s tent was just a block away, so this became home base any time I needed to rest. A woman rushed into the men’s room one time screaming as she rushed towards a stall. Maybe she was rushing to get her son, or maybe she just had to go, but staff forced her to leave. It seems Miami beach would be the perfect place for unisex bathrooms.
It started to rain towards the end of the sketch so Pam and I ran for cover where many of the other sketchers were huddled under a sea Grape Tree. The large leaves of this tree offer good cover since the leaves are so large acting like mini umbrellas.