In October of 2019, Urban Sketchers Orlando went to Miami Beach to do find sketch locations for our participation in the upcoming Art Deco Festival in Miami Beach. We went to the art Deco Museum to plan a series of workshops to be held during the festival and then as a group went to several sites to sketch.
Here we are sketching the Essex House, (1001 Collins Ave, Miami Beach, FL) one block from the ocean. The Hurricane of 1926 wiped away the exclusive hotels of the past, and there was little cash flow available to re-build following the Stock Market Crash of 1929. Jewish families were able to lay claim to land south of Lincoln Road, developing what would become South Beach. The beach became accessible to middle-class families. Architects and investors favored terrazzo floors over costly marble and employed architectural features like “eyebrows” above windows to keep rooms without air-conditioning shaded from the Florida sun.
Henry Hohauser gained recognition for his unique architectural style and his work on other hotels that lined Ocean Drive. In 1938, he was tasked with designing and supervising the construction of the Essex House. Hohauser took on a nautical theme for the project. His work featured porthole windows, a tall spire, and decorative railings to reference the ocean liners of the 20th century. Local artist, Earl La Pan to paint an Everglades scene over the fireplace.
Miami was able to recover from the Great Depression much quicker than many other cities in America thanks to illegal gambling. In these Art Deco hotels, it was not uncommon to have “secret” gambling rooms tucked away behind the lobby. Al Capone hosted his weekly card games at the Essex House. In January of 1942 the Essex House was raided and the owner was arrested on charges of operating an illegal gambling house.