New Deal Masterpiece in Miami Beach

The final installment of my post-Christmas trip to South Florida series reveals a bit of good fortune as I stumbled across the Miami Beach Post Office. The "Depression Deco" or "Depression Moderne" beauty was built in 1937 and restored at the end of the 1970s. The Miami Design Preservation League website explains "Stripped Classic or Depression Moderne was a sub-style often used for governmental buildings, the U.S. Post Office being the best example in Miami Beach." Inside the building are three New Deal murals depicting "Episodes from the History of Florida" painted in 1940 by WPA artist Charles Russell Hardman.

State Archives of Florida

Image © 2006 Mary Ann Sullivan.

The lobby is a round and in the center is a fountain that appears to be inoperable. Above is an incredible light fixture with sun rays emanating from it against a brilliant teal background. The murals are positioned at the rear of the round space, so my photographs have a pretty funky perspective. Going from left to right, the first image is "Discovery" featuring Ponce de Leon and a few Indians engaged in a peaceful meeting. The long center panel is "De Soto and the Indians" showing the Spanish explorer fighting the native Floridian tribes. The final panel is called "Conference" and features a soldier (Jesup) negotiating with the Indians.



I am always fascinated to find evidence of Florida's European discoverer intact in historical locations. In the 20th century, Ponce de Leon was featured far more prominently than he is today, and he pops up in the most interesting places, even South Beach.

I couldn't find much about the artist Hardman, only a similar New Deal mural he painted in Alabama. Nancy Lorance explains that most of the Post Office works of art were funded through commissions under the Treasury Department's Section of Painting and Sculpture (later known as The Section of Fine Arts) and not the WPA.

"Often mistaken for WPA art, post office murals were actually executed by artists working for the Section of Fine Arts. Commonly known as "the Section," it was established in 1934 and administered by the Procurement Division of the Treasury Department. Headed by Edward Bruce, a former lawyer, businessman, and artist, the Section's main function was to select art of high quality to decorate public buildings if the funding was available. By providing decoration in public buildings, the art was made accessible to all people." from "Articles from EnRoute: Off The Wall: New Deal Post Office Murals" by Patricia Raynor."

"Discovery"

"DeSoto and the Indians"

"Conference"

Guntersville, AL Post Office"Indians Receiving Gifts from the Spanish"painted in 1947 by Charles Russel Hardman - One of the last murals painted during the New Deal. © 2004 Nancy Lorance

Black and white images from the State Archives of Florida

Streamline Moderne in South Beach

Streamline Moderne is the era of Art Deco design that roughly begins with the stock market crash and ends with the outbreak of WWII according to Miami Preservation League's website. "It relied more on machine-inspired forms, and American ideas in industrial design... it was buttressed by the belief that times would get better and was infused with the optimistic futurism extolled at America’s Worlds Fairs of the 1930s," the site explains. The Miami variation of Streamline Moderne is often referred to as Tropical Deco and displays the following characteristics:
• Relief ornamentation showing whimsical flora, fauna, ocean-liner and other local imagery
• Symmetry, stepped roof lines, and neon lighting
• Glass block and terrazzo floors
• Eyebrows, round porthole windows, curved edges and corners


The spectacular Deco district of South beach had fallen on hard times between the 1930s and 1980s becoming known as a "center for drug traffic." But thanks in part to the TV series Miami Vice in the '80s, South Beach made a comeback and the area has been "transformed into a super chic destination of celebrities and an urban neighborhood of eccentric residents."


My first visit to South Beach was not long after the renewal had begun, but it was still a little sketchy. I stayed at an inexpensive Deco hotel with a faulty window unit AC and a less-than-desirable musty smell. Since then South Beach has come a long way. While I could do without the throngs of tourists and traffic, the architecture is still amazing. The colors, shapes and details are so compelling that a quick afternoon of photography only made me return again for more exploring. If you're into architecture, this section of Florida will not disappoint.