One of the most distinctive architectural styles in Greater Miami & Miami Beach is what’s known as MiMo, or Miami Modern. With a playful space age aesthetic and a touch of ‘50s kitsch, it’s Miami’s subtropical riff on the Mid-Century Modern architecture and design movement that swept the globe post-World War II. Thanks to groups like the Miami Design Preservation League, captivating MiMo architecture has been lovingly preserved for all to enjoy today.

Miami’s Architectural Evolution

In order to appreciate MiMo, it helps to understand the evolution of Miami’s architecture. From the sumptuous tile and stucco of Mediterranean Revival from the 1920s and ‘30s to the pastel and neon flourishes of Art Deco from the 1930s and ‘40s and the contemporary glass towers going up today, Miami’s architecture tells its story. And while Art Deco, with its streamlined symmetry, stepped ziggurat rooflines and colorful relief facades, is perhaps the style most associated with Miami, MiMo is a natural extension that sprung from it.

The Hallmarks of MiMo Architecture

The MiMo architectural movement emerged in the 1950s and ‘60s, bringing a greater interplay between indoor and outdoor features of a building. With MiMo came courtyards and catwalks, balconies and breeze blocks, cantilevered rooflines with playful acute angles, delta wing accents reminiscent of aviation and the space age, sweeping curved walls, bean pole columns, and cheese hole accents. MiMo architecture is playful and eccentric, even extravagant, while also adhering to a geometric aesthetic inspired by the modern art movement of the time.

MiMo design was implemented in grand beachside resorts, modest mainland motels and breezy garden apartments. Today in Miami, there are four distinct MiMo districts to explore: the Morris Lapidus/Mid-20th Century Historic District, the North Beach Resort Historic District, the MiMo Biscayne Boulevard Historic District and the Normandy Shores & Normandy Isles National Register District.

Fontainebleau lobby — Pose for pics on the "stairway to nowhere" & black and white bow tie floor in the Fontainebleau Miami Beach

MiMo Historic Districts & Hotels

Morris Lapidus/Mid-20th Century Historic District

Morris Lapidus designed some of the most impressive and lavish examples of MiMo architecture in Miami Beach.

Fontainebleau Miami Beach: The Miami Classic

Built in 1954, the Fontainebleau Miami Beach in Mid Beach features a sweeping curved façade as well as a scalloped cheese hole cutout wall. Inside the lobby, the famous “stairway to nowhere” was designed purely for show as a place for women to make their grand entrance for the evening, sashaying down these stairs. The black and white bow tie marble floor is another iconic Lapidus detail, playing with both geometry and extravagance.

Eden Roc Miami Beach: Nautical Style In Mid Beach

Next door, the Eden Roc Miami Beach was completed in 1956 with a gently folding concave façade, including two vertical panels of aquamarine perforated masonry and a dramatic smokestack rooftop reminiscent of a steam liner for a nautical flair. Inside, the circular lobby is anchored by a central, sunken bar crowned with a sculptural chandelier, and you’ll find original columns, brass frescoed elevator doors and terrazzo floors with fleur-de-lis flourishes.

Aerial view of Carillon's exterior — The Carillon Miami Wellness Resort has been lovingly restored

North Beach Resort Historic District

Farther up the beach on Collins Avenue, spanning 63rd to 73rd streets, the North Beach Resort Historic District is home to its own MiMo marvels and storied past.

The Carillon Miami Wellness Resort: A Rich History, A Stylish Present

The Carillon Miami Wellness Resort in North Beach is a sweeping oceanfront resort built in 1957 by architect Norman Giller with an accordion-style facade. Today, the original clock and neon Art Deco moniker still emblazon the top of the tower. It was once the backdrop for a photo shoot with the first runner-up in the 1959 Miss America pageant, and today, it’s a wellness resort that's home to the largest spa on the Eastern seaboard.

Pool area at The Vagabond Hotel — Check out The Vagabond's playful MiMo aesthetic

MiMo Biscayne Boulevard Historic District

Running along Biscayne Boulevard from roughly 50th to 77th streets, in an area known as the Upper East Side, another corridor of MiMo architecture has been preserved in its historic roadside motels.

The Vagabond Hotel: Wander Inside

The most lovingly restored of these motels is The Vagabond Hotel, which has been reimagined as a hip boutique hotel with a playful poolscape and outdoor bar. The former motel has all the hallmarks of MiMo’s space age aesthetic, from its kitschy neon sign to playful acute angles, delta wing accents and the interplay between indoors and outdoors with catwalks, balconies and courtyards.

The New Yorker Miami Hotel: Curves, Catwalks & Neon

The historic New Yorker Miami Hotel has also received the boutique hotel treatment. The two-story white concrete building has turquoise accents, catwalks, a courtyard with a pool and a curvilinear façade with the hotel’s name emblazoned in original neon.

Normandy Shores & Normandy Isles National Register District

While MiMo is associated with the elegance and glamour of Lapidus resorts and kitschy roadside motels, the breezy garden apartments throughout Normandy Shores and Normandy Isles near North Beach in Miami Beach are also a product of this architectural movement. Here, you’ll find two-story apartment complexes with buildings mirroring one another connected by a courtyard and outdoor catwalks. The tranquil, shady respite of the courtyard proved to be a desirable design for Miami’s subtropical climate and lifestyle.

When you’re in Miami, keep your eyes peeled for elements of MiMo architecture. You can always join a walking tour with the Miami Design Preservation League or embark on a self-guided tour.

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