" -What is Art Deco? "

" -Well, that goes back to the Paris Exposition of 1925, but here in South Miami Beach we have a great variety of architecture, if you take a look back where it says Bow Hotel over there."

" -Yes."

" -That shows where hurricane Andrew exposed a little bit more of what most people believe is the oldest building in Miami Beach."

" -Really?"

" -Yes, and coming a little closer, you have an example of what's happening now, that's a fake front for a television series False Facade and then right over here the Century Hotel, shows what's special about this area, really the fine Art Deco architecture and the wonderful intimate scale that we have in this neighborhood."

" -But I thought Art Deco meant a lot more decoration in color?"

" -Well, there is a lot more of that. Why don't we take a ride and take a look."

" -Great."

" -The Lord Balfour was a great restoration because it balances the historic look of the buildings which were white with bright colored trim but it has a lot of the bright colors that are popular today."

" -But it's not as- as vibrant the color scheme as I kind of expected and, of course, the strong horizontal lines are really neat."

" -Yes, part of that streamline modern."

" -Randall, what would you say about this building here?"

" -This is clearly influenced by the Classic French Art Deco in the 1920's which had a lot of decorative flourish to it, depicted all those natural flourish but in a very formalized stylized way."

" -I love those flamingo birds in the middle of the facade there and the girls at the top."

" -Yes, it's- it's a beautiful relief work with the 1980's color scheme."

" -It's more typical of an Art Deco building to have the kind of rectilinear designs, straight lines, either horizontal or vertical."

" -Yes, that's more typical of our Miami Beach Art Deco and this color scheme is vibrant pastels were designed by the men who started the pastels back in 79 Leonard Horowitz."

" -He started the restoration movement down here?"

" -He did, along with Barbara Capitman, but the pastels were his idea."

" -They're very successful along the beach front here. Look at this great 55 old convertible."

" -They have the lines really go with the lines of the buildings."

" -And, of course, you've got vintage automobiles around here that match the front facades. Do you suppose the hotel owners have bought them just to park them out front."

" -Yes, it's always out there in front of the Colony."

" -So not only has the architecture of the area been revived but the whole neighborhood is full of life now."

" -Oh it's a wonderfully vibrant neighborhood with the young and old, rich and poor, beautiful and not so beautiful, people from all over the world, that's half the fun of the place is the people."

" -Tell me about this one on the corner here?"

" -This is the Waldorf Towers with a wonderful little lighthouse on the corner with a neon sculpture inside. For years that lighthouse was missing, but one of the first refurbishment moves was placing that lighthouse on the top of the Waldorf. The pastels were great idea, but in less than skillful hands they tend to become garrish and- and they don't have, they don't display the same restraint and formality that the Art Deco architecture does itself, and you can see that there are a lot of these really loud colors and colors that really don't agree or complement the original materials. Coming up here at the Cardozo, the beautiful burgundy stone is totally outflashed by that purple ornating which is just a shame."

" -The burgundy stone of the- of the columns"

" -Yes."

" -is a keystone?"

" -Dive, yes, dive keystone. And the Department of Interior guidelines say that the colors should complement original materials, and here they compete and overwhelm."

" -A little bit too strong, yes."

" -Yes."

" -But at least it's all being preserved, and restored, and cleaned up, and brought back to life."

" -That's for sure."

" -Randall, I'd love to see a lobby."

" -Why don't we go up at Collins Avenue and take a look at the Ritz Plaza. It's got one of our best interior renovations."

" -It's not what I expected though. This is kind of very cool and serene."

" -Yes, here we get into these clean simple lines of a streamline modern which came after Art Deco. "

" -Yes. I was expecting the hotter colors and the- the jagged lines that we've been looking after. This is very curvaceous and yet, when you say streamline it makes me think of those locomotives from the 40s."

" -Yes, the emphasis is definitely on speed and technology and"

" -Yes."

" -moving forward."

" -I love the patterns in the floor down here, isn't it?"

" -Yes, the architects love to use terrazzo with these buildings because it could create these beautiful elegant designs in different colors."

" -Yes, the terrazzo is simply a mixture of cement and aggregate that gets laid in patterns that you create with this brass lines, and then, of course, you polished it to this high gloss."

" -Yes and it works great on our climate because it stays cool"

" -Yes, yes."

" -even when it's hot."

" -Yes, yes, yes. No, it's a very cool lobby and furniture like this is pretty much in keeping with the style too, isn't it?"

" -Yes, it's not a period furniture, but it blends in. The lines are the same, the same spirit as the lines of the building itself"

" -Right, right."

" -so it works."

" -Well, I love these grays, and yellows, and tans, and then over there that very creamy colors. Is that, what material is that at the registration desk?"

" -That's keystone, fundamental keys. It was once covered in plywood, but they did a beautiful job of restoring it and the lines at the checkout desk are really a fantastic, simple, streamlined"

" -Yes, it's a beautiful space. How about looking at an Art Deco swimming pool?"

" -Well, there's one at The Raleigh."

" -Let's go take a look."

" -Okay."

" -Randall, it's an incredible swimming pool. When was it built?"

" -Late 30's. These big hotels up here in Collins Avenue were the last pick [unk] Art Deco in Miami Beach."

" -Yes."

" -We had the spectacular lobbies, the incredible swimming pools, like this one here, at one time billed as the world's most beautiful swimming pool and that if you take a look at it, it's really a spectacular piece."

" -It is. It has this gorgeous kind of Baroque curves to it. It's really a neat pool."

" -Yes, it goes with the whole theme of the hotel."