By Humberto Ramírez Urdaneta.

Often perceived as an uncontrolled mix of influences, Miami offers in its architecture a tour of
what it means to be considered the “Gateway to the Americas” and these are the three most
important styles.

Mission. Originally inspired on the ancient Spanish missions of California and Mexico, in Florida it
has the charm of achieving works that seem to be outside their natural context. Probably the most
important work is the Plymouth Congregational Church, with a history that dates up to 1917, built
in its entirety by one single worker, the Spanish Félix Rebom. He used only traditional tools to
make the building look as ancient as those he was replicating.

We invite you to find out more about the history of this temple:

© Humberto Ramírez Urdaneta

Mediterranean revival or Pseudo Mediterranean. To think about the Mediterranean is to think
about western civilization as it is known today, from the shapes, to the olive, to the grape, which
invited nomad communities to settle for their care, to the easily identifiable footprints of its
architecture. However, in Miami this influence, especially from Italy, Byzantium, Southern Spain
and France is the source of inspiration for this trend, which started to emerge in 1920, and had as
a main objective through the aging of materials and construction shapes to look like an antique.
One of the buildings pioneer in this style is Villa Vizcaya (3251 S Miami Ave), the mansion of the
millionaire agriculture machinery fabricator James Deering. Inspired in the Italian Renaissance,
today it is a museum with decorative objects and works of art, as well as a beautiful romantic
garden.

Here you can get a taste of this beautiful building:

© Humberto Ramírez Urdaneta

Art Déco. This is probably the style that most identifies the city. It was born in the middle of the
“roaring 20s” and arrives to the United States after the International Exhibition of Modern
Decorative and Industrial Arts of Paris in 1925, which even though started as a replica to the
European version, it adds an amazing dose of color. This is an incredibly optimistic style and its
main examples are in South Beach, in the trendiest heart of Miami Beach. For example, in Ocean
Drive, you can count dozens of buildings of great aesthetic quality, such as the Park Central Hotel
or the Art Déco District Welcome Center.

This video takes you across an unusual tour of the Art Déco essentials in Miami.

© Humberto Ramírez Urdaneta