Long before supermodels and other sexed-up sybarites of the ’90s binged and purged in its splashy boutique hotels, Miami Beach was a destination for pale, well-to-do New Yorkers seeking a respite from the concrete jungle. Lawrence Murray Dixon made sure they felt at home. In the ’30s, the architect designed forty-two hotels in what is now the historic Art Deco district, including such stars of the South Beach as the Raleigh, Tides, Marlin, and Ritz Plaza. This exhibition uses archival photographs and architectural renderings to describe Dixon’s pivotal role in establishing and disseminating the tropic-flavored Art Deco style now commonly associated with the city by the shore.

— Meyer Rus