Queer South Beach History

The Art Deco Welcome Center sits within a miniature replica of the Essex House hotel, marked by a bright neon sign and a curved, pastel-colored facade. This building once served as a quiet residential hotel for winter visitors in the…

The Palace Bar and Restaurant occupies the corner of Ocean Drive and Twelfth Street, defined by its wraparound glass frontage and an elevated outdoor stage. Since nineteen eighty-eight, this spot has functioned as a central anchor for the…

The three-story Mediterranean Revival mansion on Ocean Drive wears a mosaic of millions of tiles across its courtyard, featuring a medallion of the face of Medusa. Built in nineteen thirty by architect Alden Freeman, the house mimics the…

The Twelfth Street lifeguard tower stands out on the sand with a vibrant, permanent rainbow paint job. Designed by architect William Lane in the late nineteen nineties, the tower became a focal point for the city’s LGBTQ community…

The Carlyle features a distinctive geometric facade with three vertical tiers of rounded glass blocks and curved corners. Built in nineteen thirty-nine, the hotel serves as a primary example of Streamline Moderne architecture in the Miami…

The Warsaw Ballroom features a distinctive, neon-lit facade that marks the entrance to what was once the center of Miami Beach nightlife. Originally built as a silent movie theater in the nineteen twenties, the building transformed into a…

Twist sits behind a simple, unassuming storefront at the intersection of Washington Avenue and Twelfth Street, distinguished from its neighbors by a bold, monochromatic sign. While other venues in Miami Beach shift their identity with the…