Miami Modernist architecture, or MiMo, is a regional style of architecture that developed in South Florida during the post-war period. The style was internationally recognized as a regionalist response to the International Style. It can be seen in most of the larger Miami and Miami Beach resorts built after the Great Depression. Because MiMo styling was not just a response to international architectural movements but also to client demands, themes of glamour, fun, and material excess were added to otherwise stark, minimalist, and efficient styles of the era. The style can be most observed today in Middle and Upper Miami Beach along Collins Avenue, as well as along the Biscayne Boulevard corridor starting from around Midtown, through the Design District and into the Upper Eastside.
The term MiMo has only recently been associated with the style. Popularity of the term is credited to Miami Beach resident Randall C. Robinson and interior designer Teri D’Amico. Principal examples of MiMo include the Fontainebleau Hotel, Eden Roc, Seacoast Towers, Deauville, and Di Lido hotels by famed architect Morris Lapidus; Norman Giller’s Carillon Hotel, which was voted Miami Beach’s “Hotel of the Year” in 1959; and the original Diplomat Hotel in Hollywood, Florida.
To some degree, Miami developed the style through the work of younger architects immediately after the war; they were more closely aligned with media promotions and sensationalism than older architects of the era. The region successfully transposed its extravagant resort styling to a national audience easily captivated by the area’s relative exoticism.
The area along Biscayne Boulevard is now the designated “MiMo Biscayne Boulevard Historic District” or more uniquely named “MiMo on BiBo”, for “Miami Modern on Biscayne Boulevard”. MiMo Historic District runs roughly from 50th Street to 77th Street along Biscayne Boulevard, although MiMo can be found in the Design District and Midtown. Many annual festivals are held to promote MiMo architecture, such as “Cinco de MiMo” a play on “Cinco de Mayo” in early May. The area is bounded by the Little River to the north, Bay Point Estates to the south, the Florida East Coast Railway to the west, and Biscayne Bay to the east.
