Atlantica - 01.01.2004, Blaðsíða 19

depression hit. Miami Beach got back on
a roll in the middle of the 1930s when a
number of hotels of various sizes were
erected on Ocean Drive and Collins
Avenue. Over this decade or so, most of
the buildings in the historic Deco District
were raised. This charming area is made
up of 800 listed Art Deco buildings and
is one of the main attractions in South
Beach. Without them, this would have
been like any other beach town. In the
wake of WWII, a quiet period followed,
apart from the short phases during the
1950s when Miami Beach was known as
the “Cuba of America”, a certain indica-
tion of what was to come. It was the first
part of a downhill turn up until the mid-
eighties when the economic life in
Miami and neighbouring areas began
profiting from the massive number of
immigrants from Cuba and South
America. With them came a community
unlike any other in the US: a unique
blend of South and North America
where the pioneering spirit of the immi-
grants could blossom in both positive
and negative ways. Miami became the
biggest gate for cocaine into the States
and the money of drug barons flowed
through its streets. It was exactly this
atmosphere – the heady mix of glamour
and crime in the sun-baked surround-
ings that appealed to TV producer and
director Michael Mann who used it to
fire his imagination for the extremely
popular Miami Vice TV series. The show
helped to elevate the glamorous status
of Miami Beach. From the late eighties,
construction has been consistent and
it’s incredible to witness all the hotels
and buildings being both built and refur-
bished.
24HRS DRIVE
The few early December days I spent on
Miami Beach were calm: hurricane sea-
son was over, and high season had
begun. But despite that, there weren’t a
lot of people around, even in the main
tourist areas of South Beach, where
Florida
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