Fontainebleau Miami Beach

Last updated
Fontainebleau Miami Beach
Miami Landmark
Miami Beach FL Fontainebleau01.jpg
Fontainebleau Miami Beach in 2011
Location map Miami.png
Red pog.svg
Location4441 Collins Ave, Miami Beach, Florida, U.S. 33140
Coordinates 25°49′5″N80°7′20″W / 25.81806°N 80.12222°W / 25.81806; -80.12222
Area180,525 m2 (1,943,150 sq ft)
Built1954;70 years ago (1954)
Architect Morris Lapidus
Architectural style Miami Modern Architecture (MiMo)
Visitation16,349,845 (2015)
Website www.fontainebleau.com
NRHP reference No. 08001318 [1]
Significant dates
Added to NRHPDecember 22, 2008 [1]
Designated MFLDecember 9, 2011

The Fontainebleau Miami Beach, also known as Fontainebleau Hotel, is a hotel in Miami Beach, Florida. Designed by Morris Lapidus, the luxury hotel opened in 1954. In 2007, the Fontainebleau Hotel was ranked ninety-third in the American Institute of Architects list of "America's Favorite Architecture". [2] On April 18, 2012, the AIA's Florida Chapter ranked the Fontainebleau first on its list of "Florida Architecture: 100 Years. 100 Places". [3] [4]

Contents

The Fontainebleau Miami Beach is located on Collins Avenue and is owned by the Soffer family controlled Fontainebleau Resorts.

History

Fontainebleau Hotel in March 1955, photographed by Samuel Gottscho Fontainebleau Hotel 1955 LOC gsc.5a23477u.jpg
Fontainebleau Hotel in March 1955, photographed by Samuel Gottscho
The hotel in 1982 at sunset Fontainebleau Hilton, Miami Beach, Florida LCCN2017711386.tif
The hotel in 1982 at sunset
Fontainebleau Hotel in 2004 MiamiBeachFontainebleau.jpg
Fontainebleau Hotel in 2004
Fountain Miami Beach FL Fontainebleau name01.jpg
Fountain

20th century

The hotel was built by hotelier Ben Novack on the grounds of the former Harvey Firestone estate. Novack owned and operated the hotel until its bankruptcy in 1977. [5] The Fontainebleau was designed by Morris Lapidus, who was known for wearing bow ties and incorporated them into the design. [6] [7]

The Fontainebleau is noted for its victory in the landmark 1959 Florida District Courts of Appeal decision, Fontainebleau Hotel Corp. v. Forty-Five Twenty-Five, Inc. 114 So. 2d 357, in which the Fontainebleau Hotel successfully appealed an injunction by the neighboring Eden Roc Hotel to prevent construction of an expansion that blocked sunlight to the Eden Roc's swimming pool. The Court rejected the Eden Roc's claim to an easement allowing sunlight, in favor of affirming the Fontainebleau's vertical property rights to build on its land. [8] [9] [10] It stated that the "ancient lights" doctrine had been unanimously repudiated in the United States.

In the 1970s, a suite in the hotel was used by members of the Black Tuna Gang to run their operations. [11] In the 2011 documentary Square Grouper, the use of the hotel by the Black Tuna Gang is recounted. The documentary follows the burgeoning marijuana-smuggling trade of the mid-to-late 1970s, when large amounts of the drug were being shipped to southeastern Florida; the film alleges that more than 90 percent of the United States' illicit demand was being met through such channels.

In 1978, Stephen Muss bought the Fontainebleau Hotel for $27 million, [12] thus rescuing it from bankruptcy. [13]

21st century

The lobby at the Fountainebleau Miami Beach Fontainebleau Miami interior FL3.jpg
The lobby at the Fountainebleau Miami Beach

Muss invested an additional $100 million into the hotel for improvements. In 2001, Muss Organization announced a partnership with Turnberry Associates [13] to what, over the years, amounted to a billion-dollar renovation of the hotel. [14]

In 2002, the hotel was renovated and expanded by John Nichols, an architect with Coral-Gables, Florida-based Nichols Architects. The renovations and expansio included the addition of a 36-story condominium-hotel, known as Fontainebleau II, and a second 18-story tower, known as Fontainebleau III, all located on the same premises as the original hotel. [15] During the renovation, Morris Lapidus's exuberant aesthetic and stylistic choices were preserved. [16]

In 2005, after 30 years of being managed by Hilton Worldwide, the hotel became self-managed. [17] The same year, the Muss Organization sold the Fontainebleau to Turnberry Associates [18] for $165 million. [12]

In 2006, the hotel closed a large part of the property, though one building remained open to hotel guests, and the furnishings were placed for sale. The expanded hotel and its new condominium buildings reopened in November 2008. [19]

On December 22, 2008, the Fontainebleau was added to the National Register of Historic Places. [1]

Fontainebleau's grand reopening on November 18, 2008, marked the end of a $1 billion transformation. Special care was taken to preserve many of the original design elements, including the "Staircase to Nowhere", also known as the "floating staircase". The hotel's elaborate reopening celebrations included hosting the annual Victoria's Secret fashion show.

Restaurants and nightclubs in the complex include:

The Fontainebleau is a prominent feature in contemporary culture, appearing in numerous movies and television shows, musical lyrics, and nationally televised sporting and other events, including:

21st century

1990s

1980s

1970s

1960s

1950s

Pronunciation

The local pronunciation of the hotel's name is the Anglicized "fountain blue" rather than the normal French pronunciation of the word. [28]

See also

Related Research Articles

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In 2009, Bernice Novack and her son, Fontainebleau Miami Beach hotel heir Ben Novack Jr., were murdered three months apart. Narcy Novack, Ben's estranged wife, was convicted of orchestrating the murders and after a highly publicized trial, was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

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References

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