Famous buildings
Delano Hotel South Beach, 1947
Vagabond Motel, 1953
Bass Museum, South Beach, 1963
Shore Apartments, 6881 Bay Drive Condo
Marseilles Hotel, 1947. .
B. Robert Swartburg | |
|---|---|
| Born | July 27, 1895 |
| Died | December 7, 1975 |
| Alma mater | Columbia University |
| Occupation | Architect |
| Spouse(s) | Lilian Swartburg, née. Kalan Dumas |
| Parent(s) | Esther and Morris Swartburg |
| Buildings | Delano Hotel, Vagabond Motel Bass Museum |
| Projects | Miami Beach Convention Center |
B. Robert Swartburg (born Barnet Robert Swartburg; July 27, 1895 - December 7, 1975) [1] was an American architect working in New York and Florida primarily known for his Modern and Streamline Moderne architectural style. He was one of the leading modernist architects in South Florida contributing greatly to the development of MiMo Modern style in the post- WWII 40s and 50's. [2] In his 35-year career he is said to have designed over 1000 buildings. Swartburg was also an accomplished artist who painted for pleasure, and executed murals and sculptures to embellish his buildings. [3]
Born in Bucharest, Romania in 1895 Swartburg immigrated to the United States with his parents when he was a child. [4] His parents, Morris and Esther Swartburg moved to New York from London with their two children Robert and Jeannette in 1900. [5] Swartburg's father was a well-known wood carver, who introduced his son to the craft in the early age.
Swartburg started working early, first at his father's shop, then as an office boy for an architect at the age of 9. To finance his education he worked as a soda fountain employee at a Broadway drugstore, taught dancing and competed as an amateur boxer.
On June 8, 1947, Swartburg married Lilian Kalan Dumas, who worked in music publishing in New York City and is credited for discovering the hit song "It's a Sin to Tell A Lie." [6] They stayed married for twenty eight years till Swartburg's death in Miami in 1978.
Swartburg studied architecture at the Columbia School of Architecture under Frederic Charles Hirons, Harvey Wiley Corbett and Maurice J Privot. [7] He also attended the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, [8] Palace of Fontainebleau and at the American Academy in Rome, where he spent a year in Vatican under the Papal supervision of Pope Pius XI. [6]
In 1917 Swartburg opened his office in New York and design residential buildings at Fordham University, Manhattan, Bronx and Chicago. [9] In 1961 Lawrence Schmitt, president of the Silver Creek Precision Company appointed Swartburg as a head of management team leading expansion of North Orlando. [10]
Swartburg came to Miami first in 1925 for three years and then again in 1944 to stay active until his retirement. He became known for designing luxury hotels and residences such as Delano hotel, the Shore luxury apartments, the Executive, Sorrento hotel and many more. In the 60s Swartburg gets his two major government contracts - Miami Dade Civic Center and Miami Beach c
In 1972 he merged his firm with Grove-Haack & Associates and served as a consultant. [11] According to the 1971 Polk's guide, Swartburg retained an office at the Roosevelt Building (4014 Chase Ave, suite #220, Miami Beach, Fl) and lived in a house he built in 1936 at the address 2940 Flamingo Drive, Miami Beach, Fl. [12] The house features a Georgian door Swartburg carved himself after his search for a knowledgeable plasterer in Miami brought no results. [13]
In 2018 many of the buildings designed by Swartburg in Miami Beach were designated as historical landmarks alongside buildings of such big names as Morris Lapidus, Igor Polevitzky and Charles McKirahan to protect their architectural heritage. [14] Accused of flawed job in the Justice Building construction in 1963. [15]
Swartburg was one of the leading Modernist architects I Miami, and he began his career in Miami during the mid-1920s. He made his name designing luxury resort buildings and later took on large government contracts, such as Miami Beach Convention Center and Miami Dade Civic Center. The Delano is one of the top hotels in all of Florida and it is also the first hotel in this country with an indoor and outdoor lobby. [16] A City of Miami Historic Landmark, the 53 unit Vagabond Motel is considered an exemplary portrayal of the Miami Modern style for its open-air plan, jalousie windows, geometric designs, overhanging roof lines, and open air verandah with catwalk. Swartburg also designed the Metro Justice Building and the Delano Hotel in Miami Beach.
Shore and Bayside condominium buildings have the appeal of a seaside resort by one of the most celebrated Miami Beach architects with a dramatic entrance of intersecting planes, screen-block boxed windows and angled beanpoles. The atomic age gave rise to a spirit of futurism, modernity and national pride,” according to Paskal. [17]
Morris Lapidus was an architect, primarily known for his Neo-baroque "Miami Modern" hotels constructed in the 1950s and 60s, which have since come to define that era's resort-hotel style, synonymous with Miami and Miami Beach.
South Beach, also nicknamed colloquially as SoBe, is a neighborhood in Miami Beach, Florida. It is located east of Miami between Biscayne Bay and the Atlantic Ocean. The area encompasses Miami Beach south of Dade Boulevard.
Streamline Moderne is an international style of Art Deco architecture and design that emerged in the 1930s. Inspired by aerodynamic design, it emphasized curving forms, long horizontal lines, and sometimes nautical elements. In industrial design, it was used in railroad locomotives, telephones, toasters, buses, appliances, and other devices to give the impression of sleekness and modernity.
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.
Albert Anis was an architect in Miami, Florida known for his Art Deco architecture. He was one of a group of American-born architects working in Miami Beach who synthesized the austere architectural principles of the International Style architecture with their own brand of modernism which embraced the ornamentation and exotic lure of the tropical.
The Miami Beach Architectural District is a U.S. historic district located in the South Beach neighborhood of Miami Beach, Florida. The area is well known as the district where Italian fashion designer Gianni Versace lived and was assassinated by Andrew Cunanan, in a mansion on Ocean Drive. It is bounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Sixth Street to the south, Alton Road to the west and the Collins Canal and Dade Boulevard to the north. It contains 960 historic buildings.
The Delano South Beach hotel is an upscale resort located in Miami Beach, Florida, currently under renovations. The Delano was a part of the Morgans Hotel Group collection prior to MHG being purchased by SBE Entertainment Group. SBE Entertainment has since sold the hotel to Eldridge Industries, and the hotel has been closed to the public since March 2020.
Jorge M. Pérez is an Argentine-American businessman, investor, philanthropist, and writer. He is best known as the chairman and CEO of The Related Group, a Miami-based real estate company that has been well known for building and operating affordable and luxury multifamily apartments across the United States and internationally. He is ranked 316th on the Forbes 400 list with a net worth of US$ 2.6 billion as of October 2018, and 1,833rd on Forbes Billionaires list with US$1.7 billion as of November 2021.
The Creek South Beach is a 90-room motel located on Collins Avenue and 23rd Street in the American city of Miami Beach, Florida.
The Surfcomber Hotel is a boutique hotel on Collins Avenue in the historic Art Deco district of South Beach in Miami Beach, Florida. The hotel was built in 1948 and was acquired by the Kimpton hotel chain in April 2011. The Surfcomber is known for pool parties, and it served as the headquarters for MTV during the 2005 MTV Video Music Awards and for Bud Light during Super Bowl XLIV in 2010. The hotel is located at 1717 Collins Avenue on the shore of Miami's South Beach.
The Vagabond Motel is a historic motel located at 7301 Biscayne Boulevard in Miami, Florida that exhibits Miami Modern architecture. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in late 2014 after being nominated by the state. The building was constructed in 1953 and was designed by Robert Swartburg. After sitting vacant for years, the building was reopened in 2014 as a restaurant and hotel.
Lawrence Murray Dixon was an architect in Miami Beach, Florida. He was born in Live Oak, Florida, attended the Georgia School of Technology (1918–1919) and worked in New York for Schultze and Weaver from 1923 to 1929 when he moved to Miami Beach. He is credited with designing The Temple House (1933) in the South Beach section of Miami Beach as well as other Art Deco hotels and residences. Dixon is listed as a Great Floridian.
Henry Hohauser was an architect in Miami Beach, Florida. He is known for his Art Deco architecture stylings, and is listed as a "Great Floridian"; in 1993, he was ranked as one of the 100 most influential people in South Florida history by The Miami Herald.
Les Dennis Beilinson was an American architect and preservationist. He was known for his work in Miami's Art Deco district, both preserving existing architecture and ensuring its ongoing viability through modernization and upgrade for commercial purposes. As a founding member of the City of Miami Historic Preservation board, Beilinson was a defender of the glory days of 1940s and 1950s Miami against threats from unmoderated development. Beilinson was the founding partner of Beilinson Gomez Architects, PA, in partnership with Jose Gomez, AIA.
Lester Avery was an architect in the United States. Avery began his career in Clearwater and is known for his Mid-Century Modern architecture apartment buildings in Miami and ranch style home designs with angled, flat roofs and merging wings. He expanded Lawrence Murray Dixon's The Temple House in Miami's South Beach area. Avery was the architect of Clearwater, Florida's Capitol Theatre, opened March 21, 1921. It was built by Senator-elect John Stansel Taylor and the contractor was John D. Phillipoff. He also designed the Jackie Gleason House (1959) at 2232 Alton Road in Miami.
Roy F. France (1888-1972) was the American architect who is credited with creating the Miami Beach, Florida skyline.
Housing in Florida consists of apartments, condominiums, hotels, retirement communities, and houses. Common types of housing in the state include Cracker style homes, Ranch-style homes, Caribbean style homes, and Condominiums with styles including Spanish Colonial Revival architecture, Victorian architecture, Mediterranean Revival architecture, Art Deco, Modern architecture, and Pueblo Revival architecture.
Shore Apartments is a historical modernist landmark on Indian Creek in the Normandy Isles neighborhood of North Miami Beach, United States. It was designed by B. Robert Swartburg in 1948 for Maurice Gusman and opened on January 9, 1949.
Penthouse Court Apartments, today called Les Jardins of South Beach Condominium, is an historic property with Mediterranean Revival architecture and Art Deco features, located at 1620-22 Pennsylvania Avenue, Miami Beach, Florida, USA and is in the Miami Beach Architectural District, Florida, USA.