SOUTH BEACH: Stories of a Renaissance

Recently, the Miami Beach Design Preservation League (MDPL) selected “SOUTH BEACH: Stories of a Renaissance” as its feature book for MDPL Reads, a community reading program. The “coffee table” souvenir book was also featured during Art Deco Weekend, an annual event organized by MDPL that brings hundreds of thousands of visitors to Ocean Drive, Collins Avenue, Lincoln Road and the other storied streets of South Beach.

“The book is a treasure trove of stories, photos and original artwork that brings South Beach to life,” says Goldstein, noting it took more than two years of interviews and research to create the book. “We have featured the people who transformed the empty, mosquito infested island of the early 1900s into the most recognized international resort in the world.” For “SOUTH BEACH: Stories of a Renaissance,” Kropke interviewed nearly 50 influential leaders of South Beach, and their stories fill the 244-page hardcover book. South Florida painter Joe Davis created a beautiful teal and yellow cover that represents the Art Deco spirit of South Beach, as well as four fold-out original illustrations of key South Beach locales.