Miami: the city that keeps the roof blazing

TravelMole managing director Graham McKenzie finds there’s a lot to love – and rap about – in Miami.

“I only come for two days of playing

But every time we come

We always wind up staying

This the type of town I could spend a few days in

Miami the city that keeps the roof blazing”

Well exactly! The sentiment expressed by Will Smith in his hip-hop hit “Welcome to Meeamee” raps the nail on the head (see what I did there?).

Miami is the sort of place that the more you go the more you find out, the more you want to explore and the more enjoyment you get from it.

At first it can be a bit daunting. A large contiguous urban jungle with seemingly very little demarcation between neighbourhoods, endless traffic jams, with more than their fair share of diversions that are guaranteed to throw terror into the hearts of non-locals and people running around like headless chickens. It’s not a recipe for a chill out session.

The thing is though is that Miami is very moreish you have a little taste and whilst you think you don’t want any more …you do. Almost every facet of tourism attraction is covered by the area and my latest endeavours have led me to appreciate the arts side of the city.

From the cool sophistication, or indeed cool lack of it, on South Beach (SoBe if you want to sound like a local), to the warehouse district of Wynwood right through to the new(ish) sleek PAMM (Perez Art Museum Miami) they all educated me, entertained me and seduced me into a hunger for further examination.

South Beach Miami is the coolest of cool places for cool people to go and act cool. The music, the access to the beach, the food, the drink and the clothing make it the epicentre of flash motors and flash people.

What people tend to overlook is the truly amazing architecture of the buildings that go to make up much of SoBe. Just one short studious roller-blade session down Ocean drive and the surrounding streets will allow you to view and in some cases experience the fantastic art deco buildings.

As South Beach came to prominence in  the 1920’s and 1930’s many of the structures were designed and built in the Art Deco, Streamline Moderne, and Nautical Moderne style with the result that it now has arguably the largest collection of such buildings anywhere in the world.

In the 1950s, the fourth major style was introduced for new constructions and was termed ‘MiMo’ or Miami Modern. These style variations are not just external however as many of the hotels and apartment blocks display classic art deco interiors with most of the features and in some cases furniture dating back to the 1930s.  This control has not however been without a struggle as during the ‘Miami Vice’ days of the 80s the area came into disrepute and the infrastructure was destined for ruination but along came a local residents preservation society who to this day exert great influence on the current and future shape of the area.

A completely different kettle of spray cans came next with a trip to WynWood. In 2009, Tony Goldman, a wealthy property developer, came to the conclusion that the warehouse architecture prevalent in the district, most with no windows, would be an ideal location to explore the possibilities of street art. The man had history in this field as he had assisted in the restoration and preservation of other art areas across the United States. This time he wanted a space where people could walk around and wonder at the creative skills of what most of us would think of as sophisticated graffiti. Today what has resulted is a magnificent display of innovative art displayed on walls, roofs, posts, cafes, restaurants, doors in fact almost anywhere you can apply paint.

The residents have taken it to their hearts and the area now acts as a buzzing epicentre for artists of all sorts, fashion designers, small independent support service companies, restaurants and a photographer’s heaven. What is even cooler is that each year much of the landscape changes as artists come into town and rework some of the walls in a display that is second to none. In the battle of cool Wynwood is well up the league table.

Finally I was off to PAMM – the museum that was conceived as a permanent collection of modern 20^th and 21^st century art to service the growing interest of Miami residents but also the rapidly growing community of artists.  Prior to PAMM there had mainly been a hotchpotch of other museums, areas and exhibitions that were of a temporary nature. Once again the people of Miami came to the fore in their desire for an iconic building housing some of the world’s most progressive art. Government assistance and a large donation from the Perez family made the dream come true. Now firmly established the PAMM not only displays art but creates it, talks about it, enhances it and treats it as something for all to enjoy.

Truth of the matter is that, as is the case in most destinations, it is the people that determine the charm and if it sometimes takes a little longer to get to know them then the relationship may be longer lasting.

As Will would no doubt conclude: “So cash in your dough and lets flow to this fashion show.

Pound for pound anywhere you want to go.

Yo, ain’t no city in the world like this, but if you ask how I know

I gots to plead the 5th, Miami.”

Graham stayed at the Loews Miami Beach and had a car provided by  Hertz