The Tony Hotel South Beach, Miami Beach
The Tony Hotel South Beach was originally designed and built in 1939 by L. Murray Dixon, a master architect responsible for many of the Art Deco buildings that line Collins Avenue and Ocean Drive. Dixon’s signature style, embodied in this hotel, included streamlined curves, jutting towers, window “eyebrows,” and neon. Originally named The Tiffany (and subsequently renamed The Hotel of South Beach), the hotel’s rooftop “Tiffany” spire is an historic landmark, towering majestically over Collins Avenue for more than 80 years.
So, why “The Tony?” The Tony Hotel South Beach was re-named in 2022 in honor of Tony Goldman, the legendary neighborhood placemaker and historic preservationist who restored the hotel to its glory and is widely credited with revitalizing South Beach in the 1980s and 90s.
In 1985 Tony Goldman visited South Beach for the first time and fell in love. He saw past the blight and dilapidated buildings that plagued South Beach at the time and envisioned the American Riviera.
He spent the next 27 years of his life leading the renaissance of South Beach, fighting to preserve its history while also envisioning its future as a pedestrian destination where people from all walks of life could enjoy its natural beauty in an inclusive community. Tony Goldman bought and methodically restored the hotel, among other properties, and in 1998 enlisted fashion designer Todd Oldham to infuse the hotel with the rich colors, shapes, and textures emblematic of the Art Deco era.
The following pictures have been taken in several occasions, basically spread over multiple years to update their photo archive with new images any time the hotel was refurbished or changed in some way.
