1935-37 Lummus Park at Ocean Drive Courtesy of the City of Miami Beach Historical Archives

Miami’s South Beach is one of the most famous architectural districts in the world, and The Betsy hotel distinguishes itself from the curvy geometric patterns and clean lines of its Art Deco neighbors by relying on classic formations. With its expansive four-column portico and signature shuttered windows, The Betsy evokes traditional colonial architecture. But it was designed and created by the same man, L. Murray Dixon, responsible for the majority of the most famous hotels in the area built in the Art Deco style.

1968 MacLaine and Newman Courtesy of the City of Miami Beach Historical Archives

The 150th Anniversary of the Declaration of Independence in 1926 ushered in a period of nostalgia for the early years of the nation. John D Rockefeller’s restoration of Colonial Williamsburg was a prime case in point. Completed in the 1930s, it served as a catalyst for other historic preservation efforts around the country. The past was renovated and gussied up, perhaps to magnify it as a way of renewing the faith of Americans struggling to emerge from the Great Depression. Everything from restaurants to furniture were re-created in a colonial image and Hollywood provided its powerful endorsement of the colonial style by featuring it as the signature architectural style of suburban homes depicted in such popular films as Bringing Up Baby.

Also, at that time, the Work Projects Administration (WPA) created a printed guide to the ’colonial east,’ which included images and photographs emphasizing architecture from the 17th through the 19th centuries. Complementing the series were numerous magazine articles that included plans from architects and building companies and an explosion of popular and professional books honoring colonial architecture. When Dixon got around to considering how best to embrace the colonial chic of the moment, perhaps he couldn’t resist the compurge to go further. Opened in South Beach in 1942, The Betsy Hotel Ross stood out all the more for its stark yet graceful contrast to Dixon’s Art Deco oeuvre.

Today, The Betsy Hotel’s exterior stands as the lone surviving example of Florida Georgian architecture on Ocean Drive. Contrary to typical colonial design, the interior design is bright, open and connected, and Dixon took liberties with proportions while interpreting the colonial form. In that slight re-conceiving of textbook colonial, Dixon created not an opposite that didn’t fit, but rather a counterpoint that did then, and still does.

The Betsy Hotel Hotel Timeline

1920: Town of Miami Beach is incorporated
1935: Ocean Drive’s historic Art Deco skyline begins to take shape with the addition of other hotels
1940: L. Murray Dixon builds The Betsy Ross Hotel
1942: The Betsy Ross Hotel opens
1942: US troops stationed at The Betsy Hotel during WWII
1946: “Trunkline to Sunshine,” non-stop service to Miami ushers in a new era of tourism
1952: Esther Williams’ Million Dollar Mermaid, which was shot in Miami, opens at the Box Office
1960: Frank Sinatra and the Rat Pack perform at the Fontainebleau in Miami
1964: The Beatles come to Miami Beach to perform on the Ed Sullivan show
1964: The Jackie Gleason show moves to Miami Beach
1965: The AFL grants Miami an expansion franchise, the Dolphins
1970: The Betsy Ross Hotel is added to the State Registry of Historic Places
1972: Gloria Steinem headquarters NOW at The Betsy Ross Hotel during the Democratic Convention
1980: Amid numerous Art Deco revival movements, The Betsy Hotel Ross maintains its classic Florida-Georgian architectural façade
1985: Renowned fashion photographer Bruce Weber chose Miami Beach for Calvin Klein’s “Obsession,” spurring an onslaught of fashion photography shoots in the Art Deco District.
1993: The Florida Marlins are established as Major League Baseball’s newest professional team
2002: Art Basel and Miami Beach join forces to present one of the world’s premier international art shows
2003: The Betsy Ross Hotel undergoes a complete exterior restoration while maintaining its original façade
2005: MTV Video Music Awards are held at the American Airlines Arena, making Miami the first city outside of New York and Los Angeles to host the awards show
2006: Restored as a luxury boutique hotel, The Betsy Ross Hotel becomes The Betsy Hotel South Beach
2009: The Betsy Hotel reopens after a complete renovation