Lincoln Road Mall

Lincoln Road Mall is an open air pedestrian mall (one of the nation's first)in the heart of South Beach Miami. It offers ultra ultra shopping, cafes and restaurants with sidewalk tables, art galleries, an 18-screen movie theater and endless people watching. The seven-block mall was redesigned in the 1990s, and features rows of giant palm trees, fountains, and pools with mosaic designs. The pools and mosaic designs are by Morris Lapidus, an architect and designer of the 1950s. He did a number of hotels in South Beach Miami in the 1950s, including the Eden Roc, the Fountainbleu, and the Sheraton Bal Harbour, which was originally the Americana. One of his most famous creations is the Stairway to Nowhere at the Fountainbleu. The stairway was ridicilously grand, but led only to a coatcheck room. The idea was that guests could check their coats, then glide down the spiral stairway and show off their outfits. It was a big hit! It's so South Beach Miami! His style is fun, whimsical, and for the people. His creative elements like abstract holes cut into ceilings, did not jibe with his contemporaries of the 1950s, when clean lines and sharp angles were popular. He was hardly published at all in Archtecture magazines, and it wasn't until after he retired (1984)that he finally won recognition from his peers in the 1990s. The Russian-born designer and architect died in 2001.

Shopping is good here, albeit expensive. Lincoln Road Mall hasn't been overrun by chain establishments, so there are lots of corners to explore, packed with unique items and apparel. The end of the mall closest to the beach gives you an idea of what the place looked like before the 1990s renovation, with electronics stores, cheaper restaurants, and beauty supply stores. It too has its charm! Everyone feels welcome at Lincoln Road Mall, hip or not, human or dog. You can skate through here, walk your dog, sit by the pool, relax. Sunday mornings are especially nice, when there's a farmers maket. Shoppers can buy fruit, fresh vegetables, home-made bread, juices and fresh flowers. It runs from 9am to 6pm. During the week, stores may stay open late, cafes bustle with energetic people, and the buskers come out to give a show. As you stroll the Mall, look for the monument to Lapidus, who lived into his 90s to see the renovation of Lincoln Road Mall.