---
node: spot_miami_south_beach
type: spot
slug: south_beach
destination: dest_miami
title: "South Beach"
lead: "South Beach is the southern end of Miami Beach, where an Atlantic sandbar carries the largest concentration of art deco buildings anywhere. Ocean Drive's pastel hotels and the lifeguard stands on the sand are what people come to photograph."
published: 2026-08-12
updated: 2026-08-12
image_file: spot_miami_south_beach.jpg
image_source: "https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:South_Beach_Ocean_Drive_Strip,_Miami_Beach_Florida,_January_2018_-_08.jpg"
image_author: "Infrogmation of New Orleans"
image_license: "CC BY 2.0"
---

## Overview

The district was built fast in the 1930s and had decayed into cheap retirement housing by the 1970s, when a preservation campaign led by Barbara Baer Capitman stopped the demolitions and got 800 buildings listed. That listing is the reason the streets still look the way they do rather than like the condominium towers further north. The lifeguard stands are individually designed and were replaced after Hurricane Andrew, so they are newer than they look.

## Highlights

Walk Ocean Drive between 5th and 15th in the early morning, when the light is on the facades and the bars are shut. The Art Deco Welcome Center runs guided walks that explain what you are looking at. Espanola Way, two blocks inland, is quieter and older.