Miami Beach has been "America's Playground" for a century. Still one of the world's most popular resorts, its 1930s Art Deco architecture placed this picturesque city on the National Register of Historic Places. Yet a whole generation of earlier buildings was erased from the landscape and mostly forgotten: the house of refuge for shipwrecked sailors, the oceanfront mansions of Millionaires' Row, entrepreneur Carl Fisher's five grand hotels, the Community Theatre, the Miami Beach Garden and more. Join historian Carolyn Klepser as she rediscovers through words and pictures the lost treasures of Miami Beach and recounts the changes that sparked a renowned preservation movement.
Carolyn Klepser has spent nearly twenty years researching the architecture of Miami Beach for both local architects and as a consultant to the city. She has assisted in the designation of many of the city's historic districts and sites. With Miami historian Arva Moore Parks, she co-authored "Miami Then and Now" in 2002, and a revised edition in 2014 (Anova Books).