Fontainebleau Miami Beach, International Style hotel in Miami Beach, United States
Fontainebleau Miami Beach is a hotel complex on Collins Avenue in Miami Beach, designed by Morris Lapidus and opened in 1954. Its best-known element is a large curved tower with a white facade and repeating tiers of small rectangular windows, rising behind a lower flat-roofed wing with balconies and a colonnade canopy. A tall rectangular slab with horizontal stone-colored bands stands beside the curve.
Morris Lapidus designed the property in 1954 on the former estate of Harvey Firestone, a well-known tire industry figure. The opening brought new architectural ideas to Miami Beach and attracted prominent guests in the following decades.
The hotel's name comes from the Château de Fontainebleau, the French royal residence near Paris. Its public spaces have long served as a stage: Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley and Jerry Lewis performed here, and the 1964 James Bond film Goldfinger used the hotel as a setting. In 1977 tightrope artist Karl Wallenda, aged 72, crossed a 200-metre rope more than 50 metres above the ground to the neighbouring Eden Roc hotel.
The site sits directly on Collins Avenue with several entrances, the main one leading to the lobby. The different areas such as restaurants and event spaces are spread across multiple floors, so a map helps with first-time orientation.
A freestanding staircase inside the building appears to lead nowhere and was integrated as an artistic element. This structure is now a popular photo spot and shows the playful side of architecture from that era.
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