Kimpton Surfcomber Hotel
- Architect
- MacKay & Gibbs
- Style
- Art Deco
- City
- Miami, FL
- Collection
- ocean drive deco
The Surfcomber Hotel opened in 1948 at 1717 Collins Avenue, designed by the architectural firm MacKay & Gibbs within South Beach's historic Art Deco district. It later became a magnet for pop culture: MTV made it its headquarters for the 2005 Video Music Awards, and Bud Light used it as its base during Super Bowl XLIV in 2010. Kimpton acquired the hotel in April 2011.
the building
Transitional Deco design. MacKay & Gibbs designed the Surfcomber to bridge the ornamental Art Deco of the 1930s with the streamlined, graphic modern look emerging in the late 1940s and 1950s. The same firm designed the nearby Sherbrooke Hotel in 1947.
the style
The Surfcomber sits within the Miami Beach Architectural District, the Art Deco District running through South Beach. Rather than pure 1930s ornament, its design is transitional, carrying Deco's vocabulary into the more streamlined look architects were adopting by the late 1940s.
More on Art Decothe architect
The firm MacKay & Gibbs designed several Art Deco hotels across Miami Beach, including the nearby Sherbrooke Hotel, built in 1947.