The Wolfsonian–FIU
Strangely, the museum began life in the 1920s as the Washington Storage Company – Miami’s wealthier winter residents used to store their valuables here when they were away. Eventually, in 1984, one Mitchell Wolfson, Jr. decided to buy it outright as a home for his vast assemblage of the rich detritus of modernity. It opened to the public in 1995. Over 70,000 objects include decorative and propaganda art, furniture, and much, much more.
- 1001 Washington Ave, Miami Beach
- Tel: 305 531 1001
- www.wolfsonian.org
- noon–6pm Mon, Tue, Sat, and Sun; noon–9pm Thu and Fri
- Closed national holidays
- Café Dynamo open daily
- Adults $7; seniors and students $5
Standing just to the north of the Wolfsonian’s entrance, this remarkable 1939 building is a stainless-steel hexagonal structure designed in the Art Moderne style.
The Spanish Baroque-style relief around the main entrance is a striking feature. The bronze flagpole brackets and finials date from 1914.
The massive ceiling supports reflect the Mediterranean-Revival style of the façade and are original to the building. So are the terra-cotta floors, the woodwork over the doors leading to the elevator vestibule, and the rough stucco walls. The stonework is unfinished according to Mediterranean-Revival tenets.
Set under a skylight, the fountain was fashioned from an elaborate Deco window grille taken from the Norris Theater in Pennsylvania. Composed of over 200 gilded and glazed terra-cotta tiles, the richly floral decorative scheme belies the careful geometrical structure of the piece.
The symbol of the Wolfsonian confronts visitors as they approach the elevator. Its brawny, nude, life-sized form is made entirely of aluminum, perhaps the quintessential metal of 20th-century modernity.
To the left of the elevator is a wonderful 1929 Art Deco bronze mailbox, originally in New York Central Railroad Terminal, Buffalo.
These unique decorative features come from a 1920s Miami car showroom and a restaurant in Missouri.
This fine piece of modern woodcraft is fashioned from pine and steel. It came from the Curtis Bok residence, Gulph Mills, Pennsylvania, designed by Wharton Esherick in 1935.
The stained-glass window made for the League of Nations’ International Labor Building in Geneva, Switzerland, in 1926–30, is an impressive piece.
Much of the available gallery space is used throughout the year for special exhibits, often with compelling themes that reflect the subjects of research at the University. Propaganda art has featured, showing how savvy designers have called upon the science of psychology to create highly persuasive images for businesses and governments.
The Wolfsonian–FIU is both a museum and a design research institute attached to Florida International University. Three of the floors are used for offices, storage, and a library, and are not normally open to the public. Your tour should begin outside, progress to the Entrance Hall, then up the back elevator to floors 5, 6, and 7.
