Stadium, Stadi-dumb?

Walking around in the Little Havana section of Miami, it's impossible to ignore the hulking steel and concrete structure that will become the new home of the (Florida) Marlins baseball team. There are so many similarities to when the Skydome was going up in Toronto. Both were supposed to revitalize their run-down neighbourhood. Both are/were millions over budget. Both feature retracting roofs --- in Toronto for the cold/rain, in Miami for the heat/rain! Both resulted in a new city taxes to finance what should have been a privately funded project. Skydome opened months late in its first year ---- see for yourself if you think this stadium will open on time this April. Although the taxpayer kicked in most of the construction costs and overruns, all operating revenues will go to the team because they are supposedly losing money!

In Toronto, the team name stayed the same but the Skydome changed names. In Miami, the building has yet to be named but the team will change their name from the Florida Marlins to the Miami Marlins. That's what the Miami taxpayers get for their $400 million.

And the neighbourhood? In Toronto, Skydome (I'll call it by its current name only when the current owner pays back the taxpayers) is now the centre of a trendy bustling area. But here in Little Havana, the locals think they'll still have to cross over to the city for their future.

Ft. Lauderdale Then and Now

Less than an hour's scenic drive up the coast from our place is Ft. Lauderdale. When I was in university, it was THE mecca for Spring Break and was immortalized as such in the movie "Where The Boys Are". My buddies and I would drive down in my '64 Dodge (can you spot it?) ---- parking all-day free on the edge of the sand and wishing we could get the American girls and the latest sensational American cars, like the 1964 1/2 Mustang!

Today, about all that remains unchanged are the waves and some classic cars that cruised A1A back then. Multicolour sidewalks and low concrete walls prevent any parking on the sand, and nothing's free. The hotspot corner from the old movie now shows a "100" commemorating the city's centennial. Low-budget college travellers have been banished in favour of families and upscale international tourists. But the sand is cool on your toes and the surf says "Where have you been all these years??"

SoBe at Night

A slow cruise down to SoBe on a warm sultry tropical Saturday night. The tourist season isn't in full swing yet but already the sidewalks are crowded, the female impersonators are queening, and the Ferraris are as common as steak and fries on the menus. What can you do to stand out around here? One way is to light yourself up in neon. Another is to offer up the smoothest romantic Latin/Cuban live music that spills onto the street like mango sauce poured on your gelato. Me gusto --- I like it!!

Lincoln Road MiMo Mall

In the middle of SoBe, running 8 blocks east-west, is the Lincoln Road Mall. Up until 1960 Lincoln Road was the town's social centre with churches, luxury retailers of the day such as Saks Fifth Avenue, and even Cadillac and Packard car dealerships. In 1960 it was closed to traffic and became one of the first pedestrian malls in the USA.

Redesigned in the MiMo style (Miami Modern) the mall now has gardens, fountains, shelters, amphitheatres, and the luxury retailers of today such as Swarovski Crystal. Oh ---- and dozens of open-air restaurants that make you think you're wandering the boulevards of Italy or France.

What to do with the parking meters? Cleverly, they became ways to donate to charities.

Pat will blog later about the unique Botanical Walking Tour right down the middle of the mall. Most strollers seem more interested in style, shopping, and sunlight.

Intro to SoBe

For some really hip/cool/design buzz we drive from NoBe (North Beach) to SoBe (South Beach). The route follows postcard-perfect palmtree boulevards, inland waterways with 100-foot Colombian (!!) yachts, and famous landmarks like the Fontainbleu Hotel. For you hipsters that remember the TV series "77 Sunset Strip" --- sorry, Kookie's houseboat office is gone.

But from 23rd Street down to 1st Street along Ocean Road it's all glamour, attitude, old and new money, and dozens of languages coming from the sidewalk cafes. (The Art Deco District will have a few blogs of its own later.)An amazing layout that includes the Strip, the narrow 2-lane cruising road, a huge city park, and eventually the bright white beach, miles long. On a hot sunny day like today, it's almost as hard to find a spot for your beach towel as it is to find a parking spot.

We'll be slumming in SoBe often but even today's short walkabout was an eye-opener.

This Morning's Walk

The best way to discover the neighbourhoods is on our 2 or 3 daily hour-long walks. So many trails (were they old railroad right-of-ways?), so many quiet streets that end at canals, so many surviving buildings of old Florida (did Sinatra stay here?). We go over the 85th Street canal footbridge, through the big park to the Atlantic, and then north or south beside the surf. The amount of recreational green space is remarkable considering how valuable the land is. You can even see a shark on wheels!

The Cuban workmen were painting (dark grey)our newly-poured sidewalk this morning, so we went a little further than usual ---- way better than watching the paint dry.

January = North Miami Beach

We settled into our January home yesterday. meeting the eager-to-please owners. It's a situation very common back in Toronto where the couple buys old places. renovates and rents them out. This place is so new there are still details to be done like installing closet shelves and the (outdoor) washer and dryer. The neighbourhood is almost all 1960's pastel 2-storey multiple-unit residential with street parking. Our studio unit has satellite TV, wifi, and very hip decor such as lowback chairs and marble see-through shower. Three blocks from the beach, US$1000 including tax.

We went for start-up groceries last night and the word that describes the area is funky. Lots of street-level walk-in mom and pop shops, narrow streets, and even community gardens. Quaint arch-bridges pass over canals and onto the large ocean-shore park for locals. Excellent trails and backroads to be explored for the rest of this month. It feels pretty good so far!