I’m going to rely on Retro Roadmap pals Visual Ephemera Rick and Tiki Lounge Talk Chris who live closer to Miami to give me the local skinny on the promising remodel of this mid-century modern motel, but for now I’ll just say thanks to Karen-Janine Cohen of the Biscayne Times for highlighting the newly remodeled New Yorker Motel at 6500 Biscayne Blvd.
This Miami Modern or “MiMo” motel is celebrating it’s grand re-opening this Saturday, as part of the MiMo Madness festival this Saturday!
From The Biscayne Times:
The Motel New Yorker’s March 20 grand opening will get a boost as part of the “MiMo Madness” festival that same day. The annual event brings food, music, and entertainment to the Boulevard. (Owners) Shirley Diaz and Walter Figueroa are even considering synchronized swimmers in their motel pool, a bit of fun to mark the end of a long and arduous process.
Diaz puts it this way: “We want to say: Look what a difference we’ve made in the neighborhood!”
Working from old pictures and documents, Diaz and Figueroa are painstakingly recreating the heyday of the New Yorker, built in 1953 and designed by vaunted MiMo architect Norman Giller. The original pink-and-green or gray-and-yellow bathroom tiles look like new. A variety of chairs, mirrors, and other reproduction period furniture is sprinkled throughout the rooms, which also boast flat-screen TVs and other contemporary amenities.
Hoping the best for The New Yorker, as well as owners Diaz and Figuero! Thanks for trying to make a difference in your neighborhood, something we all should aspire to, dontcha think?
About Mod Betty
Helium Design
That’s fabulous …. I haven’t been to Miami for years …..hmmmmm
Fascinating juxtaposition of the original and the present. I’d like to see it restored to the original colours!
Evelyn in Montreal
Bravo to these guys! I hope the opening went off as planned, swimmers and all.
I never knew this was the New Yorker Motel. It was the Davis Motel when I shot it in 2009:
http://www.agilitynut.com/09/3/davism.jpg
Great that they’re taking care of it – so many MiMo bldgs have been lost.
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