Miami Design District facts for kids

The Miami Design District is a cool neighborhood in Miami, Florida, United States. It's known as a top spot for shopping, eating, and enjoying art and culture. In the early 2000s, a developer named Craig Robins helped transform this area. He worked with other companies to make it a popular place.

Today, the Design District is home to more than 130 art galleries, fancy showrooms, and creative businesses. You can find luxury fashion stores, antique shops, and many restaurants and bars here.

This area was once part of a neighborhood called Buena Vista. It is located just south of Lemon City (which is now Little Haiti). The Design District is bordered by North 36th Street to the south and North 43rd Street to the north. To the west, it's West First Avenue, and to the east, it's Biscayne Boulevard.

The Design District is surrounded by other interesting Miami neighborhoods. To the south is the artsy Wynwood area. To the north are Little Haiti and the historic Buena Vista neighborhood from the 1920s. To the east, you'll find the wealthy Upper East Side neighborhoods. After many years of decline, the Design District has become a lively center for art, design, and fashion.

You can find famous brands like Louis Vuitton, Dior, Prada, Saint Laurent, and Hermes here. There are also restaurants by award-winning chefs and celebrities like Gloria and Emilio Estefan. The neighborhood also has public art by artists like Buckminster Fuller and Urs Fischer. Plus, there are museums and galleries such as the Institute for Contemporary Art, Miami, and The de la Cruz Collection of Contemporary Art.

History of the Design District

The land where the Design District now stands was once a pineapple farm. It was part of the Buena Vista neighborhood. In the 1920s, the farm owner, T.V. Moore, built the famous Moore Building. This building was for his family's furniture business. It was one of the first stores in the U.S. to sell only furniture.

By the 1980s and early 1990s, the Design District started to look run-down. But in the late 1990s and early 2000s, art and design stores began to open again.

Craig Robins is often given credit for starting the district's comeback. He bought many old buildings in the 18-block area. He then convinced top designers like Alison Spear and Holly Hunt to open their studios and showrooms there.

Throughout the 2000s, the Design District became more and more popular. With a lot of money invested by both the government and private companies, the streets and sidewalks were improved. New trees were also planted.

In 2010, Craig Robins' company, Dacra, teamed up with L Real Estate (now L Catterton). They planned to turn the Design District into a luxury shopping and lifestyle spot. This plan included famous architects from around the world and flagship stores for fashion brands like Dior, Hermes, and Louis Vuitton.

Even today, you can still see signs and names with "Buena Vista" in the area. Examples include the Buena Vista Post Office and Buena Vista School.

In 2016, there was a health warning about the Zika virus in the area. However, the "Zika Zone" warning was lifted later that year.

Shopping in the District

The Design District is a great place to shop! It currently has over 80 stores and 70 showrooms for home design.

You can find many flagship luxury stores here. These include Balenciaga, Celine, Christian Louboutin, Dior, Dolce & Gabbana, Fendi, Giorgio Armani, Givenchy, Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Miu Miu, Prada, Saint Laurent, and Tom Ford. The Design District also has one of the largest collections of jewelers in the world. You'll find brands like Bulgari, Cartier, Harry Winston, Tiffany & Co., and Van Cleef and Arpels.

Other fashion and beauty stores are also here. These include Aesop and Creed for beauty and wellness. There are also modern brands like Isabel Marant, BA&SH, COS, Rag and Bone, Theory, and Alice + Olivia.

For home design, you can visit showrooms like Citco, Holly Hunt, Jonathan Adler, Luminaire, Minotti, and Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams.

In 2009, Christian Louboutin was the first luxury store to open in the district. This marked a new beginning for the neighborhood. Later that year, Yohji Yamamoto also opened a store. In 2011, Louis Vuitton announced plans to open a store by 2014. Other brands from the LVMH company, like Sephora, Marc Jacobs, Givenchy, and Fendi, also planned to open stores.

In October 2011, Hermes, Cartier, and Dior decided to move their stores from Bal Harbour Shops to the Design District. This happened in late 2011 and 2012. Design Within Reach opened a large design store in the district in February 2013.

The three-story Hermès store opened in November 2015. It is one of only a few flagship stores for Hermes in the U.S.

Restaurants and Food

The Design District offers many delicious places to eat. You can try Michael's Genuine by award-winning chef Michael Schwartz. There's also Estefan Kitchen by Gloria and Emilio Estefan. Other popular spots include Mandolin Aegean Bistro and Ghee Indian Kitchen.

For more casual options, you can visit Blue Bottle Coffee for specialty coffee. Harry's Pizzeria and ella café are also by Michael Schwartz. OTL is a café created by David Grutman, Craig Robins, and the team behind New York City's The Smile. The St. Roch Market is a food hall with 12 different food and drink choices. These include Italian food, vegan options, and southern comfort food.

In December 2018, chef Brad Kilgore opened a Japanese restaurant called Kaido. In March 2019, he was a finalist for a big award called the James Beard award. He was the only chef from Florida to be a finalist that year.

Grammy Award-winning musician Pharrell Williams and David Grutman opened a restaurant called Swan in December 2018. They also opened an upstairs bar called Bar Bevy. Swan can seat 250 people and has a unique mint-green and pink interior design.

Art Galleries and Public Art

The Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami (ICA) is located on NE 41st in the Design District.

The Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami (ICA Miami) opened its new, large building in December 2017. The building was designed by a Spanish company. This museum is free and open to everyone. It also has an outdoor sculpture garden. ICA Miami shows the work of modern artists and helps share art and ideas in Miami and worldwide. It has exhibitions and programs that feature both famous and new artists. The goal is to help people enjoy and understand new and experimental art. ICA has events all year, like "ICA Speaks," where artists from the museum's collection talk about their work.

Right next to the ICA is the de la Cruz Collection of Contemporary Art. This museum holds the private art collection of Rosa and Carlos de la Cruz. It's a big museum, and it's also free and open to the public. It features art from the 1980s onward. Other art galleries and groups in the Miami Design District include Locust Projects, Primary Projects, and Markowicz Fine Art.

The Design District also has a public art collection. You can see art pieces all around the neighborhood. For example, there's Buckminster Fuller's Fly's Eye Dome in Palm Court. You can also find Zaha Hadid's Elastika in the Moore Building. Marc Newsom's Dash Fence and Urs Fischer's Bus Stop are also on display.

Culture and Events

The Design District offers art programs like Public Art Tours. It also has a Performance Series with past shows by the Miami Symphony Orchestra and famous singers like Jon Secada.

During the week of Art Basel Miami, the Design District often hosts special performances and events. For example, Pharrell Williams performed here in 2010 and 2013. There was also an art exhibition organized by famous art dealers starting in 2015.

Transportation Options

The Design District is easy to get around. You can use the Metrobus system. The City of Miami Trolley also has a route that serves the area. The Miami Metrorail is also nearby in Allapattah, less than a mile to the west. You can get off at the Allapattah station.

The Design District is also known for its cool parking garages. These garages are part of a trend called "parkitecture." This word combines "parking" and "architecture." It means parking garages that are also important pieces of architecture.

The City View Garage, for example, won an award for its architectural design in 2016. Part of the garage has special metalwork designed by Zahner. Another part features public art by John Baldessari.

The Museum Garage opened in the Design District in winter 2019. It has a colorful mix of designs by different architecture firms. In March 2019, one writer called the Museum Garage "the coolest place for epic photo shoots" and "the world’s most unique garage."

Education in the Area

Miami-Dade County Public Schools runs the public schools in the area. One notable school is:

• Design and Architecture High School

The Istituto Marangoni is an Italian fashion and design school. It opened its first U.S. location in the Miami Design District in 2017. This school has famous alumni like Domenico Dolce.

Images for kids

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  Design District street