Recently, during a stunning Sunday morning, I decided to tour the social hub of Miami Beach, Lincoln Road Mall. Lincoln Road is a pedestrian mall which extends from the Atlantic Ocean to Biscayne Bay and except for the eastern and westernmost blocks, is completely closed to automobile traffic.

Lincoln Road was named after Abraham Lincoln, who was the hero of Miami Beach co-developer Carl Fisher. Lincoln Road wasn’t always a pedestrian mall, the street was originally split down the center and open for two-way traffic. In 1960 the outdoor mall was redesigned to be pedestrian- only by architect Morris Lapidus. Lapidus was a funny guy, saying that “a car never bought anything”. Carl Fisher originally envisioned “The Road” to be the “Fifth Avenue of the South” and touted upscale stores like Bonwit Teller, Burdines (now Macy’s) and Saks Fifth Avenue. There was a Cadillac showroom on the corner of Lincoln & Pennsylvania where “Cafeteria” now is was ( I heard today that it closed).

Lincoln Road Mall is often compared to “Las Ramblas” in Barcelona (above), and is a favorite haunt for tourists AND locals.

There is something for everybody on Lincoln Road including: galleries, shops, cafe’s, clubs and theaters. The number one attraction for the road? People-watching. Every third Sunday of the month Lincoln Road hosts and Antiques and Collectibles Market. Enjoy!

Here is Victoria Secret. The building is The Mead Building and was completely replicated from the original building.

Lincoln Road has many waterfalls and shade structures. These were added in 1960 by Morris Lapidus.

Ghirardelli is at the corner of Lincoln & Meridian across from Starbuck’s.

Major Apple store just opened. A high-end linen store, Moseley’s, was in this space since the 1950’s.

This is the euro-central, Segafredo Zanetti. It has a boudoir theme, kind of like Costes but outdoors. Totally euro. Lots of cigarette smoke. Walking past Segafredo on a Sunday afternoon is like doing runway at a major fashion show. You better work.

This is another shady rest area at the intersection of Euclid Avenue. Oribe has a salon on Euclid.

Farmer’s Market every Sunday until 5 p.m.

This is the Van Dyke Cafe. Hands-down the best cafe’ atmosphere and a great vantage point for people-watching. Did you notice that I didn’t mention the food? I went this week and it seems to be getting better.

A beautiful day and fresh flowers make for a beautiful picture.

The Sterling Building was designed by V.H. Nellenbogen. This is one of the most important buildings on Lincoln Road. My first real estate office was in this building.

Great fountain with Segafredo and Colony Theater in the background.

Russian Bear Cafe in the Sterling Building.

This is my favorite palm on Lincoln Road. It is beautiful. I need to find out what kind of palm this is.

This is the Lincoln Theater, home to the New World Symphony.

This used to be a bank. Very Deco!

Design Within Reach furniture store. This is located in the center breezeway of the Sterling Building. This is exactly where my old office was. Prior to that it was a furrier. Oh, the glamour.

New haute Italian restaurant, Quattro which is right next to Balan’s which is the place to be for Sunday brunch.

Miami Beach, furthering its reputation as the “hippest place on earth”, will be hosting the first ever Sleepless Night, a round-the-clock venue of free entertainment and cultural events on November 3rd. This event will be the first event of its kind in the United States.

According to the Miami Herald,

Sleepless Night will be held from 6 p.m. to 6 am. And include tours, outdoor art exhibits, fashion shows, performances, film, dance and music. The events will take place in four zones: North Beach, Collins Park, Lincoln Road and Ocean Drive. Free transportation will be provided. Hotels, shops, clubs and restaurants will be open all night.

Miami Beach has an international reputation for hosting world-class happenings like Art Basel Miami Beach and the South Beach Wine & Food Festival,” said Gary Farmer, Miami Beach’s cultural affairs program manager.

The idea of Sleepless Night originated in Paris (surprise) in 2002. I was lucky enough to be in Paris during “Nuit Blanche” in 2004. It was definitely exciting and was still in its infancy. Many other cities have a Sleepless Night of their own including Rome, Madrid, Brussels, Montreal and Toronto.

The City of Miami Beach is launching a website in July; I will post it here when it is up.

Round the clock party…. How different will this day/night be from the other 364 days here in Miami Beach?

Forget all those news articles trying to explain what it means to you.  Here is a tax-plan calculator, which attempts to give an idea of your possible savings.

Over the last few months, I have been mildly following the tax reform see-saw.  In the very beginning, it was “thought” (or more likely, hoped for) that Florida property taxes were going to be completely eliminated.  Many people jumped on the “no more property tax” bandwagon.  E-mails were sent, initiatives were started.  I, for one, did not get caught up in the ying and yang of it all.  No mass e-mails from me!

You know why?  I have common sense.  Who in their right mind realistically believed that property taxes, being as astronomical as they are, would be COMPLETELY eliminated.

So, here we are with a really complicated and IMPOSSIBLE to figure out tax-reform proposal that in no way resembles the initial hoopla of the “Florida to completely eliminate property taxes” SLOGAN.

Hmmm…feels a lot like the insurance reform we were promised, no?