The Deauville Beach Resort, a Miami Beach hotel, hosted the Beatles, Frank Sinatra and John F. Kennedy, as well as countless weddings, proms and poolside parties.

On Sunday, as a crowd of onlookers cheered and shouted, the hotel was leveled in an implosion, leaving behind a pile of rubble and unanswered questions.

In an email to residents after the building was destroyed, Mayor Dan Gelber said that the city had waged a long and tortured court battle with its neglectful owners.

He said in an interview on Monday that it had to be demolished because it was unsafe.

The future of the site was uncertain after voters in Miami Beach rejected a referendum that would have allowed the owner of the Miami Dolphins to take control of the site.

Mr. Gelber wrote in the email that they needed to go back to the drawing board.

ImageIn a black-and-white photograph, vehicles line up the street in front of The Deauville hotel on February 16, 1964. The sign atop the multistory building reads
The Deauville hotel in 1964.Credit...Getty Images
In a black-and-white photograph, vehicles line up the street in front of The Deauville hotel on February 16, 1964. The sign atop the multistory building reads
ImageIn a black-and-white photograph from better days, several dozen men in swimming trunks cluster around blocks of ice that were floating in the pool of the Deauville hotel in Miami Beach.
Swimmers in the pool of the Deauville.Credit...Getty Images
In a black-and-white photograph from better days, several dozen men in swimming trunks cluster around blocks of ice that were floating in the pool of the Deauville hotel in Miami Beach.

The Deauville was built in 1957 and features clean lines and lavish interiors typical of Miami Modern, or MiMo.

The sign out front of the building had a star instead of the letter "i", and the porte-cochere was made of curves over the driveway entrance.

The Beatles were broadcasted live to 70 million people from the hotel's Napoleon Ballroom by the "Ed Sullivan Show". Thousands of fans clamored for a glimpse of the players from the other team.

ImageOnstage at the Deauville in 1964, Paul McCartney, John Lennon and George Harrison, of the Beatles, gather around a mic as they sing and play electric guitars. The other band member, Ringo Starr, plays the drums in the background.
The Beatles played live from the Napoleon Ballroom at the Deauville on “The Ed Sullivan Show” in 1964.Credit...Getty Images
Onstage at the Deauville in 1964, Paul McCartney, John Lennon and George Harrison, of the Beatles, gather around a mic as they sing and play electric guitars. The other band member, Ringo Starr, plays the drums in the background.

An electrical fire shut down the Deauville's owners. They were taken to court by the city of Miami Beach. The owners said they didn't have the funds to do the work.

After the owners filed an engineering report, the city recommended that the building be torn down. There was concern about the structural integrity of the hotel after the collapse of the South Condominium in June of 2021.

ImageThe poolside area of the Deauville, seen through a chain-link fence, looked overgrown. The multistory building of the hotel is, past palm trees, in the background in the glow of sunlight.
The Deauville had fallen into disrepair, but a lawyer for the owners had said they had spent millions trying to save it. The overgrown pool area was photographed in January 2022.Credit...Scott McIntyre for The New York Times
The poolside area of the Deauville, seen through a chain-link fence, looked overgrown. The multistory building of the hotel is, past palm trees, in the background in the glow of sunlight.

The Deauville property is owned by a corporate entity that runs other hotels and casinos as well as working in construction.

He said in a statement that the owners saved the hotel. The Deauville is going to be brought back to its former glory. Mr. Chanfrau referred questions to a family member who did not respond to a request for comment.

ImageThe shore area near where the Deauville hotel used to stand, after the implosion had taken place. People are walking on the white sand. Other buildings and the Atlantic Ocean are on the horizon.
Passers-by looked at the debris after the demolition of the Deauville Beach Resort in Miami Beach.Credit...Cristobal Herrera-Ulashkevich/EPA, via Shutterstock
The shore area near where the Deauville hotel used to stand, after the implosion had taken place. People are walking on the white sand. Other buildings and the Atlantic Ocean are on the horizon.

The implosion was watched on a live feed by the executive director of the Miami Design Preservation League.

He said that anyone with a memory of going to the Deauville has a memory of going to prom. It is a landmark to the community and there are memories there that will remain, but seeing the physical building demolished was hard to take.

Mayor Dan GelberDeauville Beach ResortMiami Beach votersSouth Florida cool
Related News
Patrick Mahomes, Kansas City Chiefs prevail against Buffalo Bills, win wild AFC divisional game in overtime
Popular on TVN
Stay In Touch

All Rights Reserved © 2024