The Dunes Hotel
Let's all go to The Dunes Hotel! No, not the one in Las Vegas. I'm talkin' Miami, baby! This place must have been of some interest, since I somehow wound up with three vintage photos of it. I can't seem to find out much about the history of it, which is a bummer.
This first photo, from the 1950's, shows the Dunes along 170th Street, which was right by the shore (though it doesn't really look like it from most of the photos). There were many hotels along 170th. I've seen these described as "art deco", though I am not so sure about that; they look more "mid-century" to me. What do I know!
Here's a better look at The Dunes, with its wonderful sign featuring a bas-relief of an Egyptian prince (?) in his chariot (pulled by an energetic horse) while he hunts with his bow.
The back of one postcard tells us that The Dunes was "America's most fabulous year-round resort". 170 air-conditioned rooms! You could even live there in "efficiency and studio apartments". There was an Olympic swimming pool and another one for kids (stay away from that one if you know what I'm sayin').
This slide is a look at the interior! Very mid-century by way of the Euphrates river valley.
This view gives a better sense of the many hotels along 170th Street.
The Dunes also had a cocktail lounge, a night club, a dance studio, a barbershop and beauty salon, a solarium and steam rooms, a gift shop, "small fry TV and rumpus room", and private balconies overlooking the ocean. What more could anybody want?
Ooh-la-la! The place looks pretty swanky at night.
Here's a great postcard view showing the pool area, with the cerulean blue ocean nearby. Looks awesome.
Sadly, The Dunes is no longer with us; as far as I can tell, it was torn down around 2000. But we'll always have photos of it!
21 comments:
Major-
Okay - I'm convinced; sign me up - I'm ready for a vacation. Definitely some luscious mid-century designs to behold. (And, it's 'AAA' rated).
Thanks, Major.
My wife always says that even right on the ocean, she'll only swim in a pool. It seems "Jaws" did a number on her way back when.
It's strange how these motels could go from "really cool" to "so run down it's literally scary" so fast. As a kid we stayed in some really cool Holiday Inns that would induce nightmares now, even without great white sharks...
Yeah, the Dunes is pretty cool, but I'll be staying at the Driftwood next door with the giant pieces of refuse affixed to the exterior!
Yep, those are definitely giant pieces of refuse affixed to the exterior...
Stu, my mother never saw Jaws, but the one time she went wading on the beach in Florida a jellyfish rolled over her foot and that was enough.
That Dunes sign is six kinds of awesome.
Nanook, I want to live there in one of the efficiency apartments!
stu29573, my extended family (great aunt, cousins, grandmother, etc) had the bright idea to visit Martha’s Vineyard two years after “Jaws” came out. We stayed there for five days, rode the ferry that appears in the movie, and actually saw fishermen catch sharks from the shore (small, harmless sharks, but it didn’t matter), so needless to say we didn’t spend a lot of time swimming. It was still a great trip, though!
Andrew, those are valuable pieces of refuse, and that makes all the difference.
Melissa, at least she wasn’t stung by the jellyfish, something I used to worry about. In Virginia I remember seeing the beach covered with hundreds (thousands, probably) of dead jellies - and a dead whale. Nature sure is grand!
No dearth of vintage cars to ID! I don't recognize anyone performing at the Camel Hump Lounge. And you gotta be careful where you put the emphasis on that name.
I've been to Miami twice. Once changing planes on the way to Barbados (wife has family history there) and once pre Caribbean cruise. We didn't see much at all.
In the Central Valley of California it's interesting to see the forlorn motels cut off from Hiway 99. Some still have the vintage Swimming Pool! A/C! Color TV! signs.
These scans are evocative of my families road trips in the 50s. Thanks Major
zach
I fear we are about to witness a yearly event that eventually caused the demise of the Dunes. The Egyptian writing behind that [tied hands behind his back] “guest” states: Ancient sacrificial ceremonial site to dune beetle god. (The remaining ashes were then stored in white pots and placed high on the walls.). Very sad.
I love these pictures so much. Architecture & vintage cars are a great combo. Makes modern day look so drab.
I agree, these are less Deco than Mid-Century, although the latter term is of recent date.
The fireplace is something to behold for sure.
It looks like the ocean is well below the pool deck elevation. Did you climb stairs down to the beach?
Thanks for these pictures, Major!
JG
Last picture - on the right edge, is that a real flamingo or plastic one?? Either way, ‘how cool!!’ (Melissa, I’m trying to recall what you called them, in one of the past posts??)
I'd say the Dunes is very much Mid-Century Modern while the Driftwood still has some Art Deco details. But then architectural styles always seem to transition from one era to another so there's always going to be a mixture of elements from one to another.
I love the huge slab billboard-style signs. It must have been something to see them lighted at night. I also like the small overhang placed by the entrance to the Dunes, just for the valet.
Too bad really cool places like this went the way of the Dodo. Don't you wish you could spend the day at the pool sipping Navy Grogs and and munching on club sandwiches? Mid century meets the Nile Delta, priceless. Last one in the pool buys the next round. Thanks Major.
@Sue - we always call them flamignos. Not very creative,
Melissa, I think it's creative! I now also remember that someone else called them "flaming-o's" - both fun names!
Andrew, could those pieces of refuse actually be pieces of driftwood? Either way, it does look odd. It sort of reminds me of the buildings in Frontierland, where antlers were used to "decorate" some of the rooftops.
Sue, that was me. "Flamigno" is pretty cool, too.
Chuck, yes, I like both of those flamingo nicknames! I also like "trash panda" for raccoons - which the Major taught us, a week or so ago. The things I learn on this blog are amazing!
Thanks, Major and all, for another fun Saturday trip!
zach, I have to admit that I was surprised that Nanook didn’t go wild with his car ID magic! Oh how I want the lounge to really be called “The Camel Hump Lounge”! I understand why developers think that people want fancier hotels, but there’s a lot to be said for a little vintage charm, as long as it isn’t shabby. I’d love to stay in a “time capsule” mid-century motel. I have a friend who goes around taking photos of signs from motels like the ones you describe, they’re pretty neat.
Lou and Sue, I believe you! I’m waiting for the swarms of black insects and fire from the skies. But then again, in 2020 nothing would surprise me.
JG, I agree, this architecture is somehow “friendly”, at least to me. I usually think of Deco as having more curves, though I know that they also have a lot of “stair-step” angles and such. I’d like to think that somebody salvaged that wonderful fireplace, but the reality is probably not as nice. Good point about the beach level, there must have been steps down to the sand.
Lou and Sue, I’m voting that it is a plastic flamingo, but I still love it.
Omnispace, I want to stay in a Brutalist hotel, all cold concrete and unwelcoming spaces! I also love those “slab” signs (good description), you used to see those all over, even for grocery stores and hardware stores. I wonder why they fell out of favor?
Jonathan, yes, I absolutely wish that! And I don’t even know what a Navy Grog is. Rum and… lime juice? Safe guess. I’m not much of a drinker, but I could do one of those.
Melissa, …!
Lou and Sue, how did you know that Melissa had a special way of spelling “flamingos”?
TokyoMagic!, my guess is that those are genuine pieces of driftwood! Not exactly beautiful, but I appreciate the attempt at least. I also thought of the antlers in Frontierland!
Chuck, it’s another “Chuckism”!
Lou and Sue, I cannot take any credit for “trash panda”. But you can wow the folks at the opera by using that and “flaming-o”!
You know how sometimes twins have their own languages? My sister and I have always just switched around the letters and sounds in regular words. We’re not real twins, so we just have the Pig Latin of twin languages.
Major-
I'm afraid once-a-week for car-id-ing is all the 'ol brain can tolerate, lest it begins swelling; in spite of the fact there was a 1956 or 1957 Corvette in the B&W image. "Built for GO as well as show!"
Major, You really have me thinking about Brutalist hotels now. One that is really cool that I've actually stayed at is Hotel Bonaventure in Montreal. It occupies the top three floors of Place Bonaventure which is a massive Brutalist multi-use building from the 1960's. It's actually quite amazing with gardens and water features in the areas between the guest wings and the central lobby. There's even an outdoor pool you can access from inside the hotel,and yes I have used it in February. There's plenty of corrugated concrete in the lobby to keep you happy, and the rooms are very well appointed.
I’m 79 years old and my family and my parents best friends family stayed at the Dunes motel there were 10 of us and I was in 6th grade 1956. Stayed over Christmas - .we all were from Cleveland Ohio. The owner developer was a good friend of our family from Cleveland. His name was Harold Hirschfield. He moved his family to Miami Beach. The Dunes was a motel and one of the first on the Avenue. By 56 there were a number of motels all in this area. The Olympic pool had a high diving board that I used to jump off of. The Dubes even had a medium size auditorium. I don’t remember stairs to the beach but there may have been some. We would swim in the ocean all the time and I seem to remember there were man of war jellyfish but again that may be a wrong recollection. We actually somewhere have 16 mm movies of the fun we had in the pool. Wonderful memories. Of the original ten of us,I’m the only one left in my family. No one to share the memories with. By the way, we would eat at Wolfies Delicatessen, which was known everywhere. Miami Beach was a very different place to say the least. Collins Ave was like the fifth Avenue of Miami Beach all high end stores.
Action is that slightly farther north, the Thunderbird hotel opened up around the time we were there. It was the place. Last comment is as you all see time goes by very fast and enjoy all the memories. Bruce
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