Please help us save The Deauville from total "demolition by neglect." Funds will be used exlusively to support the Miami Design Preservation League's legal fees in service of protecting and preserving as much of our globally-shared architectural and cultural history as possible. Read about the legal efforts in the Miami Herald article published 2/10/22: http://hrld.us/366Suza (or download the pdf of the article here).
Beatlemania started in the U.S. in earnest at The Deauville. Designed by Melvin Grossman in 1957, it is most well-known for being the site of the legendary 1964 Ed Sullivan Show which introduced The Beatles to America, launching Beatlemania on our shores. It’s also where the Fab Four worked on three songs and wrote “You Can’t Do That” (which would be a fitting theme song to this sorry saga).
One of the finest examples of the exuberant, optimistic post-World War II mid-century architecture in the country, The Deauville Beach Resort and Hotel was host to cultural icons from Frank Sinatra to Glen Campbell, Benny Goodman to Arturo Sandoval, Presidents John F. Kennedy to Ronald Reagan, and so many more. It was one of the few venues where Black performers, like Sammy Davis Jr. and Louis Armstrong, were welcomed in Miami Beach during the 50s and early 60s. It is now on life support, under threat of demolition due to the illegal and unscrupulous actions by its derelict and litigious owners, the billionaire Meruelo family. Having purchased the property in 2004 for $4 million, these billionaires spent years doing shoddy unpermitted repairs, in violation of Miami Beach city code. The oft-cited 2017 fire that caused the beginning of the end was the result of their unpermitted electrical work. This is a family which made its billions in hospitality, casinos, and construction, so there's no way they didn't know what they were doing. They flout every law and ruling handed down since legal actions started in 2018 with the initial review in front of the BORA. Hector Meruelo literally begged it to be demolished "...".
This family, which is challenging the Deauville's historic designation; claims to care about safety but who allow squatters with fires to live in the building; whose court-mandated netting to protect pedestrians on the Beach Walk from falling debris on the east side of the tower is so shoddy that it frequently needs replacing. Managing this process, whatever the outcome, CANNOT be allowed to remain in these grifters' hands. Regardless of what may or may not be saved, there are elements historic which must be protected. Should it come to complete demolition, the Meruelos are, by current law, in charge of that process; there is 0% chance it will be handled as mandated, or safely, with potentially disastrous implications for neighboring residents and businesses.
Help us, the Miami Design Preservation League, raise funds for the litigation which will work to bring a better outcome than the one currently envisioned. We believe that we can “get by with a little help from our friends.” Without your contribution, this chapter will end “forever, not for better.”
