Essex House

Current/Common name: Essex House

Construction date: documented 1937*

Architect: Henry Hohauser

Builder: Prufert-Wein Construction Company

Style: Collins avenue hotel, Art Deco, Streamlined Moderne . Symmetrical primary facades; Continuous eyebrows rounded at corners; Original building structure rounded at corners; Horizontal banding at cornice, above second and third floor level windows on the buildings corners and between windows at the second and third floor levels on the primary facades; Bas relief porthole ornamentation just below cornice; Eyebrows and windows rounded at building's corner to conform to unique shape; "Essex" neon signage sits above roofline at southwest corner of building, aligned with primary entryway below; Multi-colored terrazzo floor designs both inside and outside; Glass block ornamentation along patio walls; Lobby interior has etched glass window, original Earl LaPan mural, and scagliola mantel and wainscoting. (All listed features refer to original structure and original facades)

Open to the public: Yes. 

Historic Designation: National (Miami Beach Architectural District, 1979) ; Local (Ocean Drive/Collins Avenue District, 1986)

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Architectural Description

This is a 3-story domestic: Hotel building in the Art Deco style with Streamlined Moderne influences built in 1937. The foundation is spread footing. Exterior walls are stucco. The building has a flat with parapet roof. Windows are replacement aluminum jalacy casement. Primarily jalacy casement; Series of 3 octagonal windows along Collins Avenue There is a single-story, corner wrap-around open porch characterized by an integrated (under the main) roof with fluted stuccoed posts on round stuccoed piers. Art Deco wall with ironwork marks the porch along Collins; Porch wraps corner of Collins and 10th street and is recessed into southwest corner of the building; Open patio/terrace along south elevation; Multi-colored terrazzo floor designs There is a three-story, rear, extension addition. Primary entryway is along the south elevation on the porch; Two double-doors serve as entryways from the porch; Double wooden doors with remarkable multi-colored terrazzo floor designs Symmetrical primary facades; Continuous eyebrows rounded at corners; Original building structure rounded at corners; Horizontal banding at cornice, above second and third floor level windows on the buildings corners and between windows at the second and third floor levels on the primary facades; Bas relief porthole ornamentation just below cornice; Eyebrows and windows rounded at building's corner to conform to unique shape; "Essex" neon signage sits above roofline at southwest corner of building, aligned with primary entryway below; Multi-colored terrazzo floor designs both inside and outside; Glass block ornamentation along patio walls; Lobby interior has etched glass window, original Earl LaPan mural, and scagliola mantel and wainscoting. (All listed features refer to original structure and original facades) The builder is recorded as Prufert-Wein Construction Company. The architect is recorded as Henry Hohauser.

* Date source: Miami-Dade County Property Appraiser

Description generated by RuskinARC^™.