Shore Crest Hotel

Current/Common name: Shorecrest Hotel

Construction date: documented 1940*

Architect: Kiehnell & Elliott

Builder: Mantell Construction Company

Style: Collins avenue hotel, Art Deco . Symmetrical tripartite facade design; Ziggurat parapet roofline; Vertical racing stripes separating the bays and at the center of the central bay; Continuous corner eyebrows at third floor level of the building's northwest and southwest corners; Continuous eyebrow centered at first floor level over primary entryway; Terrazzo floor design; "Shorecrest" signage above primary entryway; Horizontal banding below second and third floor level windows and at roofline

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 Collins Avenue Hotel hotel in the Art Deco style built in 1940. The foundation is concrete pile. Exterior walls are stucco. The building has a flat with parapet roof clad in replacement gravel. Windows are replacement aluminum jalacy casement. There is a full-span open porch characterized by a none roof. Protruding full-span porch; Terrazzo floor design; SImple metal railing Primary entryway is centered on the west elevation, directly across from the porch entry; Narrow glass double-doors with narrow fixed window above; Flanked on both sides by fluted and cloudy glass panels Symmetrical tripartite facade design; Ziggurat parapet roofline; Vertical racing stripes separating the bays and at the center of the central bay; Continuous corner eyebrows at third floor level of the building's northwest and southwest corners; Continuous eyebrow centered at first floor level over primary entryway; Terrazzo floor design; "Shorecrest" signage above primary entryway; Horizontal banding below second and third floor level windows and at roofline From the Hotel's Website: In 1995 the original Royal Palm and the adjoining Shorecrest hotel (built in 1940), both in run down condition, were purchased by the City of Miami Beach in order to preserve them for future renovation, once a private developer could be found. The very next year, 1996, the two properties were sold by the City of Miami Beach to African-American developer R. Donahue Peebles. The front half of the Shorecrest was fully restored, while its rear half had to be demolished to make way for the expansion plans. From 1998-2002 Mr. Peebles and his company rebuilt and expanded the Royal Palm. The expansion included the construction of two brand new modern high-rise towers; the first one located right behind the original front-half of the Shorecrest hotel and the second one directy behind the front half of the Royal Palm itself; thus creating a multi-structure hotel complex of almost 400 rooms. The reopening in 2002 also made history as the first ever black-owned hotel in Miami Beach. The builder is recorded as Harry H. Sayle. The architect is recorded as Donald G. Smith. The builder is recorded as Mantell Construction Company. The architect is recorded as Kiehnell & Elliott.

* Date source: City of Miami Beach Building Department records

Description generated by RuskinARC^™.