Miami is a city everyone wants to visit at least once in their lifetime. The classy resorts, exclusive boutiques and beautiful beaches captivate them. Many come to view Miami Beach’s Art Deco District. Here, more than 800 structures are living proof of the city’s Gilded or Golden Age. Several hotels (or former hotels) form this period (1934 and 1942) show off the classic lines that have resulted in the name Streamline Moderne Style. Among them are several hotels including the Albion, the Beacon, the Berkley-Shore, the Cardoza, the Carlyle, the Century and, of course, the Dempsey-Vanderbilt – now reborn as the Setai Hotel.
The Dempsey-Vanderbilt
The Dempsey-Vanderbilt sits firmly in place on Collins Avenue in the Art Deco District of Miami. Construction on the hotel began in 1936 and ended in 1938. The property was purchased by a group of investors who had joined together in a partnership in 1936. Among them were racketeers Lornie (or Lorny) Zwillman, Niggie Rutkin and Meyer Lansky. They were joined in the venture of what was to be the Dempsey-Vanderbilt Hotel by a famous boxer – Jack Dempsey.
Jack Dempsey set up his restaurant in the hotel. He already had one in New York. This was his second venture. It became known as the Dempsey Club and Bar, attracting the famous and infamous nightly. In the 1950s, it was called the Pago Pago nightclub. Well-known performers sat in the audience or performed on the stage. Among those who passed through in either capacity were:
- Al Capone – a good friend of Dempsey’s from his Chicago Days
- Gloria Brewster – an actress in the movies got married there in 1939. Dempsey was the best man
- Jimmy McPartland – a jazz musician, his wife Dorothy and his daughter Little Dorothy. Dempsey was married to Hannah, Dorothy’s sister
- Vaughn Monroe – a singer, trumpeter and big band musician of the 1940s and into the 1950s
- Lynn Barrett sang at the Pago Pago in a talent contest in 1939 winning a chance to sing there for a week. She stayed longer and went on to establish her career
- Ed Sullivan and his wife
As for his partners – they ran a gambling casino out of the very popular Miami hotel.
During the 1940s, hotel postcards boasted about its attractions. At the time, they included a swimming pool, solarium and private beach. Guests at the hotel could dine outdoors. Afterwards, they could dance on the patio.
Today – The Elegant Setai Hotel
The Dempsey-Vanderbilt has been renovated several times over its existence. The latest incarnation is the Setai Hotel. This elegant structure now successfully combines the Art Deco façade of the earlier hotel with an Asiatic interior. In doing so, the hotel pays homage to Miami’s past, the International Art Deco movement and the cultural history that these two influences represent.
Setai Hotel
If you want to live in elegance and serenity during your vacation, Miami is calling. Enjoy elegant living while you spend days on and off the beach. From artistic and cultural institutions to unique shopping experiences, this city has it all. To ensure you truly become part of the experience, be sure to stay in the form of architecture that clearly represents the city’s heritage and gilded age. In other words, come stay at one of the city’s famed Art Deco Hotels, such as the Setai Hotel.
