My first time in MIAMI and I didn't go to MIAMI, but I'm going back to MIAMI

Segun · #1 Posted **Apr 15, 2011, 11:42 AM**

Stop right there. No I didn't take a majority of these pics in the City of Miami, no Little Havana, no Little Haiti, Little Tatooine, whatever, but let me state my case:

It was warm. (80+)
I needed a much needed break.
It was my first time and I had only two nights.
My hotel was in Miami beach one night, and the second night it was in Coral Gables.
Miami is not the easiest city to get around via public transit.
It was warm. (80+)

Suffice to say, I was serendipitously surprised by the urban scenery and scope of the city. Sufferin succotash.

I flew in to Ft.Lauderdale and took the free shuttle from the airport to the Tri-Rail station, which is a station on the only commuter rail line in the Miami metro. From there, you have to transfer to the Metro.

I spent more time in downtown than these photos show. I know the awnings block out the Miami Heat (go Bulls), but I think they also mar the architectual details of buildings, not like this particular building had any.

Took the bus to Miami Beach.

Its not what it seems at first.

Damn.

Gives LA a run for its money in concentrated douchebaggery.

The timing of these next two shots is perfect.

I walked and walked, but it just kept going and going.

Miami Beach has a "real" downtown with actual, everyday shopping and food.

Eat your heart out Santa Monica!

Then I had to pack my luggage and go alllllll the way to Coral Gables, in a funky overpriced hotel with no ice machine and, halfway between two Metro stops spread apart 2 miles, with no businesses within a 15 minute walking distance. Fun. This shot makes it look more interesting than it was.

To make things worse, this was the street the hotel was on. Dixie Hwy. Well they're right about highway because there was no way I was crossing that!

So I found "the hood" of Coral Gables.

Finally, a Vagina to offset the phallic imagery of skyscrapers. Miami should just make its logo a giant p...

Took someones advice on nightlife, and it led me to "COCOWALK". I should of been wary of anything with the word "walk" in it. Oh well.

Goodbye from South Central's country Island cousin.

Overall, what a great town! The little I saw of Miami impressed me (though it could use real transit and some TOD), and Miami Beach is large, urban, and vibrant enough to stand next to larger dense cities of the US, such as SF, NYC, Chicago, etc.... I never grasped how long that island extended, until seeing it in person. Also, there were times where I swore I was in Cali, It makes sense though, LA is to Miami as NYC is to Chicago; Smaller, yet different enough and vibrant enough to stand on its on. Also like LA, there are countless satellite cities with their own scenes and urban cores (Hollywood, Coconut Grove, Ft. Lauderdale). Can't wait to get back with enough time to explore them all.

Dexter.

Expat · #2 Posted **Apr 15, 2011, 12:16 PM**

Great shots. Very entertaining and reminds me that I would like to visit Miami again. A couple of years ago, I had my first and only trip to Miami. We had a hotel in downtown Miami near a Metro station. I was naive enough to think we would get all over the place without a car. After a few days of torture, we rented a car. Despite that setback, I loved it there. I love places that feel completely different than home.

DungHeap · #3 Posted **Apr 15, 2011, 12:17 PM**

Looks like there are a lot of interesting people in Miami.

Thanks for sharing

diskojoe · #4 Posted **Apr 15, 2011, 1:24 PM**

Nice to see some street level miami. Thanks for sharing all that hottness!!!!

Bromance

classic!

giovanni sasso · #5 Posted **Apr 15, 2011, 1:28 PM**

hahahahaha

this thread has been Segun In Miami, 100%. big booty hoes, vaginascrapers, bromance and a cat. jyeah.

ColDayMan · #6 Posted **Apr 15, 2011, 3:23 PM**

And not one photo of King of Diamonds. BAWSE!!!

ChrisLA · #7 Posted **Apr 15, 2011, 3:27 PM**

Looks oddly familiar.

Cirrus · #8 Posted **Apr 15, 2011, 3:35 PM**

Good stuff.

I've never been to Miami either, but my suspicion is that Miami Beach is much more interesting (at least from the urbanist/architecture perspective) than mainland Miami.

I've heard there's one good emerging TOD on the Miami Metro: Downtown Kendall.

brickell · #9 Posted **Apr 15, 2011, 5:48 PM**

Nice Tour. That area around the Coral Gables hotel barely counts as Coral Gables. It's just strip malls and office buildings. Coral Gables does have a functioning downtown that in many ways rivals downtown Miami.

The guy on the far left is Raven, a minor beach personality. He claims to have run 8 miles on the beach everday since 1975. Anybody can run with him, all you have to do is show up. It's all kind of Forrest Gumpish.
http://ravenrun.net/

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cirrus

Good stuff.

I've never been to Miami either, but my suspicion is that Miami Beach is much more interesting (at least from the urbanist/architecture perspective) than mainland Miami.

I've heard there's one good emerging TOD on the Miami Metro: Downtown Kendall.

Downtown Kendall (Dadeland South station), is not really a downtown, and it's not that good, but it is much denser than it was before. That's about all you can say about it. There's also been some work around the Douglas Road stop, but it's disorganized. Since Metrorail was built on top of the old railroad tracks, many of the stops are in old industrial areas and not the "downtowns" (Coconut Grove, South Miami, Coral Gables etc). There's been little momentum to change that.

But your suspicion is correct. There's a smattering of stuff to see on the mainland, but most people would be better served staying on the beach.

Coldrsx · #10 Posted **Apr 15, 2011, 6:06 PM**

T-REX... awesome

bic · #11 Posted **Apr 15, 2011, 6:21 PM**

Quote:

Nice shots! You even managed to catch the high-rise I live in.

robhut · #12 Posted **Apr 15, 2011, 6:24 PM**

You gotta love MIA. It is amazing to live here. About transit. It is not NYC or Chicago or the similars. But I live in Miami and I don't own a car and I do pretty good.
However, it depends where you wanna go. I live in SoBe and work in downtown. Now if you wanna go to Doral or Miami Lakes you better have a car and however, you will be sitting in traffic.

stepper77 · #13 Posted **Apr 15, 2011, 7:56 PM**

A lot of great shots, thanks!

damn_sam · #14 Posted **Apr 15, 2011, 11:46 PM**

I love Miami Beach, Great Shots, next time make sure you stop by the nude beach to see some of the good and some of the bad, LOL

arkitekte · #15 Posted **Apr 16, 2011, 3:06 AM**

Hot damn! All them women...Art Deco looks good too.

i_am_hydrogen · #16 Posted **Apr 16, 2011, 3:30 AM**

You must have been gellin' when you took these shots.

RobertWalpole · #17 Posted **Apr 16, 2011, 10:31 AM**

I love Miami, and I love these juicy, Latina booties.

Mami tiene some basura in her trunk!

LSyd · #18 Posted **Apr 16, 2011, 1:37 PM**

awesomeness!!! i need to go.

-

mello · #19 Posted **Apr 16, 2011, 6:40 PM**

I've always wondered what the mindset in Miami is with regards to density and building height. It is the polar opposite to California where almost no one wants to see high rises built anywhere close to them. What are the reasons behind this? Is it because so many people from NY, Philly, and Boston made the boom in vacation residences happen there and they were already used to having tall structures around?

I understand that many of the units in tall condo towers there are not people's primary residences so they don't have as much "stake in the community" as other metro areas. Some incite would be appreciated. And great pics Segun, very green in those neighborhoods of Miami Beach.

QuantumX · #20 Posted **Apr 16, 2011, 7:42 PM**

Quote:

Originally Posted by mello

I've always wondered what the mindset in Miami is with regards to density and building height. It is the polar opposite to California where almost no one wants to see high rises built anywhere close to them. What are the reasons behind this? Is it because so many people from NY, Philly, and Boston made the boom in vacation residences happen there and they were already used to having tall structures around?

I understand that many of the units in tall condo towers there are not people's primary residences so they don't have as much "stake in the community" as other metro areas. Some incite would be appreciated. And great pics Segun, very green in those neighborhoods of Miami Beach.

In Miami, much was approved for construction before enough NIMBYs knew what was going on and had time to organize. By that time, it was too late for them to do anything about it. If this had been the case with Miami Beach, it would have looked like Australia's Gold Coast. Still, Miami Beach ended up with one of the largest skylines in Florida anyway.

Having lived in both Los Angeles and San Francisco, I can say that South Florida and California really are quite similar. South Florida is laid out very similar to Southern California with a lot of smaller indepedent satellite cities around one major city. Miami Beach and Coral Gables are their own independent thriving cities as well as many others around South Florida. Sunny Isles Beach has the second largest skyline in Florida and is often mistaken for the Miami skyline. Miami is similar to San Francisco to me in that it is a small city in land area, even smaller than San Francisco, yet it has a relatively huge skyline along its waterfront for its size with developer interest still very strong.

As far as night life in Miami, Brickell Village is the new up and coming place to be. There is a picture of it above. Downtown Miami is coming alive as it starts to fill with new residents at bargain prices as the economy improves.