Miami: Ancient Athens it Ain't

When we heard that the proposed $23 million mega-yacht marina for Watson Island's $480 million "Island Gardens" hotel project would include twin 10-foot statues atop 70' columns it made us think of the ancient Greeks and specifically the Colossus of Rhodes, a grand vision if ever there was one. The statues will cap two 470-foot-long piers that will accommodate yachts up to 465 feet, although we're sure they might bend the rules if someone showed up in a 500-footer. Although MVB has criticized the architecture for the twin hotels that will be built on the last great piece of public land behind the marina for lacking imagination and daring (see blog entry "Miami Island Gardens: What could have been"), we thought this was a good idea. Unfortunately, this is Miami where ideas in general are subject to the whims of committees, political correctness, and vocal minorities. By the time they run that gauntlet, those ideas have been nitpicked to the point where the bold and gutsy have been replaced with the weakened and emaciated. Case in point: Executive Director Cynthia Guerra of the Tropical Audubon Society is against it because it seems the county has an ordinance that prohibits freestanding items that can topple off a dock and pollute a marine environment. Nancy Liebman, President of something called the "Urban Environment League of Greater Miami" is against it because she believes it will only cater to an "international elite" while denying the public access to the waterfront.

Can you imagine what kind of artifacts would have been left behind from ancient cultures if they had people like Guerra and Liebman running around back then?

Actually, we can. Our staff archeologist Bobby Bermudez reports that recent excavations at the Acropolis have uncovered a stela with an inscription recording the public tossing of two malcontents over the side of the Acropolis. It seemed these people were against building anything on top of the mesa that might interfere with the public's access to the "best piece of public property in Athens." Plus, they were concerned that the proposed Parthenon might fall down one day on top of some poor unsuspecting citizen.

Of course Miami isn't ancient Greece and we are not advocating throwing anyone off the edge of Watson Island (it's only about three feet above sea level so it wouldn't do much good anyway) but we do hope that the County Commission will approve this venture.

As for the Colossus of Rhodes? Bobby Bermudez tells us it was erected in 304 B.C. by the people who lived on the island after fighting off an invasion. To give thanks to their god Helios, they took the left over armor of the defeated enemy, melted it down, and fashioned it into one of the "Seven Wonders of the World." At 110-feet high, it stood for 56-years before an earthquake knocked it over. Fearing the god was angry at them, they refused to put it back up-- even after a pharaoh offered to do it for them. For nearly a thousand years, the giant statue lay in ruins along the harbor until the 7th Century when Arabs conquered Rhodes, broke the statue into smaller pieces and sold it for scrap metal. Legend has it that it took 900 camels to carry the great idea away.

We wonder what archaeologists might find a thousand years from now when excavating Miami? Will its artifacts tell them Miami was a city of great ideas or will the Liebmans and Guerras give the future a picture of a past not much different than what was left behind by the Tequestas?

Miami: Home of the First Star Trek Yacht?

It may not be considered a megayacht in size, but the Trilobis 65, a four level, 20 meter floating object-of-desire would still turn heads at Miami's downtown soon-to-be-built megayacht marina. Giancarlo Zema Design Group (GZDG) of Rome in collaboration with Canadian company Underwater Vehicles are working hard to have one of these futuristic babies floating soon in a marina near you. This floating luxury home will sleep 6 people and is described by the company as "ideal for living in bays, atolls, and maritime parks." Considering it is nonpolluting because it uses hydrogen fuels, perhaps even the rangers at John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park, the nation's first underwater park south of Miami and east of Key Largo, will cut it some slack and let it drop anchor over the reefs. Trilobis 65's fourth level is 3 meters below sea level. The "observation bulb" looks like something Captain Kirk would be comfortable in commanding and its design is entirely fitting with the yacht's overall "Star Trek" appeal. Although none of us will live long enough to see space exploration on the level found in "Star Trek," the few earthlings who can afford the estimated $4 million price tag of the Trilobis 65, will undoubtedly "explore strange new worlds" above and below the sea.

But wait, there's more! GZDG has designed a floating house called the Jelly-fish 45. Granted the name needs a little work, but priced at $2.5 million, it's a steal. It's ten meters high, sleeps 8, and has five levels connected by a spiral staircase. Any good Miami entrepreneur could rustle up a couple of these floating homes, dock 'em at Miami's megayacht marina, and lease them out for 3, 4, or 7-day vacations that include a leisurely cruise and anchorage at the John Pennekamp reefs. "Scotty, beam me down!"

Miami Island Gardens: What Could Have Been

Watson Island sits in the middle of Biscayne Bay between Miami and Miami Beach and across from the Port of Miami, the largest cruise ship port in the world. Without question it affords the best views of downtown Miami. A few years ago the City of Miami struck a deal with Turkish developer Mehmet Bayraktar (Flagstone Property Group) to develop a $480 million dollar world-class hotel and 50-slip mega yacht marina. The two hotels on the property will be managed by Westin and Shangri-La, the Hong Kong company's first venture in the U.S. Although larger towers were planned, they were reduced in height to 48- and 37-stories respectively, to pacify minor opposition by a few homeowners living on Venetian Isles who complained that the buildings would block their views of downtown Miami. Can you imagine what Manhattan would look like today if it had been inhabited with people a hundred years ago with this kind of mindset?

Too bad for those of us who believe in the spirit-lifting power of really tall, dramatically designed buildings. But that's the kind of thing you can come to expect in Miami. People get bent out of shape here quite quickly over nearly everything. One man recently coerced the Miami-Dade County School Board, which oversees the 4th largest school system in the U.S., to ban a book about Cuba written for second graders because he didn't like the way it painted a picture of his former homeland. When it was discovered that the Shangri-La hotel chain was based in communist Hong Kong, enough of a stink was raised by Cuban-American voters to actually make some local politicians question the contract between the city and Flagstone. It's a wonder if anything ever gets done here without offending someone.

Like me. I'm offended we aren't going to get something like the awe-inspiring architecture of the Burj Al Arab hotel in Dubai (see picture). It is the tallest hotel in the world. I'm offended that Miami couldn't have demanded more from the developer regarding a grand design for the best piece of public land left in South Florida. You can compare the two designs by clicking here.