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Remember when … the Deauville was a glittering Miami Beach resort?

THE BUILDING: Located at 6701 Collins Ave., the Deauville Beach Resort was designed by Melvin Grossman and built in 1957. Boasting more than 500 rooms, this fancy, all-inclusive resort featured a gigantic swimming pool, a beauty salon, restaurants, shops, a radio station and an ice skating rink. The MiMo-style resort was eventually named the “Hotel of the Year” when it opened to the public. One of its most distinctive features is the dramatic porte-cochere, the roof over the driveway, with futuristic, intersecting parabolic curves.

WHAT PUT IT ON THE MAP: The hotel attracted a host of big name celebrities such as Frank Sinatra, Tom Jones, Sammy Davis Jr., Joan Rivers and Jerry Lewis. Even President John F. Kennedy gave a speech there in 1961. But what really put the hotel on the map was the second 1964 Beatles performance on “The Ed Sullivan Show” taped in the hotel’s Napoleon Ballroom. More than 70 million viewers tuned in that night, and their legend began in America. And there are several photos documenting their visit. 

THE BUILDING TODAY: The historic beach resort sits abandoned and in a state of disrepair that would cost millions to restore. An electrical fire that broke out in 2017 forced the hotel to shut down and has been closed ever since. Hurricane Irma also caused damage to the property and the building’s owners say it is full of mold and water and has no power. The owners Belinda, Richard and Homero Meruelo bought it in 2004 for $4 million — the same year it was designated a historic site.

Deauville was a Beach resort
A look at the Deauville in 2019. (📸: Natasha Del Toro)

Miami Beach was suing the owners to try and get them to fix the property, which is valued at $100 million. However the owners had said financial troubles had kept them from making the needed repairs. The city also didn’t want to get stuck with the bill.

In May 2021, however, a ruling allowed Miami Beach to fine owners for failing to maintain the historic property.