Miami Beach murals will be saved from demolition. Commission votes to take ownership
A collection of mosaic murals that were at risk of demolition after 50 years of being displayed on the side of a building in Miami Beach will be given to the city to find a permanent home.
The Miami Beach Commission voted 6-0 to accept the donation of the 15-foot-tall murals from the developer of a new CitizenM hotel at 1634 Alton Rd.
Commissioners also directed the city administration to look for funding sources to restore and permanently display the artwork, created in 1971 by the late artist Enzo Gallo.
The artwork, which wraps around the two-story building, depicts the American flag and historical events.
READ MORE: American flag mosaic art displayed in Miami Beach for 50 years. Will it be demolished?
The preservation group Miami Design Preservation League worked with CitizenM to save the murals from demolition.
Commissioners said they were pleasantly surprised to see that the murals are being saved after the previous owner of the building, Crescent Heights, said it would be “almost impossible” to remove them.
“I thought it was a lost cause,” Commissioner Kristen Rosen Gonzalez said. “I think what you did is nothing short of a miracle.”
The hotel developer says it is paying upwards of $170,000 for the removal of the murals and delaying the demolition until that work is completed. The murals are being removed in pieces and will need to be reassembled like a puzzle in order to display them.
The Miami Design Preservation League secured short-term storage for the murals at a property along Alton Road owned by developer Michael Shvo.
Commissioner Alex Fernandez, who sponsored the resolution to accept the murals, said the city needs to help find long-term storage and permanent locations to display the art. He thanked CitizenM for volunteering to remove the murals and said the city should also step up.
“Nothing can be more meaningful than to do everything we can to support the preservation of these murals,” he said.
Commissioners raised the possibility of asking developers to pay for the restoration of some of the murals and display them at new real-estate projects in the city.
Daniel Ciraldo, executive director of the preservation group, passed around small American flags at Wednesday’s meeting to symbolize the patriotism of the murals. He was joined by the artist’s son, Julio Gallo, a Miami Beach plastic surgeon.
“We are grateful to the city for accepting this monumental artwork, and we remain committed to working with all parties on a restoration plan and future home for the murals,” Ciraldo said in a statement after the vote.
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