What did Collins Avenue look like before the hotels and condos? Take a look
By Miami Herald Archives
Firestone Estate in Miami Beach above 41st Street after the 1926 hurricane. The site is now home to the Fontainebleau Hotel.
Miami Herald File
Collins Avenue, A1A, is one of the most famous streets in South Florida.
It runs from the tip of South Beach, north through the city of Miami Beach, then into Surfside, Bal Harbour and Sunny Isles Beach.
The street is named for developer John Collins, who helped build up Miami Beach and connect it to the mainland.
Collins Avenue has changed through the years, particlarly in the mid-Beach area. Mansions gave way to hotels and condos starting in the 1950s.
Let’s take a tour of Collins Avenue through Miami Becah, courtesy of the Miami Herald Archives.
The original Roney Plaza in Miami Beach in 1946. Miami Herald File
Workers pushes sand off Miami Beach's Collins Ave. at 39th Street after Hurricane Inez in 1966. Miami Herald File
Demotlition of the origial Macfadden-Deauville hotel at 67th Street and Collins Avenue. A new Deauville was built in the 1950s and that building was demolished in 2022. Miami Herald File
Collins Avenue in early years. Miami Herald File
In 2004, the Holiday Inn at 2201 Collins Ave in in Miami Beach. David M. Barreda Miami Herald File
Mansions along 55th Street and Collins Avenue. Bill Kuenzel Miami Herald File
Traffic control in the 1940s on Collins Avenue at 20th Street. Miami Herald File
Looking west on Fifth Street from Collins Avenue in South Beach. Jon Kral Miami Herald File
Pickin' Chicken at 71st Street and Collins Avenue in Miami Beach in the 1950s and ‘60s. Miami Herald File
Collins Avenue widening in the mid-1960s between 47th and 54th streets. Bob East Miami Herald File
Collins Avenue's "concrete canyon," looking north from the 5300 block in 1984. Battle Vaughan Miami Herald File
Old and new traffic lights at Espanola Way and Collins Avenue in the earely 1980s. Candace Barbot Miami Herald File
Bill Reno rode his palomino through the canyon of Collins Avenue hotels in 1969 to promote the world rodeo championships. Miami Herald File
The consruction of the Delano Hotel at 17th and Collins Avenue. Miami Herald File
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