Historical Museum of Southern Florida Presents New Exhibition:
The Florida Home: Modern Living, 1945-1965

Miami, FL- June XX, 2004- The Historical Museum of Southern Florida will display its newest exhibition, The Florida Home: Modern Living, 1945-1965, from June 25, 2004 through January 23, 2005. The exhibition focuses on domestic architecture in Florida during the post-World War II period and features a reconstructed house, designed by Igor Polevitsky, inside the museum. Visitors will be able to move through the rooms of the house to gain a sense of how people lived 50 years ago.

The Florida Home explores developments in the design of single-family homes in the context of the broader social and cultural trends of the era. Architectural styles reflected the postwar generation's desire for modern homes that expressed the optimistic, future-oriented mood of the times and that were adapted to a sub-tropical environment. Among the architects featured in this exhibition, along with Polevitsky, are Alfred Browning Parker, Rufus Nims, Norman Giller, Russell Pancoast and George Reed.

In addition to an analysis of house and interior design, the exhibition studies examines of the Florida home in popular magazines and television programming. The exhibition also presents a wide range of architectural drawings, photographs, furniture and appliances. Guest curators for the exhibition are Jean-François Lejeune and Allan Shulman, both professors at the University of Miami's School of Architecture.

"This exhibition provides the members of our community with an in-depth look at how South Florida homes, as well as people's lives, have developed and changed over the past 50 years," said Robert McCammon, Historical Museum President/CEO.

Beginning in September, the Historical Museum will offer related educational programs, including lecture/slide presentations, panel discussions, family activity days and tours of postwar neighborhoods and homes in the Miami area. In the summer of 2005, the exhibition will travel to the Museum of Florida History in Tallahassee for three months.

Sponsors for The Florida Home include the Florida Department of State, the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs, The Keyes Company, The Charles N. and Eleanor Knight Leigh Foundation and Duany Plater-Zyberk & Co.

Also on display in the Historical Museum's lobby through September 5, Changing Styles / Changing Dials: Television Comes to Miami. An exhibition organized in collaboration with the Louis Wolfson II Florida Moving Image Archive.

Several houses in Golden Shores are designed by architect Igor Polevitsky, including the home of long-time Sunny Isles Beach resident and community activist, Ellen Wynne.
For more information about The Florida Home: Modern Living, 1945-1965, please call 305.375.1492.

The Historical Museum of Southern Florida is dedicated to telling the story of South Florida and the Caribbean, in order to create a better quality of life by understanding the past, linking it to the present and building a better future.

The Historical Museum hosts a permanent gallery and a special gallery with several changing exhibitions each year. In addition, the museum houses the Research Center, a non-circulating library and archives open to museum visitors, and The Indies Company, the museum's store, which offers a unique array of Florida-themed books and gifts.

The Historical Museum is located in downtown Miami in the Miami-Dade Cultural Center, across the street from Metrorail's Government Center Station. The museum is open seven days a week. Hours are Mon.-Sat. 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.; Third Thurs. 10 a.m. - 9 p.m.; and Sun. 12 noon - 5 p.m. Admission for adults is $5, children (ages 6-12) is $2, and children under 6 are free.

Birdcage:
Heller house ("Birdcage") by Igor Polevitsky. 1986-222-751. Courtesy of the Historical Museum of Southern Florida.

1986-222-837:
Edward Kolber residence by Igor Polevitsky. 1986-222-837. Courtesy of the Historical Museum of Southern Florida.

1986-222-773:
Alvin Greif residence by Igor Polevitsky. 1986-222-773. Courtesy of the Historical Museum of Southern Florida.

Heller House #1:
Heller house by Igor Polevitsky. 1986-222-763. Courtesy of the Historical Museum of Southern Florida.


TOP