Thursday Tropics & Other Topics - Miami Fountainebleu Re-Opens

Hi. Not much tropical going on however there seems to be some change in the process over at the NHC because instead of long rambling Tropical Weather Outlook (TWO we call them) explaining nothing was going on in intricate detail we are back to our regular, normal nothing's happening comments. I looked down at my sidekick, read the email and smiled. After long rambling reports on areas that were not going to develop yesterday I was beginning to wonder if they were running training exercises for the new guys. :)

Nope..there is was.. Franklin at his finest:

For the North Atlantic... Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico

Tropical cyclone formation is not expected during the next 48 hours.

$$

Forecaster Franklin

And, a good thing too seeing as in Miami the Fountainebleu is set to open this weekend with a big party and the Victoria Secrets fashion show in a short while. This opening has been put off and off while they waited for the City to sign off on various inspections.

Watching the re-birth of the grand hotel and the beautiful Eden Roc next door has been watching a work in progress. As they cleaned and finished off the old lines of those two beautiful hotels.

My daughter-in-law works for the parent company and I sat through many a Shabbos Meal hearing about which brand towels and robes she was picking out, the linens, the lines of the hotel... the various plans for the new improved Fountainebleu under new ownership... new, beautiful, trendy, fixed up. Ready to start over on a brand new period in her very grand and memorable life.

Built in 1954 and designed by Ted Lapidus, a man whose motto was "too much is never enough" it was the be all and end all of Miami Beach hotels.

Why am I writing this all this morning when I should be getting dressed?

Because yesterday on the way home from work, trying to get off Miami Beach we turned onto Collins Avenue at 41st Street and got stuck in a massive traffic jam. The permits were approved it seems and there were tons of trucks dropping off all sorts of every day items and landscapers laying out where to put the flowers so they will look fresh and beautiful on opening day. What caught my eye was something I haven't seen in a while now.. the big, bright, beautiful chandeliers all turned on, all lit up, shining in the main building, in the grand lobby... Lord it was beautiful!

Brought back memories.. had a prom there, went to concerts there, hung out in the lobby on Shabbos visiting friends and went to weddings there. I snuck in a few years back and wandered around a boarded up old ballroom and stared, remembered, said goodbye. I think a part of me never believed the never ending remodeling would ever take place and happen. But it did.

Great pics above of the old Miami Beach lapping at the hotel's pool and the new Miami Beach that also was rebuilt looking more like a tropical beach front.

And.. an old pic of the original construction.

Gotta go as my friend Sharon says... might post more on this later.

The old gal has been through a lot but she's had a face lift and is looking good. Nice to know that beautiful old girls can be cleaned up by new owners and have a new life again...

Besos Bobbi




The New:

http://www.fontainebleau.com/gcm/nar/en-us/home/index.htm

Bio of the man who built it..
http://www.amazon.com/Too-Much-Never-Enough-Autobiography/dp/0847819787/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1226580309&sr=1-1

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fontainebleau_Hotel

Good article in the Miami Herald today.

http://www.miamiherald.com/entertainment/people/story/768804.html