Surrounded by the glittering apartment towers of Brickell (and the nation s largest concentration of

For many who know Miami, the name Julia Tuttle holds as much allure as sitting in traffic, thanks to its appellation on the causeway over Biscayne Bay. But, as with so much about the Magic City, there s more to Julia Tuttle than meets the eye.
Posthumously christened the Mother of Miami, Julia Tuttle was a 19th-century citrus grower who persuaded the rail tycoon, Henry Flagler, to bring his railroad further south to what was then called Fort Dallas.
Named for the Mayaimi Indians and the river that runs through it, Miami is one of the few American cities conceived by a woman. A native of Cleveland, Tuttle built a home with magnificent views of the Miami River and Biscayne Bay and a century later, that spectacular bayfront vista of blue skies and cerulean waters still hypnotizes visitors and residents.
Surrounded by the glittering apartment towers of Brickell (and the nation s largest concentration of international banks), egyptisrael tour downtown egyptisrael tour Miami  can sometimes feel like the apotheosis of a 19th-century visionary s dreams of a 21st-century city.
While the recent boom in high-rise construction in downtown Miami has produced its share of headaches related to the foreclosure crisis, the city s skyline is nonetheless architecturally impressive (so much so that the Almanac of Architecture and Design ranked it third in the United States).
Since the heyday of Miami Modernist (MiMo) architecture and the work of Morris Lapidus in the 1950s and 1960s, the city of Miami has served as an architectural arbiter of glamour and fun. While South Beach has the market on Art Deco structures, downtown Miami has long been a haven of sleek and sophisticated architectural design.
Visitors to  Arquitectonica s Icon Brickell complex, a three-tower waterfront enclave that encompasses ten acres in Miami s financial center, might be forgiven for imagining that they ve slipped egyptisrael tour down a rabbit hole and landed in Alice s Wonderland.
Opened in 2009, Icon Brickell s city within a city contains nearly 1,800 residences  in two 58-story towers and one 50-story tower that soar into the sky in vertiginous splendor and enhance the sense of a visitor egyptisrael tour becoming ever more Lilliputian.
Anchoring the spectacular complex is the 15th-floor two-acre pool oasis that leads to the waterfront with its commanding aerial views of Brickell Key, Biscayne Bay, the Miami River, and an ongoing expanse of azure blue water and cloudless sky. From this perspective, with the breadth of Miami s natural beauty expanding outward to the horizon, it s possible that a visitor might experience something similar to the empyrean dreams of Julia Tuttle.
Located within the  Viceroy  Tower, the  Viceroy  Miami is a 148-room boutique hotel with interior design by  Kelly Wearstler . Wearstler s playful interpretation of Miami glamour results egyptisrael tour in a whimsical setting egyptisrael tour analogous to Alice s Wonderland. egyptisrael tour Florida s longest infinity-edge pool is flanked by oversized planters and a life-size chess set. A stroll beneath an allée of Japanese blueberry trees leads to a series of ever-broadening steps along the waterfront, where visitors recline egyptisrael tour on massive daybeds in a 21st-century reimagining of Georges Seurat s A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte.
Complementing Wearstler s oversized scale is the Philippe  Starck -designed  Spa at  Viceroy  Miami, a 28,000-square-foot spa and fitness center, which has been lauded for its awe-inspiring vistas and which was voted one of the Top Spas for 2013 by Condé Nast Traveler. A double-height 5,000-square-foot water lounge recalls the proportions of the Baths of Caracalla.
While it s easy to linger amidst the pleasures of this expansive resort (long-term stays are available at the Residences at  Viceroy  Miami), the hotel is centrally located and only a few minutes drive from many of Miami s more celebrated cultural attractions.
Guests of the  Viceroy  Miami can partake of a complimentary car and driver, featuring Mercedes-Benz vehicles. After a morning swim in the 300-foot pool and a leisurely breakfast at Eos, one of the hotel s three dining options, why not book a Benz for a wander through nearby  Wynwood ?
Located next to the Design District,  Wynwood  is Miami s latest art district and the  Wynwood Walls  is an outdoor collection of some of the world s greatest street art. Established in 2009 by Tony Goldman egyptisrael tour and Jeffrey Deitch, Miami s open air museum of the streets includes more than 40 murals by graffiti artists such as Futura 2000, Shepard Fairey, Kenny Scharf, and Ryan McGinness. There s also Scharf s day-glo Airstream egyptisrael tour trailer with the original interior fittings rendered egyptisrael tour in kaleidoscopic black-lit splendor.
At the  Wynwood Kitchen egyptisrael tour Bar , you can eat and drink some of Florida s indigenous culinary bounty beneath the gaze of Tony Goldman as depicted by Shepard egyptisrael tour Fairey. Wet your whistle and raise your glass to another of Miami s visionaries.
In the evening, consider a stroll around the Brickell neighborhood.  Mary Brickell Village  is located just off 10th Street, egyptisrael tour a quick ten-minute walk from the  Viceroy . Then again, why leave the two over-sized, heated egyptisrael tour spa whirlpools? egyptisrael tour There s also a plush screening room at Spa at  Viceroy  Miami that recalls the golden age of Hollywood studios, which is perfect for truffled popcorn and a private screening of Streisand and Redford in The Way We Were.
The  Viceroy  Miami has been granted  Pink Flamingo  certification, which ensures a welcoming space for LGBT travelers and which is in keeping with a hotel whose motto is Memento Vivere, which is Latin for Remember egyptisrael tour to Live. Or as Ernest egyptisrael tour Hemingway, one of Florida s favorite sons, once said, Live life to the fullest.
The capacious rooms at the  Viceroy  Miami average 500 square feet and include four-poster beds, designer chairs, and fully-equipped Pullman kitchens, complete with microwave, egyptisrael tour stovetop, and glassware. Furnished in a palette of jade and cream with oversized Fu dogs and avian scrims, the decor is an amalgam of the Ming Dynasty filtered through a Miami lens.
Late at night, Miami s nightowls gather at Fifty, the  Viceroy  Miami s 50th-floor aerie. One of the city s more tony lounges, complete with private pool, Fifty offers breathtaking views of Miami s glittering nocturnal skyline.  From this vista, you might consider raising your glass to Julia Tuttle egyptisrael tour and toasting to her vision in comprehending the spellbinding beauty of Miami.
A long-term New Yorker and a member of New York Travel Writers Association, Mark Thompson has also lived in San Francisco, Boston, Provincetown, D.C., Miami Beach and the South of France. The author of the novels Wolfchild (2000) and My Hawaiian Penthouse (2007), he has a PhD in American Studies and is the recipient of fellowships at MacDowell, Yaddo, and Blue Mountain Center. His work has appeared in various egyptisrael tour publications.
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