Renovated hotel buildings overlooking Oc

MIAMI BEACH, UNITED STATES: Renovated hotel buildings overlooking Ocean Drive are adorned by neon lights in the early evening 26 September 2006. The city of Miami Beach has a concentration of over 800 Art Deco buildings all within one square mile. The white-and pastel-colored stucco buildings originally built in the 1920's have in the past two decades been restored to their former splendor. Some of the characteristics of the Art Deco movement in Miami include over-all symmetry, ziggurat (stepped) rooflines, glass block, decorative sculptural panels, eyebrows, round porthole windows, terrazzo floors, curved edges and corners, elements in groups of three and neon lighting used in both exteriors as well as interior spaces. The chamber of commerce for the city reports that some 7,281,200 visitors came to South Beach in 2004. AFP PHOTO/Roberto Schmidt (Photo credit should read ROBERTO SCHMIDT/AFP via Getty Images)