Art News

Offbeat Miami: the Miami Modern District or MiMo

MIAMI (AP).- For travelers looking for respite from South Beach clubs and the oh-so chic Design District, the offbeat Miami Modern District — also known as MiMo — offers a welcome change of pace. No Segway tours here. This is the real Miami, a place to pass a lazy afternoon by the bay, peruse independent boutiques and enjoy some surprisingly delicious local bistros — including celebrity chef Michelle Bernstein’s flagship restaurant, Michy’s. The stretch along Route 1, which recently received a historic designation, lies just north of midtown, dividing Biscayne Bay’s hidden residential neighborhoods from Miami’s Little Haiti corridor. MiMo is easily distinguished by a string of 1950s-era or Mid-century Modern motels along Biscayne Boulevard, and by the original, kitschy, three-story sign of the Coppertone Girl and her dog on a building overlooking the traffic at 7300 Biscayne Blvd. The hotels flourished in the 1950s as affordable, family friendly lodging before the