STORYTELLER AND ADVOCATE
If there was one thing you could change, address, etc. about Miami, what would it be?
All politicians would be in it for the little guy, not themselves.
Elected officials would make decisions based on creating a
legacy of inclusion.
What are you looking forward to in 2023?
World travel and more work being an evangelist for
Universal Design and a barrier-free built environment.
STORYTELLER AND ADVOCATE
What’s your favorite local social media account and why?
@BecauseMiami, because it’s snarky, sardonic
and cynical.
If you could give any one piece of advice to locals, what would
it be?
Love people who are different than you. Learn from
them; drink in their culture.
How does Miami help you do what you do or influence your work?
I’m from Ohio. It’s sure nice to have warm, sunny winters.
That gets me going when I’m having trouble writing or launching a big project.
STORYTELLER AND ADVOCATE
Share your other top three destinations for where you’d go on your perfect Miami day.
(1) Miami Beach at 5:00 a.m. to run on the sand till
the sun rises.
(2) Ball and Chain in the heart of Calle Ocho
for great music, drink, and vibes any time — day or night.
(3) Play on the grass at William Jennings Bryan Park,
because I live on it and spent more than two years protecting the one acre of
greenspace from being paved over.
STORYTELLER AND ADVOCATE
What’s your favorite Miami memory?
Getting to create, from scratch, a revolutionary
course on Universal Design.
I taught it to graduate and undergraduate
architecture and urban design students at the University of Miami School of
Architecture.
If you could eat only one meal from a local
restaurant for the rest of your life, what would it be?
A BBQ steak sub, well done, on wheat, no cheese,
black olives as the only condiment, and hot cherry peppers on the side.
From Super Subs, an institution on Bird Road in
South Miami.
(I eat less than half the sub bun and have no fries or chips to keep it healthy!)
STORYTELLER AND ADVOCATE
What brings you most alive about the 305?
Walking for entertainment and exercise.
I lost 125 pounds eating healthier and walking from
my home in Shenandoah to the Miami River and throughout Little Havana.
I documented the Art Deco, Spanish Mission,
Mediterranean, and other 1920s to 1940s classic apartment, commercial, spiritual,
and single-family homes.
My images were part of a six month, one-man Local
Artist exhibition at the Art Deco Welcome Center in Miami Beach
It ran through mid-February 2024.
STORYTELLER AND ADVOCATE
Howdy, Steve! Who are you? What do you do?
I am a writer, visual artist, keynote speaker,
planner, educator, and advocate.
I work for myself, creating content about Universal
Design and a better built environment for people with disabilities.
My clients include the National Association of
REALTORS, the United Spinal Association, the American Planning Association,
Global Disability Inclusion Inc., and many others.
I also create workshops and speeches about how to
make cities more inclusive for all.
ON DISPLAY AT THE ART DECO MUSEUM, STEVE WRIGHT'S PHOTOS SHOWCASE LITTLE HAVANA'S BEAUTY AND WONDER HIDING IN PLAIN SIGHT
"Save My Little Havana" serves as a full-circle moment for writer-photographer Steve Wright, a native of Ohio who became a Miamian in 2000 after experiencing a Miami Design Preservation League guided tour and falling in love with the Magic City's rich architectural history.
Wright
encourages all who visit the exhibition to consider the mutually beneficial
relationship we could each have with our city's historic buildings.
"Nowadays, you get one or two stories of parking decks that are not
pretty.
You get
cookie-cutter units and usually don't get the prettier finishes.
I'm not
saying all zoning should be capped at three stories; I'm just saying, make room
for the historic.
Make room
for the authentic in your life," Writer-photographer Steve Wright says.
"I do
feel like our lives are richer for gorgeous buildings."
ON DISPLAY AT THE ART DECO MUSEUM, STEVE WRIGHT'S PHOTOS SHOWCASE LITTLE HAVANA'S BEAUTY AND WONDER HIDING IN PLAIN SIGHT
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We hope this
will also lead to more in-person visits and tours of the area," Miami
Design Preservation League Executive Director Daniel Ciraldo says.
"We
hope that the exhibit will lead to additional incentives to protect this
nationally significant neighborhood."
ON DISPLAY AT THE ART DECO MUSEUM, STEVE WRIGHT'S PHOTOS SHOWCASE LITTLE HAVANA'S BEAUTY AND WONDER HIDING IN PLAIN SIGHT
Writer-photographer
Steve Wright says he hopes this exhibition sparks passion in its viewers, who
may recognize the exhilaration he felt while snapping each of these photos.
Miami Design Preservation League Executive Director Daniel Ciraldo says
this exhibition can galvanize Art Deco Museum visitors — often tourists from
all over the country and world — to aid in ongoing efforts to preserve Little
Havana's historic buildings.
ON DISPLAY AT THE ART DECO MUSEUM, STEVE WRIGHT'S PHOTOS SHOWCASE LITTLE HAVANA'S BEAUTY AND WONDER HIDING IN PLAIN SIGHT
George says
this multicultural history makes Little Havana such a jewel among South
Florida's many neighborhoods.
"The
layers of people who have called Little Havana home — be that southern whites
100-plus years ago, white and Black Bahamians, Jewish communities, Cubans,
Nicaraguans or Guatemalans — they're the reason why it's so important to
recognize that rich history and preserve this neighborhood," he says.
"It has
always been a darling neighborhood.
It's where
people came from under the oppressive governments of other countries to find
the American dream of freedom and economic opportunity. Little Havana is a
symbol of the zest people have for opportunity."
ON DISPLAY AT THE ART DECO MUSEUM, STEVE WRIGHT'S PHOTOS SHOWCASE LITTLE HAVANA'S BEAUTY AND WONDER HIDING IN PLAIN SIGHT
According to
HistoryMiami Museum resident historian Paul George, what's known today as
Little Havana used to be two distinct neighborhoods: Riverside to the north and
Shenandoah to the south.
In the
mid-1920s, George says a real estate boom radically transformed Miami, and both
Riverside and Shenandoah became homes to a growing Jewish population.
ON DISPLAY AT THE ART DECO MUSEUM, STEVE WRIGHT'S PHOTOS SHOWCASE LITTLE HAVANA'S BEAUTY AND WONDER HIDING IN PLAIN SIGHT
“Too often
in Miami, developers come in and simply try to erase the very essence of what
makes each neighborhood distinctive and resilient.
We believe
that identifying, protecting, and promoting this neighborhood will lend more
cultural value to the place and lead to more thoughtful investment and
development."
ON DISPLAY AT THE ART DECO MUSEUM, STEVE WRIGHT'S PHOTOS SHOWCASE LITTLE HAVANA'S BEAUTY AND WONDER HIDING IN PLAIN SIGHT
"MDPL
was involved in the preservation efforts for a part of East Little Havana,
which took place in 2015.
From there,
the National Trust for Historic Preservation recognized the significance of the
neighborhood, and working together with local groups, they declared Little
Havana to be a national treasure, leading to additional investment and the
undertaking of a revitalization plan to preserve and promote the area,"
Ciraldo says.
ON DISPLAY AT THE ART DECO MUSEUM, STEVE WRIGHT'S PHOTOS SHOWCASE LITTLE HAVANA'S BEAUTY AND WONDER HIDING IN PLAIN SIGHT
With the
inclusion of Little Havana on the National Trust for Historic Preservation's
list of America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places, it's become increasingly
clear to Miami's lawmakers and citizens alike that Little Havana's historic
buildings have staying power.
ON DISPLAY AT THE ART DECO MUSEUM, STEVE WRIGHT'S PHOTOS SHOWCASE LITTLE HAVANA'S BEAUTY AND WONDER HIDING IN PLAIN SIGHT
Wright says
though the neighborhood doesn't remind him much of his native Ohio, it
instantly felt like home.
"I'm five blocks south of Calle Ocho.
I'm almost
walking distance from the edge of downtown Coral Gables and biking distance
from Coconut Grove and Brickell.
When I moved
here, I just thought, What a great base of operations in an area with such
character," Wright recalls.
"One of
my neighbors is a big SanterÃa practitioner, so that was my zero-to-60
Midwestern-boy introduction into Miami."
ON DISPLAY AT THE ART DECO MUSEUM, STEVE WRIGHT'S PHOTOS SHOWCASE LITTLE HAVANA'S BEAUTY AND WONDER HIDING IN PLAIN SIGHT
They're all
images that a typical visitor wouldn't see," Writer and photographer Steve
Wright explains.
"It's a
lot of East Little Havana, where there are these little, three-story,
Mediterranean apartment buildings.
They're
brightly painted, and they've got the little medallions, little eyebrows, and
very pronounced, decorative stairways to the upper floor.
Some images
are of art deco buildings that looked like they'd be at home in Miami Beach,
which I thought was a fun juxtaposition since everybody thinks of Ocean Drive
when they think of art deco."
ON DISPLAY AT THE ART DECO MUSEUM, STEVE WRIGHT'S PHOTOS SHOWCASE LITTLE HAVANA'S BEAUTY AND WONDER HIDING IN PLAIN SIGHT
The sights
that moved Wright most on his walks around Little Havana weren't the frequently
photographed, larger-than-life ice cream cone sitting atop Azucar Ice Cream
Company nor the tables of cigar smokers playing dominos in Máximo Gómez Park.
Rather,
Wright found endless beauty and wonder hiding in plain sight on Little Havana's
residential roads.
ON DISPLAY AT THE ART DECO MUSEUM, STEVE WRIGHT'S PHOTOS SHOWCASE LITTLE HAVANA'S BEAUTY AND WONDER HIDING IN PLAIN SIGHT
Today, the
historic homes that proudly line the streets of Little Havana somehow shine
even brighter among a slew of white-washed, gray vinyl-floored, modern
apartment boxes.
A photo exhibition celebrating the beauty of Little Havana's historic homes and
commercial buildings,
