After 2 ½ years of personal interviews with some of the most influential entrepreneurs and dreamers of building a world class resort, Charles J. Kropke has completed his book, South Beach: Stories of A Renaissance. With a beautiful teal and yellow cover that represents the Art Deco South Beach, Charles has found the back stories of some of the more iconic venues and people that, in their own way, have transformed this once mangrove, mosquito infested area into the most recognized international resort in the world!
For more information about the book,
contact Trish Ellington at 305-401-8184
Here is an excerpt about the design of the Holocaust Memorial:
“Referring only to the hand-sketched drawings that Ken Treister had prepared for the memorial design, a Miami Herald art critic gave a damning review to the proposed project. She actually came out saying that the community would be “ashamed” of the memorial. The City of Miami Beach laid down the gauntlet; a community meeting would be called to settle the controversy. Ken Treister, under tremendous artistic and emotional pressure resulting from the memorial project could not bring himself to attend the community meeting. The City Council chambers were full. Half of the room were opponents of the memorial, the other half were holocaust survivors. Abe Resnick, a Miami Beach developer and holocaust survivor himself represented Ken Treister. The City Council stated up front that everyone would be given an equal chance to speak. As the night proceeded, a pattern set in. Each survivor telling a heartfelt experience of the holocaust is followed by an opponent clutching the Miami Herald article and urging rejection. The presentations wore on. Toward the end of the night, a local woman approached the microphone. She told the audience that she had been a child prodigy on the violin; her young husband had been a concert pianist. She told the audience that the Nazis had the arms of both her and her husband cut off. She told them that building the memorial “will give me back my arm”. The room wept. The City Commission and the Mayor pledged to build the memorial.”
View the full press release of South Beach: Stories of A Renaissance .
(If you can not view the .pdf, you may need to Download Adobe Reader)
That is a beautiful story, and I am very happy that we have an outstretched arm for all people fleeing persecution to be welcomed to our town. Congrats Charles on the new book, and I wish you a lot of success!
[...] or the history of South Beach, but I definitely want to read more about both topics in the book, South Beach: Stories of a Renaissance. I loved how shops provided outside seating that reflected the vibe of their interiors. Many [...]