MORRIS LAPIDUS (1902-2001)

Born in Odessa, Ukraine, his Jewish family fled Russian persecution to New York when Lapidus was a baby. As a young man, Lapidus explored acting which led to his interest in theatrical set design and later architecture. He attended Columbia University, graduating in 1927.  Lapidus worked for the prominent Beaux Arts firm of Warren and Wetmore 1927-1929. From 1929 to 1943 he worked with Ross-Frankel designing retail buildings.  In early 1942 his father's company US Metals employed him to design a Signaling Search Light, which had been commissioned by Admiral Rickover.  Later, l.  Lapidus was asked to redesign and improve five hotel projects in Miami Beach, all along Collins Avenue. The hotels were an immediate popular success and Lapidus' career skyrocketed.

Then in 1952 he landed a huge hotel commission, the Fontainebleau, a 1,200 room Miami Beach hotel built by Ben Novack on the former Firestone estate. The opening of the Fontainebleau, photo above, was shown on TV. Americans watched as dancing people in ballrooms streamed into their living rooms and soon everyone's vacation plans included Miami. It became one of the most famous hotels in the world and was followed the next year by the equally successful Eden Roc Hotel and in 1956 the Americana (later the Sheraton Bal Harbour, since destroyed).  The Fontainebleau was the location for the 1960 Jerry Lewis film The Bellboy,  the James Bond thriller Goldfinger; and Whitney Houston's Bodyguard. The Fontainebleau's most famous feature is the "Staircase to Nowhere" which offers the opportunity to make a glittering descent into the hotel lobby.

Lapidus designed 1200 buildings, including 250 hotels. Sadly, the architectural establishment regarded him an garish outsider, tried to ignore his work, then when it became popular characterized it as kitsch. Ada Louise Huxtable, writing in the New York Times, said of the Americana, "The effect on arrival was like being hit by an exploding gilded eggplant." This critical reception perhaps culminated in a 1963 AIA meeting held at the Americana, where architects including Paul Rudolph and Wallace Harrison took Lapidus called him out for vulgarity, cheapness, and incompetence.  For 50 years his architecture was not published in major architecture magazines.  Lapidus tried to ignore the critical panning, but affected his career and reputation. He burned most of his drawings when he retired in 1984 and remained personally bitter about some aspects of his career. But Lapidus got the last laugh.  From 1993 until 2001, Lapidus was hugely popular and had a resurgence. Deborah Desilets left Arquitectonica in 1996 and worked with Lapidus on projects and his archives.  They worked on the Fontainebleau expansion.  Lapidus was honored by the Society of Architectural Historians at a convention held at the Eden Roc hotel in 1998.  In 2000, the Smithsonian's Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum honored Lapidus as an American Original for his lifetime of work, he was interviewed on Nov 14, 2000 by Charlie Rose. Lapidus bequeathed his name and IP rights to Desilets, and she gave Syracuse his archives.  His unbuilt projects are the focus of Desilets' book, Too Much To Be BUILT: Morris Lapidus.  His autobiography is Too Much is Never Enough.  He was married for 63 years to Beatrice, who died in 1992. His son, architect Alan Lapidus, worked with his father for 18 years and said, "His theory was if you create the stage setting and it's grand, everyone who enters will play their part."  Bio adapted from Wikipedia.

 "My whole success is I've always been designing for people, first because I wanted to sell them merchandise. Then when I got into hotels, I had to rethink, what am I selling now? You're selling a good time." -- Morris Lapidus

1954 - 4595 North Michigan Avenue Miami Beach FL.  From an aerial view, the house looks like "Pac-Man is eating the pool," due to its curved form — a clear Lapidus signature. It features 4,052 square feet, five bedrooms, four bathrooms, a sunken living room, and a double-sided fireplace.

1958 - 5160 North Bay Road, Miami Beach FL.  Originally built for Lapidus's dentist.

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1960 - aka Lincoln Road, Miami Beach FL.  Renovated in 1996 by Wood and Thompson.

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1962 - The Crystal House Condominium, 5055 Collins Avenue, Miami Beach FL.

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1962 - 3 Island Avenue, Miami Beach FL.

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1967 - 5600 Condominiums, Collins Ave, Miami Beach FL.

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1968 - The Whitman Coop, 75 Henry Street, Brooklyn NY.

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Around 1972  - Parker Plaza Estates, 2030 South Ocean Drive, Hallandale Beach FL.

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1974 - Bonavida Condominiums, 20100 West Country Club Drive, Aventura FL.

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1975 - Arlen House East, 100 Bayview Drive, Sunny Isles Beach FL.

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1978 - The Lausanne Apartments, Naples FL.

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1981 - The Grandview at Emerald Hills, Hollywood FL. 

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Sources include:  Granddaughter Jennifer Lapidus.