The Wolfsonian-FIU

The Wolfsonian is one of my favorite museums… when I have out of town visitors, I always take them to the Wolfsonian. When they ask what the museum is about, I usually respond with «well, its industrial age themed, they have World War propaganda, some toasters, lots of gates to buildings, a cool mailbox» which elicits confused looks but they always come out glad to have seen this amazing collection.
What it lacks in its size of collection, it makes up in its assortment of unique decorative and fine arts, curated around concepts and larger cultural movements than solely on art period. It is a great location to spend a few hours in the afternoon after hitting the beach but before dinner and 2 – 3 hours in most museums is usually sufficient. Who wants to go to a giant museum like the Met where you end up either exhausted from traipsing around for hours and hours or feeling unfulfilled thinking you missed some amazing hidden wing.
One of the best highlights is the gift shop that has a nice café, lots of interesting books, and very unique home goods and accessories.

Really cute museum with 6 floors (depending on what’s on display).
Lots of history on pre Embargo us/​Cuba relations.
I’d recommend this for anyone visiting or wanting to learn about our neighbor.

An incredible gem of a museum, the Wolfsonian dabbles in art but focuses on design. I’ve been to many museums over the years and some left me awestruck, some left me pensive, some left me cold, and some left me marveling at the beauty of it all. This was the first museum that filled my heart with acquisitive, covetous, passionate longing. I just wanted to own everything in the place — or at least to be allowed to be surrounded by such things for the rest of my life.
The curator is a genius. That common objects from the 1920s-​1950s were designed for form as well as function is well understood and appreciated. But who would have thought such power and beauty could be found in a series of posters for the Maine Traffic Safety Association? Or a series of European posters warning of the importance of workplace safety?
The interior spaces are gorgeous and the gift shop is very, very dangerous. We happened upon this museum by chance as we were walking down Washington Ave… but I strongly recommend you plan a visit as soon as you can.

I stopped by on a Friday morning, and the guy at the desk was kind enough to tell me that entry is free from Friday from 6 – 9 PM, and there is also a tour included! I returned Friday evening, and enjoyed the tour. It definitely added some information that I would not have known had I gone through the Wolfsonian earlier that day. This is a great museum, with an interesting collection.

This is a really interesting museum that sort of defies quick description. The museum itself is housed on some of the upper floors, but the displays really start in the lobby with an amazing art deco fountain and some lovely bronze work. During our visit there were exhibits of furniture, propaganda posters and even a small exhibit about the history of Miami Beach itself. I think we may have spent as much time in the gift shop as the museum but it had such a wonderful mix of wonderfully designed objects for the home as well as the most standard options like blank books, jewelry and cool doodads ala a science museum.

This unique museum that shows a rich, rotating view of the early 20^th century history that shaped the formation of Miami Beach. As a local, I really appreciate that they often rotate exhibitions. They have a wealth of items to exhibit and each exhibition is thoroughly curated. Best of all, their free, extended hours on Friday evening are a quick, thoughtful way to start the weekend.

Nothing to it – the Wolfsonian is as good a collection as it gets.
It’s professional and forward without devolving into a corporate faceless machine.
The space is gorgeous, and full of details original to the Miami-​specific building. Can you believe this art deco gem was once a storage facility?
Go on Fridays from 6−9pm when it’s free (park in the nearby garage on Washington and 1^st for $ 1 an hour… and if you ruin this for me, I will find you) or literally ANY OTHER TIME.
Art Deco, Great Gatsby and Downton Abbey (the later seasons) fans will all rejoice, and museum buffs (Of which I include myself) will have no complaints.
#Toofineapoint: Security guards could do better. Get off your phone and look like you give a damn outside of collecting a check. As my pal and I shut down the place, we were escorted by a security guard who was clearly just getting off shift. She kept ramming the elevator door-​close button and actually said to a lift full of guests – «Thank God it’s over.»
I’ve done your job, and that’s not how it’s done.

Remarkable building, pre war. Looks like swirl yogurt from the sidewalk.

In a city full of shallow, plastic people, the Wolfsonian is a great cultural addition. Located in the heart of the Art Deco District on Washington Avenue, it is a museum, library and research center. It is housed in the former Washington Storage Company building, due to the fact that the company contained a large collection of art from a collector named Mitchell Wolfson, Jr. (90% of the storage company’s holdings belonged to him). Mr. Wolfson purchased the building, the museum was named for him, and the rest is, as you know, history (no pun intended). After some additions and renovations, the museum opened to the public in 1995. The lower three floors of the structure were originally constructed by the architectural firm of Robertson & Patterson in the Spanish Renaissance style in 1926. In order to keep with the heritage of the Art Deco period, there is a stunningly beautiful Art Deco fountain in the lobby, which was built using tiles from the façade of the Norris Theater. Several artifacts throughout the lobby also belong to that period, such as a beautiful bronze 1923 mailbox, and some bronze plaques.
There are several floors, which require the use of a rather beautiful Gothic, mirrored elevator that contains wolf sculptures. Some of the floors house permanent collections, while others house temporary exhibits. There is also a floor dedicated to their library collection. The library requires an appointment for visiting, but on my most recent visit, the hallway leading to the library was housing an exhibit dedicated to the history of Miami Beach, called «Miami Beach: From Mangrove to Tourist Mecca», in honor of Miami Beach’s centennial. One of the traveling exhibits I saw prior was the «Norman Bel Geddes: I Have Seen The Future». Both of these were very interesting, visually beautiful, and informative, and I enjoyed them. I even had the privilege of a personal little tour and talk with Frank Luca, one of the librarians at the Wolfsonian, who put together the Miami Beach exhibit. This made my visit even more memorable! The topmost floors usually are the ones containing the permanent exhibits. Political propaganda from Europe can be found here, as well as American industrial design pieces, and pieces from the world’s fairs and expositions, for instance. Though photography is permitted, flash photography is not.
Parking can be a bit of a mission, unfortunately, and that is probably the greatest deterrent to many in deciding whether to come here, or not. There are a few public parking lots, but they fill up and it will take a lot of patience, or you can park in a nearby garage and walk. Admission to the museum is quite reasonable. They also host a happy hour event on one Friday of the month, where admission is free and you get to enjoy half-​price drinks for their happy hour, as well as free guided tours (I have yet to come to one of these free Friday nights, but upon further reading, it seems they also feature local artists and live music). If you don’t make it to their happy hour event, they still have a free guided tour of the exhibits every Friday of the month, and even some Fridays where they teach you how to sketch and give you an opportunity to test your skills and talent.
My first time ever at the Wolfsonian was in the late 90s, when I had the privilege of having one of my photographs on display inside the museum. It was an honor to find my photograph in a museum, especially for a girl in her teens, and my father was actually proud of me for once. The exhibits here change often, so just because you have been here once does not mean you have «seen it all», and if you enjoy art and history, then you should check their website to keep up with their upcoming exhibits. I’m actually surprised to see such few reviews of the museum considering that it’s one of a couple of museums in Miami Beach, so I hope my review will motivate others to check it out — even if it’s on one of their «free Fridays» when you really have nothing to lose!

A unique museum in south beach featuring propaganda art and ephemera. I usually need a tour guide to help me appreciate art but this museum is for some reason very accessible. It was either the pieces themselves or the signage or both but the collection here is relatable. Perhaps because they feature everyday objects like stoves and posters and furniture. Also it’s fun to go for free on a Friday night and feel cultured in South Beach.

Nice exhibits, but the security was rude, because of the fact the person at the ticket desk forgot to give the stickers needed to enter the museum
They continued to hover/​follow throughout my visit. Besides that, there are some neat exhibits on the 6^th and 5^th floor.

The fact this museum exists is pure joy. I believe it was a private collection and Mr. Wolf is still alive. You walk in and there’s a giant 1920s Art Deco dark green and gold fan like piece behind some still water. To the left is the café/​gift shop and to the right is where you get your ticket. The main floor is the 5^th floor. Here you’ll find a good bit of the pieces — a time capsule of postcards/​brochures/​posters/​propaganda/​advertiseme­nts plus more! It is a design lovers dream come true. The gift shop hold many interesting books ranging from journals to architecture to specific movements to graphic design… and they’re all great editions. You can get a few vintage postcards and and buttons, and have a gander at all the design friendly and color coordinated items from coffee cups to globes to bags to lunch boxes to Pantone universe cups.
There’s a 3^rd floor I believe that is the research room. A brief old film on Miami during WWII and some more postcards and propaganda items, and the research rooms. Which you can request to get into. The fellow researchers are lovely, and the archives include items to drool over and things that one might’ve thought lost.
This museum is one of my favorite (in the world) and really highlights Miami and what Miami was, and I feel is something the city should really be supporting and getting behind more than the typical south beach shops and crazies. This is a museum not really found other places and certainly lot containing the specifics to such a specific era that distinctly appears in the buildings throughout Miami and so often forgotten placed it on the map.

Wandered in on a hot afternoon my last day in Miami. Even if you don’t want to check out the museum, the café is a nice place to just sit and read/​do some work on downtime with free wireless. I had fun looking at the neat art deco items, posters etc as previous reviewers mentioned. I read each caption and the whole visit probably took around an hour. If you’re into art deco and looking at some neat furniture from that period, this is a unique experience.

Got rained off the beach so ended up here
What a gem
Great Art Deco treasures as well as a fascinating WWI exhibit
Relatively small — three floors — but worth it

Even with half the collection closed, this was so cool. It is an art deco museum.

What a treat for the Art Deco loving eye! Loved the Norman Bel Geddes exhibit and the permanent collection. Especially the household stuff. For $ 7 it’s a really good activity for a rainy day in Miami, actually it would’ve been good in a sunny day too! Only wish would be to get a tour or some sort of description on the different exhibits or some more info on the different pieces.

This to me was more of an exhibit than a museum however I found everything very interesting. There are multiple floors that have different themes. I really enjoyed looking at the furniture through the decades as well as some of the old appliances that they had on display. There was an exhibit titled «BUMMER» which was very depressing yet thought provoking items. I think my favorite item in the whole museum was an old scale that not only weighed you but claimed to give you a fortune as well. On a side note the museum allowed you to take pictures which was nice.

This was an unexpected treat. For $ 7 admission they had some really interesting collections. The propaganda items from Europe were fascinating.

Definitely not my taste or style of art. What was awesome is I was able to go on a Friday eve when it is free/​open to public. If I would have had to pay admission I would have been upset!
There is a decent amount of items on multiple floors, but none I could appreciate.
They also have a café open for extended lunch hours in a super nice book store that seemed to have reasonable prices. Enjoy!!!

The Wolfsonian never disappoints! I have been here so many times over the years — for special exhibits, lectures and happy hour. For tourists and locals alike, the Wolfsonian offers a fantastic snapshot of both the art deco period in general and it’s evolution in South Florida.
Don’t leave Miami Beach without a visit to the Wolfsonian.