Collins Avenue

The beach's main avenue, where small 1930s hotels give way to bigger 1950s resorts.

Collins Avenue runs the length of Miami Beach, and its buildings tell the story of the beach's growth. At the southern end stand the small Art Deco hotels of the 1930s; further north rise the larger, more glamorous resorts of the 1950s, built when the postwar boom and air travel brought bigger crowds.

Today it is the main street of Miami Beach: hotels, condo towers and beach clubs line the ocean side, with shops and restaurants across the road. Heading north, you can watch the architecture change decade by decade.