Miami Beach Stories
Lincoln Road: the road Carl Fisher built, then closed to cars.
· 2 min read · Miami Beach
Carl Fisher, the same man who helped build Miami Beach, first developed Lincoln Road in the 1910s and 20s as an upscale shopping boulevard, the 'Fifth Avenue of the South', lined with Saks, Bonwit Teller and luxury names. By the 1950s the cars and the malls were choking it. So in 1960 the city brought in Morris Lapidus, the flamboyant architect behind the Fontainebleau, and he did something radical: he closed Lincoln Road to traffic entirely and turned it into one of the first pedestrian malls in America.
The Fifth Avenue of the South
Lapidus filled it with his signature playfulness, curving shade canopies, splashing fountains, tropical plantings and concrete follies he called his 'woggles' and 'beanpoles'. The cars were banished; the people took over. After another slump, it roared back in the 1990s and today it's one of the most-walked promenades in the country.
Where to find us on Collins
Green Market sits at 5101 Collins Ave in Miami Beach, open 7am to 10pm every day. Coffee from the espresso bar starts at $2.50, combos from $5.79. Walk in from the beach, or order on WhatsApp at +1 (305) 876-4513 and we deliver across Miami Beach.
Quick answers
- Why is Lincoln Road in Miami Beach a pedestrian street?
- Carl Fisher, the same man who helped build Miami Beach, first developed Lincoln Road in the 1910s and 20s as an upscale shopping boulevard, the 'Fifth Avenue of the South', lined with Saks, Bonwit Teller and luxury names. By the 1950s the cars and the malls were choking it.