Wynwood Walls

This week I visited the Wynwood Walls in Miami and I had an absolute blast.  It’s not so much a ‘venue’ as it is an entire arts-centric neighborhood.  There are the walls themselves, a beautiful park filled with gorgeous murals, patterns, and colors.  In addition to the walls, there are sculptures, a boulder garden, and beautiful landscaping.

In 2009, Tony Goldman wanted to find a way to revitalize the derelict warehouse district.  His idea: “Wynwood’s large stock of warehouse buildings, all with no windows, would be my giant canvases to bring to them the greatest street art ever seen in one place.” Starting with the 25th–26th Street complex of six separate buildings, his goal was to create a center where people could gravitate to and explore, and to develop the area’s pedestrian potential. (Quote: TheWynwoodWalls.com)

 

The area has come a very long way since that time.  To be frank, there are still tons and tons of “reviews” of the place that talk about car break ins, and lack of safety at night.  I’m not sure when those were written, or where those people chose to park their cars, but I had absolutely no trepidation about walking around the area at night.  There was a solid police presence, and the place was packed.  There were hundreds of people.

I was there for several reasons, number one, to enjoy the art and the beautiful weather. But also I was working. I had several items to model, glasses from Francesca’s, a white bralette from Mickella Clothing Company, and more.  There were so many people that we often had to wait “our turn” to take a few photographs in front of a specific mural or background. I felt absolutely safe and secure.

There were a huge number of people getting their Instagram on.  It’s no wonder.  There were some breathtaking spots to capture some insta magic.  I even helped a couple people take photos.  No one seemed to have any problem handing me their phone to snap a photo or two of them in front of one of the amazing murals.

 

We toured the neighborhood three times, first in a beautiful blue dress from Etiquette Boutique and then in a white bodysuit and denim shorts, and finally in a tulle skirt from Francesca’s paired with a white bralette from Mickella Clothing and a maroon moto jacket from Charlotte Russe.  I feel like even having made three rounds of the district over the course of an entire day, we still never saw the same thing twice.  There was always something beautiful to see.

In the heat of the afternoon we ducked into Wood Tavern for a cold beer.  The bartender was fantastic, and we spent almost an hour hanging out while the sun was at its highest.  I had a Funky Buddha Floridian Hefeweizen that was absolutely perfect.  Vince, ever the stalwart fan, had a Yuengling.

 

 

Still waiting for the sun to pass overhead, we headed down the block to the Wynwood Diner.  Vince had an amazing Cuban Sandwich and (ever the stalwart fan) another Yuengling, while I had another Floridian Hefeweizen.  The bar at the Wynwood diner was beautiful.  Industrial shelves lined the back bar all the way up to the ceiling, and were filled with perfect rows of vintage books, nick-nacks and objets d’art.  Rows of fresh herbs in vases (Okay, they were in beer glasses) filled the back of the bar itself, but the aroma of basil, mint, sage, and rosemary complimented my light lunch of roasted brussels sprouts and cauliflower perfectly.  I can’t recommend the Wynwood Diner enough!

Next we toured the some of the art galleries, including one filled with items from the now closed  Taj Mahal casino in Atlantic City.  Two massive chandeliers from the casino, a white baby grand piano, as well as dozens of works of art, signs, and other items double hung on the walls made passing an hour in the small warehouse-turned-gallery an easy task.  Everywhere I looked there was something to see.

We finished our round by stopping in Dasher and Crank.  Still under construction, they had a small stand set up in their space, and over a dozen amazing flavors of ice cream.  I opted for Earl Gray Chocolate chip, while Vince had a scoop of some sort of super-chocolate-everything deliciousness.

 

Finally, as the sun was setting, we made our third trip around the district, capturing an entirely new look and feel in the golden-hour light.  I switched to a slightly more risque outfit, and we took another couple hundred photographs posing in front of dozens of murals, walls, and landscape settings.  The light was beautiful, and as the late-night crew started replacing the daytime families, the blocks started taking on a whole new feel.

Once the sun went down and the street lights came on, we waited in a line well out the door at Coyo Taco for the most amazing taco salad I’ve ever eaten.  The line moved very quickly, in all there were probably 50 people ahead of us, but I doubt we waited more than 15 minutes.  The service was fast and despite the huge number of patrons and relatively few tables, we had no trouble finding a place to sit and enjoy our dinner.

While we were eating, the line got even longer.  Dozens of people in festival attire showed up.  As it turns out, Coyo Taco also hosts events, and that night DJ Sneak and Doc Martin were set to rock the house and their legion of fans were showing up to support them.  Unfortunately, we were leaving early in the morning for the long 2-day drive home, and couldn’t stay for the set.  I’m sure we would have shuffled the night away.

 

All in all, Wynwood Walls was an experience I’ll remember for the rest of my life.  The graffiti art was absolutely world-class, the food was fantastic, parking was easy in the lot right on 2nd Street.  They’re building 2 parking garages nearby, so those that have experienced parking issues in the past may soon be worry-free.