This area was the first section of Miami Beach to be developed, starting in the 1910s, due to the development efforts of Carl G. Fisher, the Lummus Brothers, and John S. Collins, the latter of whose construction of the Collins Bridge provided the first vital land link between mainland Miami and the beaches.

In 1894, the Lum brothers left the island, leaving control of the plantation to John Collins, who came to South Beach two years later to survey the land.

[citation needed] In 1912, Miami businessmen the Lummus Brothers acquired 400 acres (160 ha) of Collins' land in an effort to build an oceanfront city of modest single family residences.

[3] Carl G. Fisher, a successful entrepreneur who made millions in 1909 after selling a business to Union Carbide, came to the beach in 1913.

The population was growing in the 1920s, and several millionaires such as Harvey Firestone, J.C. Penney, Harry C. Stutz,[7] Albert Champion, Frank Seiberling, and Rockwell LaGorce built homes on Miami Beach.

[citation needed] Until the mid-1920s, antisemitic covenants were used in South Beach to exclude Jews from living or staying in neighborhoods north of Fifth Street.

South Beach claims to be the world's largest collection of Streamline Moderne Art Deco architecture.

Beginning in the mid 1960s and continuing through the 1980s, South Beach was used as a retirement community with most of its ocean-front hotels and apartment buildings filled with elderly people living on small, fixed incomes.

A somewhat recurring theme of early Miami Vice episodes was thugs and drug addicts barricading themselves in run-down or empty buildings.

[citation needed] While many of the unique Art Deco buildings, such as the New Yorker Hotel, were lost to developers in the years before 1980, the area was saved as a cohesive unit by Barbara Baer Capitman and a group of activists who spearheaded the movement to place almost one square mile of South Beach on the National Register of Historic Places.

[citation needed] Before the days of Miami Vice, South Beach was considered a very poor area with a very high rate of crime.

"[12] In the late 1980s, a renaissance began in South Beach, with an influx of fashion industry professionals moving into the area.

[13] Thomas Kramer is credited with starting the construction boom in South Beach, driving the gentrification of the area.

The area is popular with tourists from Canada, Europe, Israel and the entire Western Hemisphere, with some having permanent or second homes there.

The World Erotic Art Museum on South Beach is considered a local favorite to visit.

South Beach, along with a handful of other neighborhoods in Greater Miami (such as Downtown and Brickell), is one of the areas where a car-free lifestyle is commonplace.

Many South Beach residents get around by foot, bicycle, motorcycle, trolley, bus, or taxi as the neighborhood is very urban and pedestrian-friendly.

Automobile congestion in the area is frequent, so getting around in South Beach by car can often prove more difficult than simply walking or bicycling.

The Venetian Causeway, for example, is a popular bicycle commuter route that connects South Beach to Downtown.

The Miami International Airport can be reached quickly from several bus stops in South Beach via the Airport-Beach Express (Metrobus line 150).

It is also home to several restaurants (including "A Fish Called Avalon"," "Mango's," and the MTV-popularized "Clevelander") and is the site of Gianni Versace's former ocean front mansion.

Collins is home to many historic Art Deco hotels, and several nightclubs to the north, including Mynt and Rokbar.

Running parallel with Ocean and Collins, Washington is notorious for having some of the world's largest and most popular nightclubs, such as Cameo and Mansion.

Washington Avenue is also home to countless shops, hotels, and such noted architectural features as Temple Emanu-El.

Development in the West Avenue Corridor began in the 1920s when three grand hotels were built on the shores of Biscayne Bay: The Flamingo, The Fleetwood and the Floridian.

Amenities for residents and visitors include shopping, houses of worship, cafes, restaurants, parks and gyms.

Vacationers, homeowners and renters can find an abode to suit any style in this neighborhood that supports a combination of single family homes, original art deco buildings, MiMo mid-rises and contemporary high density high-rises.