The backlash ruined her career and didn’t prevent Miami Beach becoming a haven for the LGBT community throughout the 1980s and 1990s. 1972 saw the city’s first pride parade but an attempt to pass a law banning discrimination against gays and lesbians was shot down in 1977, led by familiar personality Anita Bryant. However, like most places with a reputation for being queer-friendly, it wasn’t always the case. Whilst racial equality was, and to an extent remains, a battleground for Miami Beach, queer inclusivity is almost taken for granted now. Undaunted by the gathering storm, we pause just around the corner of the Welcome Center so Deborah can give us an overview of the city’s LGBT history. The British fell-walker and guidebook author Alfred Wainwright famously remarked that “There’s no such thing as bad weather, only unsuitable clothing.” And it’s true: whilst Deborah is not only armed with an umbrella but also clad in a waterproof, Antony and I are unapologetically dressed for SUMMER.
A retired solicitor, she clearly loves her adopted home city and has an encyclopaedic knowledge of its history – and its meteorology. It’s less predictable than it used to be.”ĭeborah has lived in Miami for less than a decade. “Even in the time I’ve been living here, I’ve seen a big change in the weather. We’ve been to Florida in August together a few times and have been able to set our watches by the mid-late afternoon downpours. Only minutes before it was a typical Florida morning: sunshine so bright it stung our eyes, so humid that stepping out of any air-conditioned space felt like walking into a steam room.īut the sky is bruising before our eyes. “Good idea,” says Deborah, gesturing to the darkening clouds with her umbrella. But as the tour has been laid on especially for us, we don’t have to wait around for anyone else so we decide to get underway immediately. This is a fascinating destination in itself, chronicling the rise and fall, and rise again, of Miami Beach’s fortunes throughout the twentieth century and beyond.Īs is usual for us, we’re very early. As the queer history of the city is inextricably intertwined with its architectural heritage, it makes sense that we meet Deborah inside the Welcome Center (sic – we’re in America after all) of the Preservation League. We are here for the Gay and Lesbian Walking Tour, organised by the Miami Design Preservation League, an organisation founded to preserve Miami Beach’s iconic art deco architecture. And not just about the increasingly unpredictable Miami weather. As we will quickly find out, Deborah knows an awful lot. Deborah clearly knows something we don’t. Our guide’s name is Deborah and she is holding an umbrella.