GAY SOUTH FLORIDA
Miami Heat and Fort Lauderdale Fun
BY JESSE MONTEAGUDO

Gay tourists have flocked to South Florida since the early 20th Century, when “confirmed bachelor” James Deering entertained the New York “ballet crowd” and “opera crowd” in his posh Renaissance mansion, Vizcaya. Almost a century later, the Sunshine State is even more of a gay magnet.

The Spartacus Guide calls Florida “the prime state for gay holidaymakers.” Gays and lesbians from all over the world visit South Florida -- from Key West to West Palm Beach -- for its lovely weather (outside of an occasional hurricane), men, sunny beaches, men, Art Deco architecture, men, the Everglades, men, cultural amenities, gorgeous women of course and, lest I forget, men.

Gay people visit South Florida during summer vacations, to escape the winter’s cold, and to attend various seasonal events: Fantasy Fest in October, the White Party in November, the Winter Party in March, the Miami Gay and Lesbian Film Festival in April, and Aqua Girl in May. Recently, South Florida hosted the Sunshine Stampede, this state’s first gay rodeo.

Key West, a favorite gay resort since before the days of Tennessee Williams, deserves its own article. Here we deal with Miami and Fort Lauderdale.

Do It Deco

For most gay travelers, Miami means Miami

Beach; more precisely the Art Deco district located in the southern tip of Miami Beach.

A popular playground during the 1940s and 1950s, SoBe declined during the ’60s and ’70s as the trendsetters moved to Las Vegas and Atlantic City. Then in the ’80s and ’90s South Beach made a comeback as old hotels were restored and celebrities such as Gianni Versace moved into Ocean Drive. And while South Beach is not as queer as it was in the “gay ’90s” -- before Andrew Cunanan shot Versace in front of his grand palacio -- it still attracts a spicy mix of New York snow birds, muscle boys, circuit queens, lipstick lesbians, hot Latino papis and fashionistas of all stripes.

Miami Beach is a boy watcher’s paradise. Thanks to its large Latino population and its international appeal, SoBe is an eye candy store. Buff muscle boys strut their stuff at the gym, at the clubs, and on the “gay beach,” located at 12th Street and Ocean Drive. (For those who want to see more, there is a nude beach at Haulover Park, located a few minutes north of Miami Beach.)

Those who are able to take their eyes away from the studs on the beach will discover other sights, such as the restored Art Deco hotels, the Jewish Museum of Florida, the Holocaust Memorial, and Parrot Jungle in nearby Watson Island. A recent addition to SoBe’s cultural life is the World Erotic Art Museum (weam.com), which boasts the largest public view collection of erotic art, gay and otherwise.

Miami Beach social life thrives around Ocean Drive, Washington Avenue, and Lincoln Road Mall, a pedestrian mall that’s popular with locals and tourists alike. Restaurants run the gamut from the venerable Joe’s Stone Crab to Madame’s Restaurant and Cabaret Lounge, with its talented drag waiters.

SoBe’s gay nightlife oscillates between Score on Lincoln Road and Twist on Washington Avenue; with newcomer Boy Bar driving people north to Normandy Isle. Best of all are the floating parties that Edison Farrow throws under the auspices of his SoBe Social Club (SoBeSocialClub.com): Martini Tuesdays, Buck15 Thursdays and Euphoria Fridays.

While there is enough on the Beach to keep a person busy, the Miami mainland has its own share of attractions: Little Havana, Coral Gables, Fairchild Tropical Gardens, Metrozoo and the Deering mansion, now Vizcaya Museum and Gardens (home of the annual White Party). Some tourists take time to visit Everglades National Park and the nearby Florida Keys.

African-Americans, Latinos and their admirers would want to visit some of the mainland’s gay watering holes: Club Azucar, with its Latina drag acts; Club O’Zone, a largely-Latin disco; and Club BOi, black gay Miami’s hip-hop dance club (clubboi.com). Meanwhile, bathhouse Club Body Center, on Coral Way, is a local tradition, popular with gay and bi-curious men for more than three decades.

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