World-famous Vibrantly Colored Lifeguard Towers of SoBe
The beaches around Florida offer beautiful sand, warm waters, and almost perfect weather, but if you are looking for something fun and want to enjoy a colorful walk on the beach, check out Miami Beach and it’s stretch of uniquely designed and artistically painted Lifeguard Towers.
These lifeguard towers stretch along Miami Beach from South Pointe’s Lighthouse Tower to North Shore Open Space Park
The walk according to google is approximately 7.9 miles.
Google says it will take about 2 hours and 35 minutes to walk the stretch. But when walking along the beach, plan at least double that time. Longer if you plan to stop and take pictures and enjoy the lifeguard towers.
The best way to see the lifeguard towers is to stay at one of the hotels in the middle of the path. Then you can take your time and enjoy the walk in both directions at different times rather than doing the whole stretch at once.
If you want to go for a day trips, there are 3 parks you can start at. On the south end, start at South Pointe Park Pier and walk north. These first 2 miles are known as South Beach (SoBe). In the middle is Indian Beach Park and at the north end is North Shore Open Space Park.
History of Miami Beaches Lifeguard Towers
Many of the Lifeguard stations were destroyed when Hurricane Andrew hit the area in early 1990’s. The city made a choice to revive the city with designs by Architect William Lane. After the first few started to become a movement that represented the city’s rebirth, additional designs from various artists, designers and local entrepreneurs were added to spice it up and bring more variety to the towers.
One theme that is represented in all of the towers is the vibrant colors. Miami is known for it’s art deco appeal and the beach is no exception. Some of the more popular designs have more then one location on the beach in varying colors.
In 2018, the city sold some of the older lifeguard towers by auction so that it could replace them with new updated designs.
The new designs not only keep the city vibrant with a newness that sparks curiosity, they are built to withstand stronger winds and hopefully stay standing through future hurricanes.
