Miami Beach Bandshell Added to National Register of Historic Places

The Miami Beach Bandshell –– an outdoor amphitheater that is as much known for its geometric expression of Miami modernist architecture as it is for hosting national television audiences and showcasing local talent — has been added to the prestigious National Register of Historic Places.

Designed by noted Miami Beach architect Normal M. Giller and opened to the public in 1962, the venue served as the winter home of “The Mike Douglas Show” during the 1970s, drawing big names like Jackie Gleason, Burt Reynolds, Milton Berle, K.C. and the Sunshine Band, singer-composer Bobby Goldsboro and comedian Foster Brooks among others.

“The bandshell is the last surviving structure of its kind in Miami Beach out of four that once brought entertainment to the post W.W. II generation,” explained Miami Beach Mayor Dan Gelber. “Now that the city has completed an important renovation to the complex, the bandshell is well positioned to welcome another generation of Miami Beach residents and visitors with top-notch entertainment and cultural programming.”

The register represents the official list of the nation’s historic places worthy of preservation in recognition of their importance to local communities. The Miami Beach City Commission designated the bandshell as a local historic site on Oct. 27, 2021.

Originally known as the North Shore Community Center and more recently as the North Beach Bandshell, the property is located within Bandshell Park on Collins Avenue between 72 and 73 streets adjacent to the beach and Atlantic Ocean at 7275 Collins Ave. in the city’s North Beach neighborhood.

The Rhythm Foundation took over management of the Bandshell from the city in 2015. Since then, programming has blossomed with over 100 events per year, including music concerts, movies, dance and other special events. A newly revamped website (www.MiamiBeachBandshell.com) has more information about their upcoming 35th anniversary season schedule.

“In the design of the North Beach Bandshell, Giller’s work is characterized primarily by simple shapes, mostly circles and curves. The venue space itself is roughly circular, and each of the bandshell’s two public entrances in the tower structures are covered by large cantilevered disk-shaped canopies,” according to submission documents. “The towers serve to support the canopies. Giller wrote that he ‘placed these wide canopies rather low, so that people walking under them are aware that they are entering an enclosed space. In contrast, those leaving the protection of the canopies immediately find themselves in view of the expansive sky.”