Brickell – Welcome to Miami!

by Julie Tetel Andresen | August 30, 2019 |

My first week of teaching at Florida International University just ended. Now to explore my Miami neighborhood: Brickell. I chose to hang out here for a couple of weeks. You know, fancy Miami. While I find a more permanent place to live for the semester.

I had expected a more neighborhood-y vibe. Instead, it’s all glass-and-steel high-rises. A gleaming urban mountain range. With palm trees. The title image offers a glimpse down one of the canyons I caught from Brickell City Centre, a luxurious shopping mall.

And speaking of that mall, I wandered around inside …

… and wondered : Where am I? Singapore?

Singapore Similarity I

I visited Singapore in May and experienced Lush Urban Luxury. Below is a shot of a shopping concourse at the entrance to the G. W. Marriott building, Singapore. Open-air, lots of vegetation, and a sculpturous ceiling undulating overhead.

I see from the TV screen that I there on Friday, May 17

Jumbotrons are now apparently features of posh malls. Here’s the one at the Brickell mall:

Perhaps if I had visited Miami before Singapore, I would have had the reverse impression in Singapore: Where am I? Brickell?

The Brickell mall also has a koi pond:

Hey, Singapore, can you top this? (Probably.)

Now I know what the international intersection of Money + Tropics looks like.

Singapore Similarity II

More cruising in the neighborhood. I was still on the hunt for a cozy nook, like a breakfast joint I could frequent. The best I came up with was this:

First Presbyterian Church, Brickell Avenue

No inviting diner. Instead, a church, one of the few low-to-the-ground structures I encountered. The air above is just too valuable.

And next door a typical Florida esplanade:

I went on down to the waterfront, Brickell Bay. It’s formed by an inlet created by Brickell Key (island) in the Atlantic.

Once again I was struck by the similarity with Marina Bay, Singapore:

Now I’ll add to the equation: Money + Tropics + Water = Singapore and Brickell (and Hong Kong and any other rich waterfront city)

Back to Brickell with a more tropical view of the bay:

I leave you with what I happened upon a few yards from the back door of my hotel. From the amount of their activity, I gather they found a good pecking place.