Built in 1953, the Vagabond Hotel located at 7301 Biscayne Blvd was designed by B. Robert Swartburg - the same architect who designed the Delano Hotel and the Bass Museum on South Beach. - and featured 53 guest suites. It was built with the automobile tourism in mind and featured a large parking lot and pool.
Located on the Biscayne Corridor, the Vagabond Motel is a beautiful example of the Mid-Century Modern architecture that once lined Biscayne Boulevard when it was the major thoroughfare thru Miami and linked up with A1A. The advent of Expressways, namely I-95, relegated Biscayne Blvd to become a less traveled road for tourists and many of the highway motor lodges like the Vagabond became less popular and fell into disrepair.
The property fell into disrepair for many years before changing hands several times with various plans for a renewed life, none of which came to fruition. As of June 2012, Avra Jain and Regalia Holdings had been actively involved in the planning of re-furbishing the hotel, costing $1.9 million with an additional $5 million for restoration. The original neon sign for the Motel facade cost $65,000 to restore.2 Vagabond re-opened as a hotel in August, 2014.1
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