The museum's core collection was donated by Mitchell Wolfson Jr., a philanthropist and collector who began his acquisitions in the 1960s.
The building features a limestone facade with elaborate carvings that integrate historical themes with industrial motifs.
The collection holds one of the largest archives of political propaganda materials in the United States, including extensive WPA-era documentation.
The museum's 'Bridge Tender’s House' is a preserved historical structure relocated to the museum site.
The collection includes rare travel ephemera from the early age of transatlantic ocean liners.
The institution houses significant artifacts related to the 1939 New York World's Fair.
The Wolfsonian-FIU is a museum and research center located in the heart of Miami Beach's Art Deco District. Its collection focuses on the aesthetic and social impact of the modern era, spanning the years 1850 to 1950. The institution occupies a historic 1927 Mediterranean Revival building formerly known as the Washington Storage Company warehouse. The permanent collection contains approximately 200,000 objects including industrial design, propaganda posters, graphic design, and rare books. It emphasizes the intersection of design, technology, and political ideologies throughout the 19th and 20th centuries. Visitors can explore rotating exhibitions that highlight global design movements like Italian Futurism and Soviet propaganda. The facility serves as a fully integrated department of Florida International University. It maintains an extensive research library that houses primary source materials for scholars of modern history.
The dramatic, double-height lobby with its industrial-modern staircase and architectural details.
Visit the library and research center during the week if you need to access specific archives for study.
Check the online exhibition calendar before arriving, as installations change frequently.
The museum bookstore offers a curated selection of books on design theory and local architecture.
Do not mistake the museum for a standard fine arts gallery, as the focus is specifically on historical design and functional objects.
Closed on Wednesdays.
