Postcards from the South: Omni International Miami

This postcard depicts the Omni International Miami, designed by Joseph Amisano of Toombs, Amisano & Wells in Atlanta and completed in 1977.¹

The Omni complex was built as Miami’s “first and only megastructure”² and included a multi-level shopping mall with an attached conference center and hotel.

It was easily the most Portman-esque thing Amisano ever put his hand to, influenced by similar urban developments like Peachtree Center in Atlanta.

Location of Omni International Miami

The Omni mall closed circa 2000, although the hotel remains and is now named the Hilton Miami Downtown. The Miami Herald has many fine photos of the mall’s interior.

Published by the Gulf Stream Card Co. of Miami, the postcard shown above includes the following description on the back:

OMNI INTERNATIONAL WITH BISCAYNE BAY IN THE BACKGROUND, TROPICAL MIAMI, THE MAGIC CITY, 79-6.

Not very interesting, but neither is the building.

References

1. “$76 Million Omni International Miami: It’s Open, It’s Exciting — And It’s Ours”. The Miami Herald, July 2, 1977, p. 3C. ↩︎
2. “Omni International Hotel Dominates Our Skyline”. The Miami Herald, July 2, 1977, p. 10C. ↩︎