On September 19, 1974, the City Commission met and determined that funds from the private sector should be sought for commissioning a sculptor to create a bust of Miami Beach Mayor Charles Hall, 1971-1974. Charles “Chuck” Hall was the first Mayor of Metropolitan Dade County from 1964-1970. As Mayor of Miami Beach, he hosted both the Democratic and Republican National Conventions in 1972. He also made an unsuccessful attempt to run for Governor of Florida, but passed away of a sudden heart attack in August 1974. In 1976, a bust in his memory was completed by the sculptor Zera Posever and placed in the Youth Center Lobby of the Theater of Performing Arts (Jackie Gleason Theater).
On November 15, 1989, the City Commission met and discussed the placement of a bronze bust of Andree Juliette Brun by Sarasota, Florida based sculptor Frank Colson. Ms Brun, who passed away in 1989, was an accomplished pianist and Miami Beach resident. In addition to her musical skills, Ms. Brun was appointed President of the Miami Beach Concert Association, a resident company at the then called Theater of the Performing Arts (Jackie Gleason Theater). In her memory, a bronze bust, which is one of an edition of five, was placed in the Jackie Gleason Theater.
In 2007, Live Nation was awarded a management agreement for the Jackie Gleason Theater and began a $3.5 million renovation of the theater before rebranding the theater as the Fillmore Miami Beach at the Jackie Gleason Theater. During the renovation, the busts were removed and stored at the Miami Beach Convention Center. Due to the anticipated renovation of the Miami Beach Convention Center, an item was placed on the December 11, 2013 City Commission Agenda referring a discussion to the Neighborhoods/Community Affairs Committee to determine a permanent, public location for the placement of the two busts.
On January 30, 2014, the Neighborhoods/Community Affairs Committee met and the placement of both busts was discussed. A motion was made to take no action, no second was required. On February 5, 2014, the City Commission met and the Neighborhoods/Community Affairs Committee report was part of the agenda.
On December 5, 2016, Art in Public Places was notified by Spectra Management that the busts needed to be removed from the storage area of the Miami Beach Convention Center to accommodate the renovation project. On December 8, 2016 Art in Public Places staff conducted a site visit and reported that the storage area contained the busts of Mayor Charles Hall and Andree Juliette Bruns. In addition to these two busts, an “Untitled” sculpture by the artist Lenore was also located in the storage. Research was conducted by Art in Public Places staff and no background or supplemental material was found on the “Untitled” sculpture in the City’s Folio Data Base and Kardx File System. Art in Public Places staff was advised that all three works needed to be removed by December 9, 2016.
In order to meet the request, Art in Public Places staff temporarily relocated the busts of Mayor Charles Hall and Andree Juliette Brun to the 5th floor lobby of the 1755 Meridian Avenue Building. The “Untitled” sculpture was moved to Spectra’s storage facility in Opa-Locka. Staff conducted a preliminary maintenance report on the busts and concluded significant restoration and structural enhancements would need to occur before the work could be sited in a permanent, public location. It was also determined the “Untitled” sculpture was not suitable for display, as it is severely damaged. Attached to this report (Exhibit 1) are photos and preliminary condition reports on all three works.