Miami has an incredible beach scene, fantastic food, and unbeatable nightlife, but it wouldn't be the world class city that it is without its amazing array of cultural attractions. Among the most impressive is the Wolfsonian, a Florida International University museum dedicated to design from 1885 to 1945. The museum's mission is to show how design both affected culture and was affected by culture during this tumultuous period, and its collection shows the tension and optimism of the times through industrial design objects, furniture, glass, metalwork, and other mixed media art. Among the highlights are works from the British arts and crafts movement, such as an 1891 walnut cabinet by William Richard Lethaby and a 1905 presentation bowl by Robert Hilton. And I'm particularly intrigued by its collection of art from world's fairs and expositions since 1851, which includes catalogs and rare books, furnishings, sculpture, paintings, and ephemera. Something about their design evokes a message of hope and resolve that transcends any era. The Wolfsonian is located in the heart of the Art Deco district in Miami Beach, just minutes from the sizzling new W South Beach.

[image via FIU]