When the TV show "Miami Vice" began filming, set designers turned empty storefronts into makeshift businesses and gussied up aging hotels to give them a clean look in pastel colors. Fancy cars rolled down the streets, and elderly denizens of hotel porches and verandahs were temporarily replaced by scantily clad actors walking the narrow sidewalks.

Television was helping to create a new image for South Beach and Miami, and reality wasn't far behind. "They created a lot of the glitz and the glamor -- the Miami that we saw in 'Miami Vice' sure wasn't where we lived," Stofik said. "It became this synergistic relationship where 'Miami Vice' was painting its own buildings and using architecture as a character in the show, and millions were seeing this on television."

By 1985 -- the year Bruce Weber photographed a Calvin Klein "Obsession" perfume ad at the Breakwater Hotel -- the fashion industry had taken notice of cheap hotel rooms and eclectic scenery, and the area became a popular hangout for models and photographers. Places like The Strand and Penrod's on the Beach began attracting crowds.

"It was a Bohemian wild, wild west. You could sense that something was happening that was very special," said Tara Solomon, a journalist and public relations executive who arrived in South Beach in 1987.

The show was filmed on location throughout the beach, drawing tourists eager to see Don Johnson and Philip Michael Thomas playing Crockett and Tubbs in their signature Ray-Bans and suits with the rolled-up sleeves.

"If we were shooting at 5 o'clock in the morning, there was still people out here watching us," said Dee Miller, who cast local actors for the show. "The tour bus would go by and say 'Look, they're shooting 'Miami Vice.'"

By 1989, South Beach's rebirth was in full swing. The fashion industry was entrenched and celebrities on movie shoots (like Madonna and Sylvester Stallone) took a liking to the area. Millionaires began buying homes and condos.

More restaurants and nightclubs were born, and Italian designer Gianni Versace arrived in 1991. He lived on South Beach until 1997, when he was fatally shot in front of his Ocean Drive mansion. Ironically, the murder cemented the area's image as a haven for celebs and fashionistas.

"Versace was a local hero," Solomon said.

Today, South Beach is a prime destination for tourists. Hotels, restaurants and nightclubs abound; cars pack the streets at all hours on weekends, and crime is down. Lincoln Road Mall bustles with activity, and Ocean Drive is lined with cafes and bars just steps from the sand and the clear turquoise water.

And those restored Art Deco buildings in pretty pastel colors with the palm trees out front? Today they are world-famous, instantly recognizable symbols of a place that's been reinvented -- a place that takes center stage once again in the new movie "Miami Vice."

If you go

• South Beach: Bars, cafes and the beach along Ocean Drive. Shopping along Collins Avenue, Washington Avenue and the Lincoln Road Pedestrian Mall.
• Are Deco Historic District: http://www.mdpl.org; 305-672-2014.
• Miami Beach Visitors Center: http://www.miamibeachchamber.com; 305-672-1270.

MORE FROM SUMMER TRAVEL

Summer Travel Section Front

Museum Day showcases culture at no cost Travel’s inconvenient convenience Get your motor running Top 10 national park lodges FirstPerson: Readers share their summer fun Getting through the dog days of summer Summer fun on the slopes Rock out at the world’s coolest music festivals Discover the granddaddy of scenic road trips World's sexiest beaches Summer Travel Section Front   Add Summer Travel headlines to your news reader: