Miami’s David W. Dyer Building and United States Courthouse, included on the National Register of Historic Places since 1983, was the home of many federal agencies and multiple courtrooms throughout the years it was in active use from 1933 through 2008. Renamed in 1997 to honor Dyer, a former Chief Judge of Florida’s Southern District Court named to the Circuit Court of Appeals in 1966, the building was designed by architects Phineas E. Paist and Harold D. Steward between 1930 and 1931. Paist is considered to be an influential architect in South Florida who collaborated on multiple projects, including Villa Vizcaya in Miami and the Venetian Pool in Coral Gables. The historic transition of the building to Miami Dade College took place in 2016, when the college acquired the building from the General Services Administration (GSA).
The design of the Dyer Building has led the American Institute of Architects’ Miami Architecture guide to declare that the structure is “Miami’s grandest Neoclassical structure” (qtd. In Viglucci). The three-story building has a facade of Corinthian columns and engaged pilasters. The columns support a classical entablature above which sits the third floor of the structure. Inside, significant murals created by David Novros and Denman Fink enhance the interior courtyard and central courtroom, respectively.
Novros’ colorful murals were commissioned in 1983 and agreed upon by the GSA, but their destruction was considered in 2000 due to perceived non-compliance with historic preservation laws. The decision was disputed by local leaders and the artist’s attorneys (Turner 59). Novros went as far as stating that the destruction would have been “a breach of his First Amendment rights” (Navarro E2). Supporters of the mural included the president of the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the senior curator of the Miami Art Museum at the time of the dispute in 2000 (Navarro E2). Although at the time, the GSA stated their decision was final, the murals were photographed in 2007 by photographer Carol Highsmith (Library of Congress).
For the paintings, Novros utilized the buon fresco technique which embeds his painting into the wall’s plaster, not on its surface. Novros preferred this traditional technique, utilized widely in the Italian Renaissance, to easel painting or other methods popularized in the twentieth century. Additionally, the placement of the murals was ideal for Novros, who had an affinity for natural light.
The figurative style of Fink’s painting is seen as more consistent with the classical style of the Dyer Building. In the central courtroom mural, Fink depicts the “positive impact of justice guiding Florida’s economic development,” and even included his face and that of Paist on two of the figures (GSA). Contemporary considerations of the mural’s content include the manner in which Black laborers are depicted with less clothing than their white counterparts, and the interpretation of the mural as patriarchal due to the central figure, a male judge looking down and extending a hand to a young woman and her child.
The Dyer Building is slated for renovations before its conversion to a functional space for MDC, including classrooms, conference rooms, and administrative offices. MDC has secured a 115-year lease at the cost of $1 per year and aspires to complete many of the renovations through funds secured through grants. The building, deemed “the most monumental Keystone structure in South Florida” stands to be a testament of MDCs commitment to preserve historic buildings in the community.
| David Novros mural at the David W. Dyer Building and Courthouse | Denman Fink mural in the central courtroom of the David W. Dyer Building and Courthouse |
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“Arts in America; Off the Wall: Concrete Troubles Imperil Abstract Mural.” New York Times (Online), 2000.
Brennan, Michael. “A Conservation with David Novros.” Art Miami Magazine, 22 Oct. 2008, artmiamimagazine.com/a-conversation-with-david-novros/.
“David W. Dyer Federal Building and U.S. Courthouse, Miami, FL.” U.S. General Services Administration, www.gsa.gov/real-estate/historic-preservation/explore-historic-buildings/find-a-building/all-historic-buildings/david-w-dyer-federal-building-and-us-courthouse-miami-fl. Accessed 2 Nov. 2024.
“‘Frescoes in the Courtyard’ Located at the Interior Courtyard, David W. Dyer Federal Building and Courthouse, Miami, Florida.” The Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/item/2010720277/. Accessed 8 Nov. 2024.
Molina, Daniela. “MDC Takes over Historic David W. Dyer Federal Building.” The Reporter: The Student Newspaper at Miami Dade College, 6 May 2021, mdcthereporter.com/mdc-takes-over-historic-david-w-dyer-federal-building/.
“A True Artist: Phineas Paist & the Early Architecture of Coral Gables.” Coral Gables Museum, 11 June 2024, coralgablesmuseum.org/project/a-true-artist-phineas-paist-the-early-architecture-of-coral-gables/.
Turner, E. (2000). Historic reservations. ARTnews, 99(7), 59.
Viglucci, Andres. "Miami | Renovation Miami's Grand Historic U.S. Courthouse will be Renovated Miami Dade College has Begun Restoration Work on the Historic Downtown Federal Courthouse and Post Office Three Years after Gaining Possession of the Monumental 1933 Neoclassical landmark." Miami Herald, The (FL), News, 11 Nov. 2019, p. 1A. NewsBank: America's News, https://infoweb-newsbank-com.eu1.proxy.openathens.net/apps/news/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info%3Asid/infoweb-newsbank-com.eu1.proxy.openathens.net&svc_dat=NewsBank&req_dat=DC4167BC1DB947F3AA7109AF53BA29DE&rft_val_format=info%3Aofi/fmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Actx&rft_dat=document_id%3Anews/17728E7D76301200. Accessed 12 Nov. 2024.
A fragment of the Berlin Wall was donated to Miami Dade College in 2014 in commemoration of the 25th anniversary of the wall’s destruction. The concrete and barbed wire partition, constructed by the East German regime after World War II, was intended to prevent the passage of East Berliners into the Western side, which was significantly less oppressive than the Communist controlled Eastern portion of the city. Although the East German government had closed the border to West Germany in 1952, citizens still escaped through the city of Berlin, so in 1961, the wall was erected to combat the fleeing of East Germans.
The largest remaining section of the wall is the East Side Gallery in Berlin, which was a large segment painted by over 100 artists after 1989. During the separation of Berlin’s two sides, the majority of the graffiti was located on the West side of the wall due to the vigilance of guards on the Eastern side.
Pieces of the wall are placed in many locations throughout the United States and the world, including the fragment at MDC, donated by the German Consul. As Democracy’s College, MDC was deemed a fitting place for the remembrance of the fall of the divisive wall. A plaque at the site reminds the public of the importance of democracy and resilience.
MDC students from the Miami Animation & Gaming International Complex (MAGIC) programs created a VR experience relating to the Berlin wall fragment that launched in 2019. The interactive journey allowed viewers to delve into the history of the wall from its construction through its fall, and even explores the construction of Berlin’s Holocaust Memorial in 1990.
Bach, Jonathan. “The Berlin Wall after the Berlin Wall: Site into Sight.” Memory Studies, vol. 9, no. 1, 2016, pp. 48–62, https://doi.org/10.1177/1750698015613972.
“Miami Dade College’s MAGIC Students Bring Berlin Wall to Life with Virtual Reality Project.” MDC News, 14 Aug. 2019, mdc-college-archives.s3.amazonaws.com/mdc_news_archive_static_min/a/2019_08/01424.html.
Remington, Chris. “30 Years Since the Fall of the Berlin Wall, Miami Holds onto a Piece of Its History.” WLRN South Florida, www.wlrn.org/show/sundial/2019-11-07/30-years-since-the-fall-of-the-berlin-wall-miami-holds-onto-a-piece-of-its-history. Accessed 20 Nov. 2024.
Varn, Kathryn. “Portion of Berlin Wall Unveiled in Miami | Miami Herald.” Miami Herald, 14 Nov. 2014, www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/article3680757.html.
“What Was the Berlin Wall and How Did It Fall?” Imperial War Museums, www.iwm.org.uk/history/what-was-the-berlin-wall-and-how-did-it-fall. Accessed 20 Nov. 2024.
Learn more about the Freedom Tower from the Museum of Art and Design.