Traditionally a cover for illicit activities, this former 1930's pawn shop's original facade now offers the perfect front for Miami's first boutique nightclub. Intimate yet charged with nocturnal energy. Pawn Shop offers a creative playpen through an inspired "liquid" decor concept and location in downtown Miami
Nightlife veteran Kurt VanNostrand conceived Pawn Shop, whose barbed wire and red letters screaming "We buy diamonds" face the new Performing Arts Center, as a cutting edge catalyst in the revival of downtown Miami.
While retaining the spirit of its former incarnation, Pawn Shop's interior holds a theatrical paradise of secondhand items transformed into living art. These ever-changing vignettes may include an Airstream Trailer, a school bus, and the fuselage of a jet airplane. This evolutionary atmosphere combines a Warholian elevation of the everyday into art with a postmodern blend of new and vintage, creating a fresh collage for Miami Nightlife.
Upon entering past a cover booth window with iron bars, guests are treated to a bar and lounge area dipped in white and accented with original primar-colored vaults repurposed into a coat check and wine cellar. Eye candy includes a dramatic projection fo video art and sleek poured white resin bar displaying pawn shop items illumed by fiber optic light. A further touch of surreality is added by acid-colored dentist chairs along the front foyer wall.
A full-size yellow school bus divides the purgatorial foyer from the "cabaret" area which dominated by three transportation-themed set pieces. Bathed in projections by international video artists, the bus offers an irreverent spin on the concept of a VIP area and teh 60's era psychedelic bus. Arrangements of upholstered bus seats in front offer additional accomodation. Across the room an original 727 jet fuselage anchors a "mile-high-club" area with refinished 70's style airline chairs. Opposite is a sleek silver vintage airstream trailer from the 50's, complete with a pinball machine inside. Original Dade County pine trusses above reference an artist's loft.
Through its artistic concept, imaginative execution and ongoing evolution, the Pawn Shop hopes to act as a modern-day speak easy for a sophisticated clientele. Rarer still is its aspiration for both cultural viability and a high place in the pantheon of legendary nightspots.
