The old South Beach: 'A decade of wonderment'

By Benazir Wehelie, For CNN

Updated 1535 GMT (2335 HKT) July 14, 2016

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Women hold a rope at the 10th Street beach in Florida in 1980. Leica camera in hand, Gary Monroe spent about a decade photographing life in South Beach. "The camera was seen very differently then," he said. "Everything was open to me, and I was welcomed to photograph." Gary Monroe, courtesy of Lisa Stone Arts

People walk along Sixth Street, off Washington Avenue, in 1978. The South Beach the photographer shows us -- from 1977 through 1986 -- is a much different place than the one we know today. Monroe's images take us into the lives of the elderly Jewish community at the time, many of whom were survivors of the Holocaust and Czarist pogroms -- organized massacres of Jewish people. "I didn't work with an agenda," Monroe said. "I was giving form to my intuitions, making photographs on a deep breath and a prayer, so to speak." Gary Monroe, courtesy of Lisa Stone Arts

A man in a restaurant at the Astor Hotel in 1984. Monroe is a Miami Beach native and began capturing everyday moments like this after returning home from graduate school. "I'm Jewish, know well the religion and culture and spoke enough niceties in Yiddish to endear myself," he said. "I was in my early 30s when I began, so people treated me as their surrogate grandson." Gary Monroe, courtesy of Lisa Stone Arts

A couple walks with their luggage at 15th Street and Ocean Drive in 1981. "More recently I've taken to the old couple walking seemingly aimlessly across the sidewalk," Monroe said about this image. "He's carrying the weight of the luggage and the world, while his wife (one assumes) walks about 10 feet behind him. It's a quiet but poignant image." Gary Monroe, courtesy of Lisa Stone Arts

An exercise group in a bank building on Washington Avenue in 1980. The South Beach neighborhood has undergone a trendy transformation and become one of the world's premier art deco districts. "If the age of people who go to South Beach now is between 18 and 28, it was about 81 or 82 then," the photographer said. "I was an insider and an outsider 30 years ago; now I see it as it was and as it is, and the two views don't quite jive. Now, it's as if the South Beach that others and I knew and loved never existed." Gary Monroe, courtesy of Lisa Stone Arts

A man sits in the sand at the Lummus Park beach in 1980. Although Monroe made thousands of prints, he selected only a few to include in his "Life in South Beach" photo book. "For whatever reason, I choose 18 because in Hebrew, the expression (often a toast) means 'to life,' " he said. "And I wanted to underscore, no matter how subtly, that idea. These people faced the worst of humanity and still, in old age even, lived life fully, with zest and optimism." Gary Monroe, courtesy of Lisa Stone Arts

People at 10th Street and Washington Avenue in 1979. "Conversations were often centered around Israel, grandchildren and local politics," Monroe said. Gary Monroe, courtesy of Lisa Stone Arts

People come together for the Passover Seder, which marks the beginning of the Jewish holiday, at the Blackstone Hotel in 1980. Monroe says South Beach was a place the Jewish community could do more than just enjoy the weather. "It was a place to live communally and practice their religious beliefs," he said. "There were many temples, and many hotels had converted card rooms into shuls." Gary Monroe, courtesy of Lisa Stone Arts

Women sit poolside along Ocean Drive in 1979. Even after all these years, Monroe says friends, family and photography often take him back to South Beach. "Suffice to say that I found the old South Beach way more interesting than it is today -- in every way," Monroe said. "I was photographing there a couple weeks ago and noticed that the scores of outdoor cafes obscure the art deco architecture of the hotels lining Ocean Drive." Gary Monroe, courtesy of Lisa Stone Arts

A man is surrounded by chairs in 1982. Monroe describes the South Beach of now as a place comprised of "clubbing 'til dawn, drinking from supersized fishbowl glasses and finding a parking space." Gary Monroe, courtesy of Lisa Stone Arts

A man sits in his room at the An-Nell Hotel in 1984. Monroe says he has been fond of this image for a long time. "Growing up in South Beach, being Jewish, and becoming a photographer -- the chips fell in place," he said. "I even knew that this was all I wanted to do for a decade, and it worked out that way." Gary Monroe, courtesy of Lisa Stone Arts

People at Lummus Park beach at 14th Street in 1977. "I can't claim a most memorable moment," Monroe said about his experience. "It was a decade of wonderment. I was always amazed, felt very fortunate, and knew that I was in the center of something significant, a precious legacy, and it would soon vanish." Gary Monroe, courtesy of Lisa Stone Arts