The Miami Three — “Lillian, Marlene & Angela” 11” x 14” plus frame and matting

Every Sunday, Lillian, Marlene, and Angela met at their favorite sunlit spot on the lawn of the Coral Bay Hotel — a tradition they began in 1940 and never abandoned.

Lillian, a gentle schoolteacher with a poetic heart, always arrived first. She brought freshly squeezed lemonade and charming stories from her classroom, which her friends insisted she should someday publish.

Marlene, a forward-thinking junior architect, arrived next. With a pencil tucked behind her ear and sand still clinging to her shoes, she often shared sketches of new hotels rising along the coastline. She adored Miami’s bold Art Deco style and dreamed of designing a landmark building that would define the city’s skyline.

Angela, the artist of the trio, drifted in last with the graceful ease of her childhood gymnast days. After falling in love with a U.S. serviceman while visiting England, she moved to Miami and built a thriving creative business crafting vibrant, handcrafted hair bows sold in specialty boutiques on Miami Beach. Each design shimmered with her imagination and the colors of her new seaside home.

Together, the three women formed a picture of Miami’s golden age — elegant, modern, and full of dreams. Locals often said that wherever the trio gathered, the day felt brighter, as if the sunshine followed them.

Their friendship became an emblem of the city’s spirit: women forging beautiful lives in a place where style, possibility, and ocean light met.