The Phillip and Patricia Frost Museum of Science in Miami is suing the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) in hopes of doing away with a large digital billboard built and operated by its neighbour, the Pérez Art Museum Miami (Pamm).
The billboard was previously the subject of a dispute between Pamm and the city of Miami that was finally settled last month. Now, the Frost Museum is claiming in its suit that the billboard is in violation of state laws and may put future federal highway funding for Florida in jeopardy—the 1,800-sq.-ft digital billboard faces the MacArthur Causeway, an elevated road that crosses Biscayne Bay and is part of State Road 836, or the Dolphin Expressway. News of the lawsuit was first reported by Axios Miami.
A Pamm spokesperson tells The Art Newspaper: “Pérez Art Museum Miami’s sign was meticulously reviewed and approved by all relevant authorities, ensuring full compliance with state and local regulations. While we hold Frost Science Museum in high regard as a cultural partner, we regret the distraction from our shared mission of enriching Miami’s arts and sciences landscape.” According to the Frost Museum’s lawsuit, the billboard generates $1.2m annually for Pamm.
Orange Barrel Media, which operates the billboard, and FDOT did not respond to The Art Newspaper’s requests for comment.
The Frost Museum’s lawsuit alleges that the Pamm billboard is in violation of two Florida provisions regulating billboards erected near federal or state highways: that such billboards require permits and cannot be taller than 65ft, or larger in surface area than 950 sq. ft; and as an exemption allowing larger billboards to be built if they are located on a business’s own premises, that the business mainly uses the billboard to advertise its own name and that any products advertised on the billboard be available to purchase at the business.
To comply with the latter requirement, Pamm set up a digital stand in its parking garage where visitors can buy goods advertised on its billboard. This past November, FDOT informed Orange Barrel Media that any products bought through the stand must be available to pick up at Pamm.
The Frost Museum’s lawsuit claims that the Pamm billboard is in violation of all relevant state laws and its director and chief executive, Douglas Roberts, claims the sign is so bright that it has restricted the science museum’s use of its outdoor areas at night. Allowing the Pamm billboard to remain, Roberts told Axios, may result in “even more urban visual blight” in downtown Miami.
The previous dispute over the billboard revolved around a 2023 law that allowed larger billboards to be erected on city-owned property but was repealed in spring 2024. In the interim, Pamm had received a permit from the city’s building department and erected its billboard. Last month, the Miami Herald reported, city commissioners voted in favour of a settlement in that dispute that also seemed to pave the way for the neighbouring Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts of MIami-Dade County to build two large digital billboards of its own, as had been planned when the original 2023 law was passed.
Both Pamm and the Arsht Center have framed the billboards as essential sources of additional funds. Johann Zietsman, the Arsht Center’s president, told the Herald: “Building the proposed digital signs will add significant and reliable annual revenue to support the planned growth… and give us much-needed exposure of our programming.”
Neighbourhood residents and city commissioner Damian Pardo—the only commissioner who voted against the settlement—claim the Pamm billboard and others that may be built on its scale have a negative impact on those living in the area. A spokesperson for the Downtown Neighbors Alliance told the Herald that the planned settlement “sells off our skyline and quality of life”.
