<\/p>\n
A portion of 12th Street and Washington Avenue in Miami Beach has been named after Naomi Wilzig, the late founder of the World Erotic Art Museum, which is located there.<\/p>\n
CITY OF MIAMI BEACH<\/p>\n
The woman who founded the World Erotic Museum in South Beach now has her own street.<\/p>\n
Erotic-art collector Naomi Wilzig, who died at age 80<\/a> in 2015, was honored Monday with a street naming ceremony. A portion of 12th Street between Ocean Drive and Washington Avenue, where the museum has been since 2005, will now be known as Naomi Wilzig Way.<\/p>\n Miami Beach Commissioner Laura Dominguez, who sponsored the naming measure, called Wilzig \u201ca cultural force.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cShe dared to be different and her collection reflects not only her individuality, but also her perseverance to find a home for her unique collection,\u201d Dominguez said in a statement.<\/p>\n Wilzig\u2019s adults-only destination is believed to be the only museum in the United States solely dedicated to fine erotic art. The space houses more than 4,000 international pieces dating from 300 B.C., including racy trinkets, figurines and furniture.<\/p>\n The antiquarian admittedly didn\u2019t have such an easy road to the opening in 2005. She explored other cities in the U.S. for a location, but concerned landlords reportedly balked at the homage to sex, thinking it was more about pornography than culture.<\/p>\n \u201cI had already been turned down by many other locations,\u201d said the New Jersey native in an interview with German videographer Helmut Schuster<\/a> shortly before her death. \u201cThey were afraid I would bring something nasty and unsavory to their neighborhoods.\u201d<\/p>\n Wilzig told the Miami Herald in a 2002 profile that intercourse and naked bodies were beautiful and natural, and no one should be embarrassed by talking about the topic.<\/p>\n \u201cWe in America get uptight at the thought of looking at a penis, particularly an erect penis,\u201d said the bon vivant, who often proudly sported a necklace adorned with a phallus.<\/p>\n If only the widowed mother of three had been alive in November 2024. That\u2019s when Miami got a sister location to NYC\u2019s Museum of Sex<\/a> in Allapattah, aka MoSex. The two-level 32,000-square-foot space is dedicated to all things X-rated, albeit done in a tasteful way, of course.<\/p>\n ![\"Naomi](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/GettyImages-179336314.jpg\" "\\"GettyImages-179336314.jpg\\"")
Naomi Wilzig attends son Sir Ivan’s Sailors and Sinners Soiree in 2013 in Water Mill, New York. Paul Zimmerman Getty Images for Sir Ivan <\/p>\n
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