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Grand master of Miami Beach kitsch Morris Lapidus may be cool now, but in his day he was a pariahat least to critics dead-set on modernism. Ignoring his cohorts, who were busy elevating strip malls into the architectural canon, Lapidus built aspirational architecture for the glitteratiresorts that furnished the appropriate backdrops for lounging ’50s movie stars. Out of the Lapidus imagination sashayed two famous Miami Beach hotels: in 1954, the glamorous Fontainebleau, and two years later, the whimsical Eden Roc. Both featured his creamy white signature curves; the Eden Roc held the peculiar distinction of hosting a faux-cruise-ship motif on its roof. So what if it was odd? It was fabulous. Soon after, the man who defined Collins Avenue came to Washington, where he jazzed up Thomas Circle with the Washington Plaza Hotel. That white, wave-shaped building, which opened in 1962, is probably the closest D.C.’s ever come to Hollywood glamour. Come meet its maker, now 97, at 6:30 p.m. At the Washington Plaza Hotel, 10 Thomas Circle NW. Free. (202) 955-5616 (Jessica Dawson)