Gold Coast icons such as Miami Ice the focus of social media campaigns to halt development GOING: Miami Ice on the Gold Coast Highway is seen as one of the Glitter Strip's disappearing icons and its heritage listing is the aim of a Facebook campaign being undertaken by heritage campaigner Rebecca Ross. THEY'RE the Gold Coast's lost icons. With the Coast's slash-and-burn development style, landmarks such as the Pink Poodle Motel, Birdwatchers Bar, Chevron Hotel, Magic Mountain and Tallebudgera Playroom have not so much been consumed by the sands of time as sandblasted out of existence. Save Miami Ice on Facebook Have You Seen the Old Gold Coast on Facebook Old buildings are few and far between on the Glitter Strip, where dollar-eyed developers are constantly on the prowl. But after losing many of their heritage buildings, Coast locals are fighting back. All that remains of the Pink Poodle Motel is the sign. A Facebook campaign to save the 66-year-old Miami Ice building has attracted more than 3000 followers in a matter of days. The Grevis family, which has operated the iceworks for four generations, has put the iconic Gold Coast Highway building up for sale. Built in 1947, the wooden shed with its faded smiling sun signage is expected to be knocked down and the prime beachside site redeveloped. The Gold Coast City Council looked at having it heritage listed but it did not meet the requirements, area councillor Greg Betts said. But local artist Rebecca Ross has stepped in to spare the building from the wrecker's ball with her "Save Miami Ice" Facebook page. Ms Ross, a graduate of the nearby Miami State High School, said Miami Ice had a special place in the hearts of many locals and tourists, and there was a groundswell of public support to preserve it. "We've lost too many heritage buildings and landmarks over the years," she said. The old Kirra Beach Hotel. While she did not begrudge the Grevis family selling the building after more than 60 years in business, Ms Ross said the community wanted it retained. "It's about heritage, memory, legacy and history," she said. The Coast's handful of heritage-listed buildings includes Kinkabool - Surfers Paradise's first highrise (built in 1959) - and the Main Beach Pavilion. While the Pink Poodle Motel in Surfers Paradise is long gone, its neon sign is on the heritage register and was last year re-erected on its original Gold Coast Highway site outside a modern highrise resort. Historian Judy Austin, a former council heritage officer who studied the Coast's old motels for her PhD, said the Coast was continually reinventing itself "in order to maintain its sense of fantasy and popularity as a tourist destination." "The heritage challenge faced on (the) Gold Coast is to ... conserve important benchmarks in time in an environment where change has become part of the culture," she said. The old Chevron Hotel. Lost icons: 1.Pink Poodle Motel 2.Birdwatchers Bar, old Surfers Paradise Hotel 3.Chevron Hotel 4.The Playroom 5.The Cabbage Patch (Coolangatta) Icons under threat: 1.Miami Ice 2.Iluka (being demolished) 3.Kirra Hotel 4.Original Gold Coast City Council headquarters at Evandale 5.Ocean View Motel, Greenmount Buildings heritage listed including the Coast's first highrise (Kinkabool in Surfers Paradise), built in 1959, the Main Beach Pavilion and the Pink Poodle Motel sign.