Barbara Baer Capitman
Miami Beach, Miami-Dade County, Florida
Marker Inscription
Barbara Baer Capitman This plaque, unveiled in February 2018, commemorates the completion of the second major rehabilitation of the Cardozo Hotel. The first Art Deco jewel, in which Mrs Capitman initiated her passionate battle to finally preserve the "Old Miami Beach" district.
Erected by Florida Department of State
The Story
Barbara Baer Capitman was the force behind saving Miami Beach's Art Deco district, the sun-bleached hotels and pastel geometry built during the boom of the 1920s and 1930s. In 1976 she co-founded the Miami Design Preservation League and waged a long, often lonely campaign to protect "Old Miami Beach" from the wrecking ball, ultimately winning the district a place on the National Register. The Cardozo Hotel, named on this plaque, was one of the first jewels she fought to restore, and its later rehabilitations carried her legacy forward.
Why it matters
Capitman's crusade turned a fading resort strip into the largest concentration of Art Deco architecture in the country and helped establish grassroots historic preservation as a civic force in postwar America.
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Related people
- · Barbara Baer Capitman
Related events
- · Founding of the Miami Design Preservation League
- · Preservation of the Miami Beach Art Deco Historic District
Themes & tags
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