Barbara Capitman was driving force behind Art Deco Historic District
The Art Deco Historic District is considered a signature landmark on Ocean Drive in Miami Beach.
Mark Gordon, with the Miami Beach Design Preservation League, runs the walking tours of the district.
"Ocean Drive is recognized as one of the most famous streets in the world," he said.
But that was not always the case, even a few short years ago.
"It was a beachside dump. A seaside resort that had lost its value,"Gordon said.
He said the hotels were run down and populated by senior citizens nearing the end of their lives who sunned themselves on the hotel verandas.
Ocean Drive was known as "God's Waiting Room" among the locals, Gordon said.
Barbara Capitman's arrival changes Ocean Drive
Ocean Drive and its Art Deco hotels were in serious decline by the 1970s, then a force of nature known as Barbara Capitman arrived in South Beach.
Mourning the loss of a husband and seeking a purpose, her son Andrew Capitman said the Art Deco hotels and the district provided just that. He said many didn't think of the little old lady in tennis shoes as a historic preservationist.
But they were wrong.
"She had this incredibly sophisticated publicity, marketing design background," he said.
Capitman had a degree in art history. She was a newspaper writer/reporter, had a career in advertising, marketing and design, and was a political activist involved in social organizing.
At the time, developers were buying the aging hotels and knocking them down. Capitman and the members of the Miami Design Preservation League dug in their heels to save them.
Without them, Gordon said the now historic district "would have been a row of giant high rises."
Capitman took action
Capitman organized and catalogued over 800 Art Deco buildings. Within a few years she had secured a National Historic Site designation for the entire district. She also worked behind the scenes securing grants and advocating for building and zoning restrictions.
Gordon said she did whatever it took to save the buildings.
"She would chain herself to buildings, stood in front of bulldozers. She would create media. Do whatever it would take," he said.
Ocean Drive and the Art Deco hotels were saved.
"That was with a ridiculous amount of local opposition (from the) the Chamber of Commerce, the developers," her son said during a presentation to local and international Art Deco preservationists.
Today, Ocean Drive and the Art Deco Historic District are a tourism economic engine, appreciated by tourists and locals alike. Visitors to Miami Beach, particularly South Beach, spend millions of dollars annually on food, drinks and lodging. The preservation of the Art Deco Historic District, with its iconic buildings, is a key factor in Miami Beach's appeal and economic success, thanks to Barbara Capitman.
