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1663-18 Art Deco/Preservation THU OCT 08 1992 ED: FINAL SECTION: NEIGHBORS MB PAGE: 13 LENGTH: 30 . 61" LONG ILLUST: photo: In 1988 demonstrators marched to save the Art Deco SENATOR HOTEL from demolition,During a 1988 protest Barbara Capitman is led from the steps of the SENATOR HOTEL,SENATOR HOTEL razed; color photo: Artist Carlos Alves shows off the Lincoln Road fountain he and Miami Beach students re-tiled; drawing: plan to extend Ocean Drive. SOURCE: DAVID KIDWELL Herald Staff Writer DATELINE: MEMO: WELCOME GUESTS & SAVING THE BEACH - see end of text At a time when supporters of Miami Beach' s architectural history have a big reason to celebrate, thousands of the nation' s most prominent preservationists happen to be in town. "It ' s our coming-out party, " said Nancy Liebman, chairman of the Miami Beach Historic Preservation Board. "It ' s the coming-out party for 20th Century architecture. " Within two weeks after the National Trust for Historic Preservation' s 46th annual preservation conference leaves Sunday, Beach commissioners are expected to take their first vote to expand the city' s historic district. "The timing is just one of those wonderful coincidences, " said Bernard Zyscovich, chairman of the Miami Design Preservation League. "It gives us support when we actually complete what has taken a good number of years to do. " On Oct. 21, commissioners will vote on whether to expand the locally protected Art Deco District to boundaries that match those adopted in 1979 by the National Register of Historic Places. The new district, if passed, would extend from 16th to 22nd streets and also include Lincoln Road. The vote is part of an intricate compromise between the city and preservationists that has evolved over the last 16 years. In 1976, Barbara Baer Capitman, Miami Beach' s first lady of Art Deco, founded the league and first began her effort to save the district. Attitudes were much different then. The prevailing wisdom at the time was to level the Art Deco hotels in favor of more efficient, more lucrative high-rises. Now, two years after Capitman' s death, the renaissance of South Beach -- and its Art Deco architecture -- is making worldwide headlines. The October cover story of Travel & Leisure magazine, for instance, labels South Beach the "hippest hangout on earth. " And for the first time, preservationists and city leaders agree on the best course for the future. The compromise is centered on the construction of a convention headquarters hotel in the heart of the historic district. The most accepted option is to build a 750-room hotel as part of a Historic Convention Village. The village would be bordered on the west by Collins Avenue, on the north by 16th Street, on the south by 15th Street and on the east by an Ocean Drive that would extend from 15th to 16th Street. In addition to the proposed hotel -- which city officials are trying to line up -- the St. Moritz and Royal Palm hotels on Collins Avenue would be renovated. Currently, the St. Moritz is closed. Smaller, Art Deco-style hotels then would be built to line the Ocean Drive extension. Two other historic hotels, the Bancroft and Shorecrest, would have to be partially demolished. The facades and lobbies of the two hotels would be saved; more modern hotels would be built behind them. In exchange for agreeing to partial destruction of the Bancroft and Shorecrest, preservationists get a bigger say in the convention headquarters hotel and the expanded historic district. Meanwhile, the city gets a united 7 front to present to potential developers. It ' s a compromise that has attracted the attention of preservationists around the country, and although it played no part in the trust ' s decision to come to Miami five years ago, it has become a centerpiece of the five-day conference. Opinions are expected to run the gamut. Some such as Zyscovich call the compromise a victory. Others object to any compromise that involves razing some of the Art Deco hotels. "Some people will totally cringe at the notion, " said Tony Fusco, head of the National Coalition of Art Deco Societies. "If anyone ever talked about compromise on anything, Barbara felt betrayed. There has always been that camp, but right now the preservationists in power, both in Miami and nationwide, take a more realistic view. " Kathy Cox, manager for the Historic Trust ' s convention, said even though many recognize compromise is necessary, it still does not sit well. "Just like Barbara would have been, I think most of our people are going to be outraged at the idea that historic buildings would have to come down, " she said. "Miami Beach is the jewel in the crown of Art Deco throughout the nation. If the district were already weak, then maybe they'd have to compromise, but it ' s not. "I think most of our people would gag at the idea. " Yet Bernard Callan, chairman of the National Alliance of Preservation Commissions, said historic districts must compromise to make themselves an economic success . "Across the country the success of South Beach and the awareness of the value of the Art Deco movement has caught people ' s eye, " Callan said. "I think we 're coming to Miami to learn from it. "There are times when we can' t save every building we want to save, " he said. "We can' t have the best of every world. " . Although the National Preservation Conference has its headquarters at the Hyatt Regency in downtown Miami, almost 200 of the more than 2 , 000 attendees are staying in Art Deco hotels in Miami Beach. Here is a list of the hotels and the number of attendees staying there: Beach Paradise: 21 Park Central: 11 Avalon-Majestic: 14 Colony: 12 Art Deco Hotels, Inc. : (Cardozo, Cavalier and Leslie) 48 Raleigh: 34 Ritz Plaza: 51 Some key dates in the historic preservation movement in Miami Beach: 1976 : The Miami Design Preservation League is founded by Barbara Baer Capitman to preserve Art Deco architecture in Miami Beach. 1977 : Capitman organizes the first Art Deco weekend, held in the Cardozo Hotel. 1979 : After a three-year volunteer effort, the city' s Art Deco area is included in the National Register of Historic Places. 1981 : Despite protests, the New Yorker Hotel is razed. 1982 : City Commission passes historic preservation ordinance requiring owner consent for a building to be designated historic. Dade threatens to sue the city unless it adopts a stricter ordinance or submits to county jurisdiction. January 1984 : For the first time, Art Deco Weekend breaks even. September 1984 : Miami Vice premieres; Miami Beach' s historic district is thrust into the spotlight. 1985 : City Commission sheds requirement that property owners must approve historic designation of their own buildings. 1986 : The City Commission designates Ocean Drive as the first local historic district. A seat is created on the Miami Beach planning board for a preservationist; Beach voters approve a $3 million bond for sprucing up Ocean Drive. 1987 : The city orders demolition of the Biscaya Hotel. 1988: Demolition begins on the Senator Hotel, built in 1939 . A distraught Capitman is hospitalized with heart trouble. March 1990 : Capitman dies at age 69 . June 1990 : City expands historic district to include most of the area already listed in the National Register. December 1990 : City Commission changes name of 10th Street to Barbara Baer Capitman Way. September 1991 : The league lays off three of four employees. Capitman' s successor, Nancy Liebman, resigns her salaried position as executive director, but stays as a volunteer. February 1992 : The City Commission agrees to consider a smaller convention headquarters hotel within a historic convention village, rather than a huge convention headquarters hotel. A consulting team is hired to make recommendations on fitting it within the historic district. February 1992 : Demolition begins on the Sands Hotel, built in 1939 at 1601 Collins Ave. May 1992 : Historic Preservation Board votes unanimously to recommend expanding the local historic district to coincide with the national district. The vote immediately imposes a six-month moratorium on demolition in the national district. September 1992 : Miami Beach Planning Board votes 5-2 to endorse the Historic Preservation Board' s recommendation. Oct. 21, 1992 : Miami Beach commissioners are scheduled to take their first of two votes on an ordinance expanding the historic district. 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