1675-2 Senator HotelOD d
SUN OCT 16 1988 ED: FINAL
SECTION: NEIGHBORS MB PAGE: 3 LENGTH: 14 . 99" MEDIUM
ILLUST: photo: SENATOR HOTEL
SOURCE: MARY ANN ESQUIVEL Herald Staff Writer
DATELINE:
MEMO:
PRESERVATIONISTS MOURN HOTEL'S DEMISE
The remnants of the mortally wounded Senator Hotel hugged
the corner of 12th Street and Collins Avenue Friday afternoon,
its interior reduced to rubble by a backhoe.
All that remained were the facade along Collins Avenue and
a portion along the alley behind where the hotel once stood.
Debris filled the once-glamorous outdoor patio and pool.
"Some preservationists are upset with what happened, " said
Jake der Hagopian, executive vice president of the Royale Group,
which owns the 49-year-old Art Deco hotel destroyed last week to
make room for a parking garage.
"I would hope that they've realized that while we've lost
the Senator, we ' re looking to the future, " he said. "Our
properties on Ocean Drive will be more viable because of the
removal of the Senator. "
Royale is tearing down the Senator and two smaller
buildings in the Art Deco District just north of it to provide
parking for eight properties the company owns and is restoring
on Ocean Drive. They include the Cardozo, Tides, Carlyle, Leslie
and Cavalier hotels.
After the buildings are razed and the land cleared, Royale
will build a temporary parking lot with landscaping, der
Hagopian said. The lot will accommodate between 65 and 100 cars,
depending on whether it is valet or self-parking.
Eventually, an Art Deco-style parking garage will be built
on the site. The proposed facility will be similar to a garage
the city of Miami Beach is building one block away, at the
northeast corner of 13th Street and Collins Avenue, der Hagopian
said. He was unable to say exactly when the garage would be
built.
Meanwhile, many preservationists are wringing their
hands over the hotel ' s demise.
"This is the most incredibly awful thing to happen to the
district, " said Barbara Capitman, who was so emotionally upset
over what happened to the Senator that she was admitted to St.
Francis Hospital Thursday night after she thought she was
suffering a heart attack. It was not a heart attack, but she
remained hospitalized Friday for rest and observation. Capitman
has a history of heart trouble.
Capitman and other preservationists fear the destruction of
the Senator will lead to the razing of other architecturally
significant buildings in the Art Deco District.
However, a new Beach ordinance passed in January makes it
more difficult for developers to demolish historic buildings in
the district. The law was inspired by the pending demolition of
the Senator.
Under the tougher ordinance, the city' s Historic
Preservation Board can refuse to grant demolition permits. The
board' s decision can be overruled by five of the seven city
commissioners . Before, the preservation board could delay
demolition for only six months.
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