1663-10 Art Deco/Preservation ' � - ~, _ ' `.
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RANK 17 OF 17, PAGE 1 OF 5, DB H90
MON MAR 19 1990 ED: FINAL
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: 5RE LENGTH: 28. 40" LONG
ILLUST: photo: Tony GOLDMAN on Ocean Drive, Nancy Liebman ,
Maria Pellerin inside the Paparazzi Restaurant at the Breakwater
Hotel on Ocean Drive (MIAMI BEACH SOUTH BEACH)
SOURCE: AARON S. RUBIN Herald Staff Writer .
DATELINE:
MEMO:
: : : : : : : : : : : : , . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
GHETTO BECOMES •
GLITZY BOULEVARD
WHAT started as a vision for preservationists and
entrepreneurs, who saw opportunity in the tired curves and faded
pastels, of ocean-front Art Deco hotels, has blossomed into one
of Dade County ' s premier attractions and nightspots.
With its recently widened sidewalks and proliferating
cafes, the rejuvenated 10-block stretch of Ocean Drive is
propelling the rebirth of South Miami Beach , attracting European
tourists and fashion photographers, Yankee vacationers and
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RANK 17 OF 17, PAGE 2 OF 5, DB H90
Floridians searching for fun.
"The fact of the matter is we now have a world-class
boulevard when a short while ago we had a depressed ghetto, "
said Tony Goldman , chairman of the Ocean Drive Association and
/ ^ owner of nine properties on the street.
| " It will never no back to where it was. Ever. "
In the late 1970s And early 1980s, Ocean Drive catered to a
diminishing elderly clientele who would pay a premium to live •
near the ocean ouring the winter in deteriorating hotels with .
few amenities.
As the seasonal visitors*died*out or went elsewhere, a few
pioneers saw potential in restoring the peeling hotels, ouilt
between the 1i20s and 1940s. Andrew*Capitman*purchased and fixed '
up the Cardozo in 1979. Gerry Sanchez developed and Ftold the
� Clevelander in 1986 -- for a profit.
p
All Art Deco hotels nave not fared as well as tne restored
|
Cardozo or Clevelander. A low point for preservationists was the
IL demolitzon of the Senator Hotel on Collins Avenue in 1988 by the
Royale Group -- to make room for a parking lot.
Royale ' s properttes, including five of the best-known Deco
hotels on Ocean Drive, have been plagued by financial trouble
since the mid-1980s. Royale ' s parent company filed for
RANK 17 OF ' 17, PAGE 3 OF 5, DB H90
bankruptcy in 1989. The hotels and other property were set to oe
akctioned off earlier this month , but Royale filed a bankruptcy
petition , seeking protection from its creditors Feb. 26. That
action put the auction on hold.
Despite those problems, city and private development groups
worked together to study and plan the drive' s future as an
' entertainment district , culminating in zoning changes that
allowed a mix of retail , restaurant and residential uses and a `
$2. 5 million city bond issue to widen and style the street and
improve a central ocean-side park.
• The major portions of the public improvement project wound
down in December , just as Ocean Drive ' s best season had started
to pick up.
Hoteliers are exuberant.
"We 've had an incredible season since the street ' s been
finished. It ' s been a realization of our vision , " said Mel
Schlesser , managing partner of Jameck Development , owner of the
Winterhawen Hotel on Ocean Drive and other properties.
"The season has been wonderful . What we have to do now is
continue to attract the tourists here in the summer Months. "
Echoed Don Meginley, operator of the Cardozo, Carlyle and
several other hotels: "We can live on the winter business. Now
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RANK 17 OF 17, PAGE 4 OF 5, DB H90
we need the people here in the summer. "
A The Ocean Drive Association , made up of owners and
operators along the 70-building strip , has been working on joint
marketing and other ideas to bring in more people year round and
improve the street.
With more and more apartments in the South Beach Art Deco
District being rehabilitated , Schiesser said , the stronger
residential market will help fuel such steady business, not only .
on Ocean Drive but also neighboring Collins and Washington .
Avenues.
Much of the Deco district 's attraction lies in its
architecture, especially on Ocean Drive. Fashion photographers
flock to the drive, seeking sun and muted backdrbps while
� providing an integral part of the district 's livelihood.
�
"No one should forget that the importance of it is the
flavor of the old Miami Beach and the beauty of the historic
buildings, unique to the world , " said Nancy Liebman, executive
director of the Miami Design Preservation League.
" It should never become too trendy and circuslike. "
Liebman and other preservationists hope renovators will
convert the remaining hotels on the drive, whose success is
flowing west to an increasingly brisk Collins Avenue.
NN RANK 17 OF 17, PAGE 5 OF 5, DB H90
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Hoteliers are exuberant'
"We 've had an incredible season since the street ' s been
finished. It ' s been a realization of our vision , " said Mel
.
5chlesser , managing partner of Jameck Development , owner of the
Winterhaven Hotel on Ocean Drive and other properties.
"The season has been wonderful . What we have to do now is
continue to attract the tourists here in the summer Months. "
Echoed Don Meginley, operator of the Cardozo, Carlyle and
several other hotels: "We can live on the winter business. Now
RANK 17 OF 17, PAGE 4 OF 5, DB H90
we need the people here in the summer. "
The Ocean Drive Association , made up of owners and
operators along the 70-building strip , has been working on joint
marketing and other ideas to bring in more people year round and •
improve the street.
With more and more apartments in the South Beach Art Deco
District being rehabilitated , Schlesser said , the stronger
residential market will help fuel such steady business, not only
on Ocean Drive but also neighboring Collins and Washington
Avenues.
Much of the Deco district 's attraction lies in its
architecture, especially on Ocean Drive. Fashion photographers
flock to the drive, seeking sun and muted backdrops while
providing an integral part of the district ' s livelihood.
"No one should forget that the importance of it is the
flavor of the old Miami Beach and the beauty of the historic •
buildings, unique to the world , " said Nancy Liebman , executive ~' -
director of the Miami Design Preservation League.
" It should never become too trendy and circuslike. "
Liebman and other preservationists hope renovators will
convert the remaining hotels on the drive, whose success is
flowing west to an increasingly brisk Collins Avenue.
RANK 17 OF 17, PAGE 5 OF 5, DB H90
Maria Pellerin , president of the Wimbish Commercial Real
Estate Service, expects rapid rehabilitation to continue.
"By next year , everything that can be rehabilitated
-- where the ownership situation allows it -- will be, " she
said , "which is typical for a new resort. It takes about five
years for people to get to know it and for it to get
established. " '
�
But even Pellerin , a pioneer planner , has been ;surprised by
Ocean Drive ' s growth.
"We never expected the restaurants and the entertainment to
be such a huge part of it , " she said. "We never anticipated that
it could become the South Florida. nighttime entertainment
district. "
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RANK 16 OF 17~ PAGE 1 OF 4, DB H90
THU MAR 29 1990 ED: FINAL
SECTION: NEIGHBORS MB PAGE: 4 LENGTH: 19. 23" MEDIUM
ILLUST: photo: Barbara*CAPITMAN*with Mattie Bower
SOURCE: AMINDA MARQUES GONZALEZ Herald Staff Writer
DATELINE:
MEMO:
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: : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : . . . . . : : . . . . : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : : . . . . . :
DECO GEMS STILL IN PERIL ,*CAPITMAN*SAYS
.
At almost 70,
Beach activist
� keeps up fight
For 15 years, Barbara Baer*Capitman*has battled bureaucrats
� and bulldozers in tne name of Art Deco, spurring a renaissance
that washed the tired buildings of South Beach in hues of
turquo..4e blue and flamingo pink.
1 But the war has yet to be won , said*Capztman ,*who turns 70
next month.
"Those buildings are in more danger now than they ever
were, "*Capitman*said , fearing hign-rise hotels will replace
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RANK 16 OF 17, PAGE 2 OF 4, DB H90
remnants of the 1930s.
*Capitman ,*an only child, was born in Chicago as the city of
Miami 8each celeorated its fifth birthday.
"My mother was a really good Renaissance-type artist , " said
*Capztman , *who accompanied her parents 'to opening night at Radio
City Music Hall and the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
.
She received a bachelor of arts degree in English from New
York UniVersity and later married William G. *Capitman ,*a college •
professor she met at a May Day celebration.
"He took such good care of me, " she said. "He wanted me to
� achieve things. "
In 1973, the family left a market research company and
_ moved to Flortda, where*Capitman ' s*husband got a teaching .
position at Florida International University. He*died*of cancer
^
in 1975.
A year after moving to Florida,*Capitman*was diagnosed with
diabetes and heart tremors , disorders that nave plagued her ever
since. ^
Despite her illness,*Capitman*was a crusader searching for
a cause. She found it on the shores of Miami Beacn , with tne
!
neglected Art Deco buildings that sprang up in the 1930s after
the hurricane of 1926.
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RANK 16 OF 17 , PAGE 3 OF 4, DB H90
Her greatest victory, she said , was getting the Art Deco
`� District on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979, a
move that provided businesses with tax credits as incentives for
renovation.
" It 's baelca1ly been a people movement , " she said.
Along with admirers, she has had her share of critics. And
' she has had public rifts over policy with the Miami Design
' Preservation League she helped to create.
"The major flaw with these people is that they have
blinkers on , " said former Beach Mayor Harold Rosen. "They don ' t
&/ understand or see another side of an issue. They 're trying to /
turn everything Art Deco. ". 1
*Capitman 's*response: " I don 't know where it says you have
/m to compromise. "
The quest that crowned*Capitman*Art Deco queen extends into
ner personal life. From the outside, her conservative white
house with a demure purple trim does not appear to suit her
image.
But inside, light blue walls contrast with a white, tiered
roof and swirled blue. Cuban tile. On top of the Art Deco
fireplace, a sculpture of two boys is enclosed in a glass box .
It is a portrait of her two sons, made by her mother.
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RANK 16 OF 17, PAGE 4 OF 4, . DB H90
Most of the furniture was owned by her mother.
» "That old couch is the one everyone in my family necked on
in dates, " she said , talking about a mustard , English-style
sofa.
As a birthday present , her sons, along with their wives and _
four children , are visiting this week-
*Capitman*has been sick since Art Deco Weekend in January,
when she blacked out after taking a double dose of insulin. Now
'
she has gained 40 pounds from edema.
But health is only one battle; saving historic architecture
. s another.
" It ' s been a struggle, " she said. "But the struggle isn 't
over. "
ADDED TERMS:
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RANK 15 OF 17, PAGE 1 OF 2, DB H90 '
SUN APR 01 1990 ED: FINAL
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: 2C LENGTH: 06. 31 " SHORT
ILLUST:
SOURCE: Herald Staff •
DATELINE:
MEMO:
BARBARA*CAPITMAN*
SHE WAS a tiny woman with a tinny voice, but oh ! did she
nave vision and tenacity. Where others saw only faded 1930s-era
buildings, many rundown or boarded up , Barbara Baer*Capitman*saw
a treasure, a collection of Art Deco structures unequaled
anywhere in the world.
She pursued that vision with a tenacity that outlasted
bureaucrats, property owners, and assorted other myopics. Today
Miami Beach ' s Art Deco district -- its Ocean Drive hotels and
sidewalk cafes pulsating with night life -- owes its existence
and gentrification to Barbara*Capitman ,*who*died*on Thursday at
age 69.
RANK 15 OF 17, PAGE 2 OF 2, DB H90
Ms. *Capitman ' s*love of Art Deco, and her relentless efforts
to preserve and protect its examples on Miami Beach , were
legendary. ��round her coalesced a group of other faithful , and
before long they succeeded in getting the Art Deco area formally
declared a district. It ' s the "youngeSt" group of
architecturally notable buildings listed in the National
Register of Historic Places.
It 's impossible for South Florida ' s newcomers or first-time
visitors to appreciate fully the renaissance that Ms. *Capitman*
set in train. The sparkling pastel buildings were there 10 years
ago, but not sparkling. The clubs and restaurants, on Ocean
Drive and nearby, that have made South Beach the Mecca of Dace ' s
night life we�en 't even imagined then. Not by most folks. •
But Barbara*Capitman*imagined , and dreamed , and .c1ung , and
triumphed. The sadness of her passing is offset by the life and
Art Deco beauty that now exist because of , and in tribute to,
her vision.
ADDED TERMS: ^
END OF DOCUMENT.
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RANK 14 OF 17, PAGE 1 OF 4 , DB H90
SUN APR 01 1990 ED: FINAL
SECTION: LOCAL • PAGE: 1B LENGTH: 21 . 32" MEDIUM
ILLUST: photo: Barbara*CAPITMAN*
SOURCE: CHARLES WHITED Herald Columnist
DATELOE:
MEMO:
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^ ART DECO'S
GRANDE DAME
FOUGHT TO END �
She was 69 years old , with a faltering heart. Life was a
struggle, but the mind and the resolve -- that absolutely
unblinking belief in herself -- remained , to the last ,
undiminished.
Two days before she*died*last week , Barbara*Capitman*told
� f`
� me in a final interview: "This is not the time or compromise.
Every preservationist should be at the battlements. It is not
the time for division. "
Such was the grande dame of Art Deco, resolute to the end.
RANK 14 OF 17, PAGE 2 OF 4, DB H90
Her impact was profound. For 15 years she 'd fought in the
trenches of Art Deco, hurling scorn upon oevelopers who would
replace the old gems of architecture that adorn central Miami
Beach , buildings with porthole windows and concrete eyebrows and
streamlined facades.
NN By sheer will , she gave the form respectability. Buildings
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RANK 14 OF 17,
SUN APR 01 1990 ED: FINAL .LENGTH: 21 32" MEDIUM
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: 1B
ILLUST : photo: Barbara*CAPITMAN*
SOURCE: CHARLES WHITED Herald Columnist
DATELINE:
MEMO:
: : : : : : : : : : : : ' : : : : . . �
' ART DECO' S
GRANDE DAME
FOUGHT TO END
She was 69 years old , with a faltering heart. Life was a
struggle but the mind and the resolve -- that absolutely
unblinking' belief in herself -- remained , to the last ,
undiminished.
Two days before she*died*last week , Barbara*Capitman*told
n
i a final interview: "This is not the time for compromise.
me
Every preservationist should be at the battlements. It is not
the time for division. " to the end.was the grande dame of Art Deco, resolute
RANK 14 OF 17 , PAGE 2 OF ' DB H90
Her impact was profound. For 15 years she ' d 4 fought in the '
trenches of Art Deco, hurling scorn upon oevelopers who would ,~
r architecture that
replace the old gems ofadorn central Miami Beach , buildings with porthole windows and concrete eyebrows and
streamlined facades. tability. Buildings
By sheer will , she gave the form respec ^
that were once slums, where the old poor came to die, now sport
sprightlyacolors, trendy restaurants and Porsches gleamingealong
id in restored structures whose designs
Ocean Drive. Yuppies reside
hark back to the Great Depression. in
bas
Mosaic hallways, dangling light fixtures , buttresses
relief . ^ ^ ^ with new zoning provisions to
Even the city had come aroundth Deco boom
enlarge the Historic District and capitalize on e b to lure
but also to give the nod t/ building huge hotels nearby
convention dbszness^ preservationists accepted
many other the, compromises,
however ,
d sing1e-
how 'ever the prospect galled her. *Capitman , o
hdedllaunched the Art Deco movement in the mid-1970s as a
anoriav� to her late husband , William, saw potential disaster in
mem h�r mind ,new zoning. That was on as we talked for the
final time.
RANK 14 OF 17, PAGE 3 OF 4, DB H90
" I have this awful feeling , from experience, " she said , her
quavering voice at tqmes barely audible. " I sense this mood to a
relax and compromise, this mood of self-complacency. It ' s such
scary thing. I can see the whole Art Deco District being gone in
two years. " a classic battle between remained property rights and
historic preservation. But she saw added threat in the push for Coral Gables
those big new hotels. "Miami Beach is so jealous ofora
i taxrollsThe
city 's interest is making money
and all their big buildings coming onto the . ,
in the conventional way.
There are those who shared her final concerns.
At the University of Miami , Professor of Architecture
. Aristides Millas had assigned his students to study the new
Beach zoning. Among their findings: The new potential building
masses are long on discussion but short on visual
representation. He wants to alert city planners.
repr ^ i
" It ' s a ticklish issue, embarrassing to the city, " Millas
said. " I don ' t want to ambush them. But the developers know what
heyre doing. That ' s why they don 't make pictures. Andyet
` toknow the impact of tall buildings on small
people have no districts are all about �uman
buildings. Historicscale
buildings being compatible with each other. Look at New e Orleans,
RANK 14 OF 17 , PAGE 4 OF 4, DB H90
Key West; wonderful cities, and all to scale. " with monster
~ What could happen in a worst-case scenario, i ht?
buildings overshadowing the gems? Was Barbara*Capitman*rgMill s
"They ' re going to ruin it , this wonderful district , " ,a
said " It ' s like a baby. You need kid gloves to deal with it.
^
*Capitman ' s*admirers lamented nted her declining health , her
a
dwindling power base. "Her dreams, " observed Marty Cyber ,
computer communications consultant , "always exceeded her
At the end M
she even lost control of the Miami Design
resources. "
Preservation League, which she had created to bring Art Deco to
the forefront of American architectural styles. the
As long as she had breath , she vowed to continue
fight. ,
"How can one do otherwise?
But finally, breath ran out.
ADDED TERMS: *capitman*biography obituary
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RANK 13 OF 17, PAGE 1 OF 7, DB H90 :
FRI MAR 30 1990 ED: FINAL
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: 1A LENGTH: 38. 97" LONG
ILLUST: photo: Barbara*CAPITMAN,*leading protest at Biscaya
Hotel an 1987
SOURCE: BETH DUNLOP Herald Architecture Critic
DATELINE:
MEMO:
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' FIRST LADY OF ART DECO
BARBARA*CAPITMAN*DIES
.
Barbara Baer*Capitman ,*the guiding vision behind the
transformation of South Miami Beach from an aging neighborhood
into the vibrant , world-famous Art Deco District ,*died*Thursday
after two years of declining hea1th. She was a month shy of her
70th birthday.
i Eccentric , intellectual and uncompromising ,*Capitman*was
the "first lady of Art Deco. "
Almost single-handedly, at least at first , she led the
crusade to preserve I . .:k Beach ' s mile-square historic district ,
� '
RANK 13 OF 17, PAGE 2 OF 7, DB H90 ~~
spotting beneath the layers of peeling paint a treasure trove
that no city politician believed worthy of rescue.
"My whole life has been Art Deco, " she once said . " I was
born at the beginning of the period and grew up during the
height of it. It ' s a thing of fate. " .
it was in the mid-1970s when*Capitman ,*then a recent widow •
and newcomer to South Florida , first saw the dilapidated stucco
buildings that , with their streamlined facades and Buck Rogers .
spires , would become her obsession. In 1976, she founded the
Miami Design Preservation League with a group of like-minded •
artists and designers. They began the battle to save the long-
neglected seaside neighborhood from forces ranging from fire
to neglect to demolition.
Dressed -in flowing clothes and tennis shoes, her arms ever- '
laden with books and papers,*Capitman*cut an oddly '
charismatic figure as she argued her cause with politicians,
developers and doubters. Her voice always sounded wavery and
weak , but few -- at least after an initial encounter -- ever
underestimated the force of her p.ersonal ity.
She held candlelight vigils to save endangered buildings,
and though a few were demolished -- most notably the New Yorker
and the Senator hotels -- many more were saved and eventually .
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renovated. It was an often-acrimonious battle, complete with
shouting matches, protest marches and bodies thrown down before
I oncoming bulldozers.
But today even the most skeptical see what*Capitman*
envisioned , tlat the Art Deco District has an ineluctable lure.
I One of her greatest triumphs was when , in 1979, the one-time
ghetto earned its place in the National Register of Historic
Places. It was the country ' s youngest-ever historic district
-- at least in terms of its buildings ' ages.
Now the Art Deco District is aglow in coats of fresh paint ,
and its sidewalks are filled with tourists and residents alike.
It is a favored location for fashion photographers and
moviemakers. New shops and restaurants open almost weekly, and
its hotels draw tourists from all over the world.
"She made Art Deco a household word , " said Miami Beach
commissioner' Bruce Singer. "She made Art Deco something that
brings out immediate visions of fantasy and color that became
the image of Miami Beach. "
In 'the early 1980s,*Capitman 's*son, Andrew, bought a number
of Art Deco hotels, most of them on Ocean Drive. He renovated
several and , with his. wife Margaret Doyle, opened a cafe at the
Cardozo that soon drew artists , designers and writers who would
RANK 13 OF 17, PAGE 4 OF 7, DB H90
sit for hours sipping drinks and taking in the sea breezes on
the front porch. Andrew*Capitman*later sold the hotels, but the
° renovation work that he pioneered continued.
*Capitman*was born in Chicago in 1920, as Art Deco was
dawning. Once, in a flight of fancy, she even postulated that
the first sounds she heard were "Art Deco sounds, " the sounds of
the Jazz Age. Her father was a manufacturer of children ' s
clothing. Her mother was an industrial designer , creating
exteriors of planes, cars and appliances. They moved to
Westchester , N. Y. , when*Capitman*was 3.
She went to New York University and ran with an
intellectual crowd. Her best friends were actress Judy Holliday
and painter Stephen Green. *Capitman ' s*tastes moved toward
Proust , Dreiser and Balzac. An English major , she planned to
write a great novel someday.
Instead, she wrote advertising copy for industrial products
and became a reporter for the Atlantic City Daily World.
She met her husband William*Capitman , *a former United Press
International correspondent , at a May Day party for architects.
She was 28 and "desperate about getting married. " Two months
later , they were wed.
They lived in New York and later Martha 's Vineyard , Mass.
RANK 13 OF 17, PAGE 5 OF 7, DB H90
She worked to put him through law school . In 1973, William got a
movzemaxers. mew snops ana /7escaura/'ts .4"/e', wee, h.,u a
i'tshotels draw tourists from all over the world.
"She made Art Deco a household word , " said Miami Beach
commissioner Bruce Singer. "She made Art Deco something that
brings out immediate vi ions of fantasy and color that became
the image of Miami Beach' "
In the early 1980s,*Capitman ' s*son , Andrew, bought a number
of Art Deco hotels, most of them on Ocean Drive. He renovated
several and , with his wife Margaret Doyle, opened a cafe at the
Cardozo that soon drew artists , designers and writers who would
RANK 13 OF 17, PAGE 4 OF 7, DB H90
sit for hours sipping drinks and taking in the sea breezes on
the front porch. Andrew*Capitman*later sold the hotels, but the
renovation work that he pioneered continued.
*Capitman*was born in Chicago in 1920, as Art Deco was •
dawning. Once, in a flight of fancy, she even postulated that
the first sounds she heard were "Art Deco sounds, " the sounds of
the Jazz Age. Her father was a manufacturer of children 's
clothing. Her mother was an industrial designer , creating
exteriors of planes, cars and appliances. They moved to
Westchester , N. Y. , when*Capitman*was 3.
She went to New York University and ran with an
intellectual crowd. Her best friends were actress Judy Holliday
and painter Stephen • Green. *Capitman ' s*tastes moved toward
Proust , Dreiser and Balzac. An English major , she planned to
write a great novel someday.
Instead, she wrote advertising copy for industrial products
~ '
and became a reporter for the Atlantic City DailY World.
She met her husband William*Capitman , *a former United Press
International correspondent , at a May Day party for architects.
She was 28 and "desperate about getting married. " Two months
later , they were wed.
They lived in New York and later Martha 's Vineyard , Mass.
RANK 13 OF 17, PAGE 5 OF 7, DB H90
She worked to put him through law school . In 1973, William got a
teaching job at Florida international University and they moved
to Miami .
After recovering from the shock and grief of her husband 's
death from cancer at 53, she focused her energies on the
fledgling Miami Design Preservation League. Her earliest
influential allies were Carl Weinhardt Jr . , the late director of •
Vizcaya, and the late Andres Fagregas, an architect tlho designed
Miami Beach City Hall .
Developers, hoteliers and some city officials battled her
efforts. She called them fools and worse. In 1983, she ran for
Miami Beach City Commission. Her platform: preserving the Art
Deco District. She lost , but the next week was in Tallahassee,
carrying on the fight. •
In 1980,*Capitman*organized the Art Deco Society of
America. She was instrumental in founding Art Deco societies in
New York , Washington, qc. , Chicago, San Francisco and Los
Angeles, among other cities. Always pushing for greater
recognition of her beloved Art Deco style, she had proposed a
biennial World Congress on Art Deco for 1991 .
"When we started , you could have torn down buildings
without anybody caring , "*Capitman*said. "Now, people feel
RANK 13 OF 17, PAGE ' 6 OF 7, DB H90
passion , people are committed. "
At the time of her death ,*Capitman*was at work on a book
titled Discover Art Deco USA. An earlier- book on the Miami Beach
district , Deco Delights, was published by E. P. Dutton in 1989.
"Barbara was a genuine historic force whose presence will
be felt on Miami Beach for generations, " said architectural
photographer Steven Brooke, her collaborator on Deco Delights.
" It was my great fortune indeed to have worked with her. "
*Capitman 's*background in marketing gave her an uncanny
sense of publicity. Whenever a building was endangered
-- starting with the New Yorker in 1981 -- she caught the
public 's attention. By the time the Senator was demolished for a
parking lot in 1988, its demise got worldwide publicity.
But*Capitman*suffered. She cherished the whimsical stucco
• hotels as if they were her children , and when the Senator went
down ,*Capitman*was hospitalized.
e broken heart , one hospital official said.
"She was just one lady with a candle fighting, " said
Commissioner Singer. "And as far as I 'm concerned , she won. "
* She is survived by sons Andrew and John, and 'four
grandchildren. A memorial service will be held at 3 p. m. Monday,
Temple Emmanuel , 1701 Washington Ave. , Miami Beach. Herald
RANK 13 OF 17 , PAGE 7 OF 7 , DB H90
staff writers Lourdes Fernandez and Debbie Sontag also
contributed to this report.
ADDED TERMS: obituary*capitman*biography
END OF DOCUMENT.
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