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Barbara Capitman ( Baer; April 29, 1920 – March 29, 1990) was a community activist and author who led the effort to preserve Miami Beach's historic
art deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unit ...
district and helped create the Miami Design Preservation League. A historical marker as well as a memorial honor her in Miami Beach.


Early life

Capitman was born in
Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...
. Her father was a children's clothing manufacturer and her mother, artist Myrtle Bachrach Baer, was an industrial designer of cars, planes, and appliances. The family moved to
Westchester County Westchester County is located in the U.S. state of New York. It is the seventh most populous county in the State of New York and the most populous north of New York City. According to the 2020 United States Census, the county had a population ...
, New York when Capitman was 3 years old. She graduated from
New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, th ...
and worked as a reporter for the ''
Atlantic City Daily World The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the "Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...
'' and wrote advertising copy. Her husband, William Capitman, was a market researcher and economist who died in 1975. In 1973, she moved to
Miami Beach, Florida Miami Beach is a coastal resort city in Miami-Dade County, Florida. It was incorporated on March 26, 1915. The municipality is located on natural and man-made barrier islands between the Atlantic Ocean and Biscayne Bay, the latter of which ...
.


Historic preservation

In 1976, Capitman and a group of historic preservationists formed the Miami Design Preservation League. They began a fight to save the long-neglected art deco buildings in Miami Beach. She lobbied politicians and developers. She and her supporters held candlelight vigils, protest marches and stood in front of bulldozers that were about to demolish buildings. Several of the buildings the group sought to preserve were torn down including the Senator and New Yorker Hotels. However, many more were saved. The group's efforts were rewarded when Miami Beach's Art Deco District was placed on the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...
in 1979. The renewed interest in the area led to an economic and cultural rebirth in the city with new investments in hotels, apartments and restaurants. It became a favorite destination of tourists, artists and moviemakers. Capitman's son, Andrew, bought several art deco buildings in the area including the Cardozo Hotel on Ocean Drive. Artists, designers and writers were frequently found in the hotel's café.


Publications

In 1988, Capitman's book, ''Deco Delights: Preserving the Beauty and Joy of Miami Beach Architecture'', was published. ''Rediscovering Art Deco: A Nationwide Tour of Architectural Delights'', which she wrote with Michael D. Kinerk and Dennis W. Wilhelm, was published in 1994.


Death and tributes

Capitman died in Miami Beach at Mount Sinai Medical Center of congestive heart failure. She suffered from diabetes and heart tremors and died after two years of declining health. At the time of her death, she was working to create the first World Congress on Art Deco. It was to be held during the Miami Design Preservation League's Art Deco Weekend, a festival that drew 420,000 in 1990. In 1996, 10th Street between Washington Avenue and Ocean Drive in Miami Beach was renamed Barbara Capitman Way. A memorial featuring a bronze bust of Capitman was dedicated in Miami Beach's Lummus Park during Art Deco Weekend on January 16, 2016. It sits in the park across from the Cardozo Hotel at 13th Street and Ocean Drive.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Capitman, Barbara Baer 1920 births 1990 deaths New York University alumni Activists from Florida