Shown are two archival 1947 magazine ads for The Cromwell and The Pancoast Hotels. These ads referred to “Selected Clientele”and “Carefully Restricted Clientele”, and offering “Congenial Companionship”. These catchphrases all appeared on colorful brochures advertising Miami Beach Hotels back in the 1930’s and the 1940’s. Sadly, they were code at the time for no Black or Jewish guests being allowed in their hotels. This discriminatory climate began to change slowly starting in the late 1950’s and early ’60s. However, it wasn’t until 1964 when segregation ended, that those phrases were no longer legally allowed on brochures.
1947 Discriminatory advertisement for the Pancoast Hotel at 29th and Collins Avenue
1947 Discriminatory advertisement for the Cromwell Hotel at 20th and Collins Avenue
What would Miami Beach be like without Historic Art Deco, Mediterranean, and MiMo buildings?
Join Us: Become a Member
Help MDPL remain independent and sustain our mission to preserve, protect, and promote. Annual memberships start at $50 and include free walking tours and more.
Read Time: 3mins Andrew Capitman, son of Miami Design Preservation League leader Barbara Baer Capitman, was a leading Art Deco rehabilitation pioneer in the late 1970s and 1980s. In 1979, he purchased the Cardozo Hotel with a group of enthusiastic investors who believed in the resurgence of the city through the preservation of its past. Mr. Capitman instinctively knew that a 1930s revival would dramatically improve tourism.
Read Time: 2mins In 1984, six hotels underwent major renovations that would mark the second wave of an Art Deco revival in South Beach. According to a Miami Herald article written by Paul Shannon on July 8, 1984, Royale Group Ltd. officials secured a $13.5 million loan to pay for the planned renovation, which included painting and refurbishing in the original Art Deco style.
