Editors Note: The Barbara Baer Capitman archives “Historic Threads” project is partly sponsored by the Department of State, Division of Historical Resources and the State of Florida.

According to the United States Census Bureau, in 1970, over 60% of the local population in Miami Beach was over the age of 25.

And in the 1980s, while Miami Beach saw an influx of new faces – young professionals, artists, real estate investors – the elderly saw their numbers dwindle. They were being left behind by a new, youthful, wealthier generation. Many of the older residents were pushed out by gentrification and an inability to keep up financially with rising prices – especially those too poor to afford basic living costs or those with no family to look after them.

Hotels like the Astor were beginning to feel fatigued over catering to an older clientele, enticed by the lure of the new booming tourism and young people willing to spend money. “One of the pitfalls of gentrification is the displacement of people, especially the elderly. It has happened so slowly up to this point that it hasn’t been that much of a problem. The improvements have benefitted a lot more people than they have dislocated. When there is no place on the Beach for the dislocated to move to, it will be more of a problem,” said Randy Sender to The Wave in 1987.

The MDPL tried to address the issue by making deals with property owners to fix up and renovate neighborhoods while preserving the historic buildings to help aid the elderly already living there. Owners would pool their funds with additional help from grants sourced by the league.

“The elderly and quality design go hand in hand. There has been some talk on the Beach of the Art Deco
District becoming entirely gentrified with Yuppies…. It’s not to be done at the expense of the elderly,” Barbara Baer Capitman said in a 1985 interview for the Miami Herald. She and others like Lillian Barber were strong advocates for the aging poor. MDPL understood that the elderly were an essential demographic that tied the city to its fabulous past dating back to the 1930’s, when the hotels and beaches were the playground for the famous, wealthy, and other extravagant characters and events.