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.
On October 13, 1988, The Senator Hotel in Miami Beach was demolished. The Senator was one of the foremost Art Deco hotels built in 1939 in the historic district. Designed by the prolific Art Deco architect L. Murray Dixon, the three story structure at 1201 Collins Avenue featured a tripartite facade design with a stepped ziggurat parapet roofline. Continuous eyebrows rounded the corners of every floor, porthole windows could be seen lined above the third floor as well as horizontal banding below the second and third floor windows.
In 1987, MDPL spearheaded an intense campaign to stop the demolition of the iconic hotel. The “Save the Senator” campaign was launched, featuring regular meetings and protests led by MDPL founder Barbara Baer Capitman and other local preservationists. Protesters made strong statements by chaining themselves to the front door of the hotel.
MDPL’s efforts delayed the demolition of the Senator for over a year. The resulting public outcry prompted Miami Beach’s City Commission to pass a strengthened local preservation ordinance that would block future demolitions. On the morning of October 12, the day of the demolition, a despondent Barbara Baer Capitman, who refused to leave, was escorted off the porch by police.
A sign declaring “Is The Senator Worth Saving? sit down & think about it”, was originally displayed on the northeast corner of the porch of the hotel. Just prior to the demolition, it was removed by Dennis Wilhelm, one of the original pioneers of MDPL. Other items were removed from the premises by preservationists while the demolition was ongoing over several days. Some were able to preserve pieces of the original glass from the lobby windows, displaying etched images of flamingos underneath palm trees.
