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.

Plans by a group of eight Art Deco preservation supporters to purchase and restore the Cardozo Hotel as a model for revitalizing historic hotels in Miami Beach’s South Beach district. Led by Andrew Capitman, son of preservation leader Barbara Baer Capitman, the group planned an $800,000 purchase of the 40-year-old hotel and proposed spending an additional $100,000 on initial renovations, with the goal of reopening by New Year’s Eve. The project was intended to demonstrate that historic Art Deco hotels could be successfully restored and operated as moderately priced accommodations while retaining long-term residents. Financed through private capital and supported by prominent investors, the Cardozo restoration highlighted growing national interest in historic preservation and marked an important step in transforming the Art Deco district into a viable and celebrated historic and tourism destination.

Excerpts and quotes from the article are highlighted below in blue.

The Cardozo investors include financier Richard Wolfson, Procter and Gamble heir William Gamble, investment banker Hugo Zamorano, and Carolyn Robinson, wife of Circuit Court Judge Steven Robinson. Other investors are Dr. Perry Larson of the Miami Heart Institute, Carl Wickstrom, Max Cohen and Capitman. […] Barbara Capitman said the owners plan to transform the hotel into a moderately priced hotel for visitors to the Art Deco district.

“It’s a new concept for this area,” [Barbara] said. “We’re trying to prove that it’s possible to renovate in addition to the resident hotels that are here now.” She said the Cardozo group will apply for grants from the Department of Interior and the Small Business Administration to help pay for renovations. “I just came back from Washington and there’s tremendous excitement about what we’re doing here. It’s a new concept in historical renovation.”