Miami Beach's famed Architectural District contains the largest collection of 1930s Art Deco and Art Moderne buildings in the nation. The square-mile district is bounded by 5th Street to 23rd Street, Lenox Avenue to Ocean Drive. A Jewish woman, Barbara Baer Capitman (1920-1990), launched the campaign that established the district and saved the architectural gems of South Beach. Through her efforts, South Beach became the first 20th century district in the National Register of Historic Places. Tenth Street has been renamed Barbara Baer Capitman Street to honor her memory.

Another Jew, designer Leonard Horowitz (1954-1989), transformed approximately 150 buildings in the district with his "Deco Dazzle," applying bright colors to buildings that were originally white with limited color trim. The Beacon Hotel on Ocean Drive between 7th and 8th Streets is an example of Horowitz's creativity. Eleventh Street has been renamed Leonard Horowitz Place in his honor. Henry Hohauser (1895-1963) was a leading architect of the Art Deco style, and examples of his work can be seen throughout the district. The Cardozo Hotel (1300 Ocean Drive) was designed by Hohauser in 1939 and is considered one of the best examples of the Streamline influence in Art Deco design. The hotel was named for a Jewish Justice of the Supreme Court, Benjamin Cardozo.

Other buildings designed by Hohauser on Ocean Drive include the Park Central Hotel north of 6th Street; the Colony Hotel, between 7th and 8th Streets; and the Edison at 10th Street. Hohauser was also the architect of Congregation Beth Jacob's second synagogue that now houses the Sanford L. Ziff JEWISH MUSEUM OF FLORIDA, at 301 Washington Avenue.

Information courtesy of Florida Division of Historical Resources, a division of Florida Department of State.

Image used in accordance with Creative Commons Attribution Share. Author: Massimo Catarinella, 2008.