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In 1976 the southern end of Miami Beach was a dingy
warren of deteriorating hotels, retiree apartments, and high crime rates.
Saving South Beach
is the compelling story of the fight to preserve a decaying
neighborhood, only to see it transform into one of the world's most
glamorous hotspots.
Set against the backdrop of the social and
cultural events of Miami and the nation,
Saving South Beach
rips open the wounds inflicted when preservation clashed with development as
each side vied for control of South Beach. The story has an extraordinary
cast of characters,
from the ailing middle-aged widow who became an evangelist for the Art Deco district to the
millionaire Holocaust survivor determined to defy her, each adding another
piece to the puzzle.
You'll be immersed in a true drama that is shaken and
shaped by
political corruption, hurricanes, ballet dancers, a flood of
Cuban refugees, fashion models, arson, movie stars, drug dealers,
professional boxing, murder and an entire symphony orchestra. |
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"...please
do read Saving South Beach before your trip." - Antiques and
Auction News
"...reports
with wit and insight on the personalities that gave rise to the new
South Beach
..." -- Gary Monroe, author
"...intelligently
written..." - "...serves as an excellent starting point to
the history of South Beach's economic and cultural renewal."
Chris Wilhelm, H-Florida
"A
chronicle thick with preservation, progress and pastel." --
Florida International Magazine
"...exceptionally
interesting.." - The Miami Herald
"...illustrates the
basic debate over economic viability versus architectural worth..."
- Florida Historical Quarterly
"...implications
that go far beyond the boundaries of the square mile that is the
Miami Beach historic district" -- The Washington Post
"An
important--and highly readable--window into the historic
preservation movement in Miami Beach... " -- Gregory Bush,
professor of history, University of Miami |

"A
guide for city managers and administrators in search of a
renaissance." -- Gerardo Sanchez
"...a
highly detailed look at how groups of people moved into and out of
South Beach, leaving pieces of their culture behind." -- Cape Cod
Times
"...forges
a winding path that suspends the reader among competing issues of
cultural, societal and economic concern..." - The Public
Historian
"...dramatic."
- The Rocky Mountain News Marty Stofik |