During the 39th Annual Art Deco Weekend on January 16th, 2016, the memorial for Barbara Capitman was dedicated. Barbara Baer Capitman (1920-1990) was an author and journalist who moved to Miami Beach with her husband in 1973. Growing up with an artistic mother and being surrounded by art made her appreciative of its beauty and esthetics. Upon her relocation to the art deco district, she was amazed by the large art deco concentration that was even more special due to the tropical surroundings. Seeing the potential of the building and understanding that a fight to preserve the historic buildings from demolishing, she co-founded the Miami Design Preservation League in 1976. The effort to protect and preserve the neglected Art Deco District included protests, marches, lobbying politicians, and even physically facing the bulldozers. It led to the registration of the Art Deco District as a National Register of Historic Places in 1979. Painting the buildings in different colors, renovating, preserving, and restoring others led to the district thriving and becoming one of the top touristic destinations in Miami. MDPL actions inspired activism preservation in other areas in the US. In 2011, the MDPL decided to create a memorial to its founder. It took five years of planning, permitting, and fundraising from 30 institutions and individuals to get the monument ready on time for its dedication during the Art Deco Weekend. The memorial features a bronze bust on a white pedestal. It was created by Capitman’s mother, the artist Myrtle Bachrach Baer, in 1939 and depicted Barbara as a young woman. It stands at Lummus Park, a short distance from Cardozo Hotel, the district’s first restored hotel. Read more...

Two larger-than-life statues of princess Ulele stand on the grounds of Ulele restaurant near Water Works Park in Tampa Riverwalk, Florida. Ulele was a Native American woman, the daughter of the chief of the Tocobaga tribe, who lived in the Tampa Bay area during the 1500s. The legend tells that her tribe captured soldiers of a Spanish expedition, and as revenge for the brutal act the Spanish soldiers did to their tribe, they intended to kill them. According to legend, when Juan Ortiz, the last and youngest soldier, was lying on the hot coals, about to get roasted to death, Ulele stepped forward asking to spare his life, and she saved him. Some say she felt sorry for him, others that she had feelings for him. Even though the event happed years before Pocahontas met Jhon Smith, since the similarity to the story of Pocahontas, Ulele became known in recent years as Florida’s Pocahontas. The Arizona artist Vala Ola created both statues. She featured Ulele as a strong woman, wearing traditional clothes, tattoos, and jewelry, made of shells and pearls. The Ulele Monument is a 7-foot tall bronze standing statue unveiled on April 22nd, 2015. Ulele stands on hot coals with a pool of water below them. Her right hand is on her heart while her left hand is in the air, stopping her father from killing the soldier. It stands next to a restored spring that also bears her name. On December 22nd, 2017, a second statue was installed. It is an 11-foot tall, 1,800-pound bronze bust titled “LOST TRIBES, Legend of Ulele,” representing the Native American tribes who were extinct. Vala Ola’s words about it – “Ulele is floating like an ethereal memory yet never to be forgotten.” Read more...

A 10-foot-tall bronze statue of Julia Tuttle, who is considered the “Mother of Miami,” is standing in Bayfront Park, overlooking the seaport she envisioned at the end of the 19th century when South Florida was a swampland with few orange groves. Tuttle relocated to Fort Dallas, Florida, from Cleveland, Ohio, in 1891. At that time, she was a widow with two kids and inherited her parents’ land. She purchased 640 acres on the north side of the Miami river and set it as her home. Seeing the potential to establish a city on the Miami River, she convinced Henry Flagler to extend his railroad to Fort Dallas (Miami). She offered him a free piece of her land and showed him that the area is a perfect destination to grow oranges after the Great Freeze of 1894-1895. On April 22nd, 1896, the Florida East Coast Railway’s train service came to the area, and a few months later, on July 28th, male residents voted to incorporate a new city, Miami. Ironically, Tuttle was not one of the voters since she was a woman. The project to commemorate Tuttle started only in 1996 by the Miami Commission on the Status of Women. It took 14 years and joint efforts with the Miami-Dade County Commission for Women to raise funds and choose the artists Daub and Firmin. The statue was unveiled on July 28th, 2010, the city’s 114th birthday, in a dedication ceremony honored with Tuttle family members. The statue is depicting Tuttle looking to the horizon, to the future, holding a basket of oranges in one hand and orange blossom on the other, the proof she gave Flagler. Her skirt is adorned with symbols of Miami’s history, the area’s first settlers, images of local flora and fauna, and the train that connected Miami to Florida. Tuttle is the only woman who founded an American city.   Read more...

The Mary McLeod Bethune bronze statue is located outside the Bethune-Cookman University’s Performing Arts Center. It is surrounded by a beautiful garden with plaques inscribed with parts of Bethune’s well-known writing, Last Will and Testament. Bethune was an educator and an activist for equal rights for African-American and women. She was the founder of many schools and organizations. In 1904 she opened the Daytona Educational and Industrial Training School for Negro Girls, which expended over the years to become what is today the Bethune-Cookman University.   The statue depicts her standing tall, holding a cane in her right hand, wearing a big smile. Read more...