Barbara Baer Capitman founded the Miami Design Preservation League in 1976, and under her leadership the Miami Beach Architectural District, also known as the Art Deco District, became on May 14, 1979 the first urban 20th century historic district recognized on the National Register of Historic Places. She fought relentlessly to preserve the district, even standing in front of bulldozers to protect its Art Deco buildings, and more than 800 of those buildings remain as a testament to her defiance. The run-down hotels on Ocean Drive were revitalized and painted in pastel colors selected by League co-founder Leonard Horowitz. Capitman's vision and efforts helped drive Miami's cultural development and tourism revival, spurred national and international preservation of 20th century design and architecture, preserved an architectural treasure, and changed the fate of Miami Beach into a world class tourist destination. She said, “My whole life had been Art Deco, I was born at the beginning of the period and grew up during the height of it. It's a thing of fate.” Capitman died in Miami in 1990 at age 69.