“In 1971, when Dadeland Mall clung to the far reaches of civilization on not yet commercialized Kendall Drive, optometrist Sanford Ziff had a vision: ‘How about sunglasses?’,” writes Howard Cohen in Saturday’s (1/7) Miami Herald. “And so was born Sunglass Hut of America…. The company grew to 550 boutiques around the world…. Ziff, who died Friday at 91 from complications of a stroke, used the proceeds from [selling the company in 1991] to become, along with his second and third wives, the late Dolores Ziff and his widow, Beatrice, one of South Florida’s premier philanthropists. His name, along with those of the respective wives, adorn numerous buildings thanks to their donations to universities, homeless shelters, Jewish centers and arts organizations…. A $10 million gift led to the naming of the Sanford and Dolores Ziff Ballet Opera House at Miami’s Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts.… Ziff also donated to Camillus House, Vizcaya, the Center for Abused and Abandoned Children, Infants in Need, WLRN public radio, WPBT public television, GableStage, Beethoven Society of Miami and the Concert Association of Florida…. Some credit Dolores for turning Ziff onto the arts, and he was not shy about asking that the Ziff name live on at institutions he endowed.”
Posted January 10, 2017
