History Preserved

Many of the city’s public structures have been lost, from its riding stables on Salzedo to the LaSalle building, Merrick’s original office, torn down just three years ago. But a great many have been preserved, largely through the efforts of local leaders who have fought to prevent their demolition. The Biltmore Hotel is a perfect example, nearly bulldozed 20 years ago until a close vote in the City Commission, led by then Mayor Dorothy Thomson, saved it. What follows are a few examples of the early Mediterranean-inspired architecture that has survived – what it looks like today and what it looked like back in the day.

THE COLONNADE

In November of 1926, the magnificent Colonnade building on Miracle Mile was completed by famed architect Phineas Paist. Now the Hotel Colonnade, the building was first a sales center for Coral Gables. Since then, it has housed a pilot training facility, a movie studio, and a World War II parachute factory. This image comes from the early 1940s. Today it is the HQ for Ryder Systems, amongst its other uses.

THE CORAL GABLES COUNTRY CLUB

The Coral Gables Golf and Country Club and the Granada Golf Course were once the Merrick family’s vegetable field. The golf course opened on January 15, 1923. The clubhouse opened three months later, and became the city’s first public building. The six original coral rock arches remain, but only the base of the tower – used by George Merrick as a viewing platform to show prospective buyers their home sites – survived a devastating 1983 fire.

THE OLD POLICE AND FIRE STATION

The “Old Police and Fire Station” was built during the Great Depression in 1939 as a project of the WPA (Works Progress Administration). Designed by Phineas Paist and Harold Steward, the iconic structure on Salzedo Street between Aragon and Giralda avenues is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Now part of the Coral Gables Museum, its old jail cells, courtroom, and hook & ladder room are historic exhibits.

THE FIRST CHURCH

In 1923, George Merrick founded the Coral Gables Congregational Church to honor his father, Solomon, a Congregational minister. The Mediterranean Revival design patterned its bell tower after one in Seville, Spain, while its barrel roof tiles came from Cuba. It is the first church to be listed in Florida’s National Register of Historic Places. Today, it continues to thrive as part of the United Church of Christ.

LA PALMA BUILDING

Designed by George Merrick’s cousin H. George Fink and built in 1924, La Palma (116 Alhambra Circle) is considered an iconic Mediterranean Revival building. It was one of Coral Gables’ first hotels (The Solana), and today has been restored by the Maven Real Estate group. The restoration has resulted in a mixed-use building of office, retail and restaurant space, featuring the French bistro Bouchon and Coral Gables’ first Michelin- starred restaurant, SHINGO.

MIAMI DAILY NEWS OFFICE

The original building at 300 Alhambra Circle was built in 1924 and briefly served as the offices for The Miami Daily News, the area’s first newspaper (which moved in 1925 to what is now the Freedom Tower in Downtown Miami). The building has been repurposed multiple times (among other things as a hair salon in the 1980s and later a sporting goods shop) and is now home to Café Demetrio.

FINK STUDIO BUILDING

In 1925, the Fink Studio Building on Ponce de Leon Boulevard acted as a destination for the early settlers to George Merrick’s visionary garden suburb, the office of his architect and cousin H. George Fink. This is the place where many of the great original homes in the “Miami Riviera” were designed. The building was purchased by the city in 2016 for $2.6 million and fully restored. It was initially leased to the Spanish Culture Center, and is today home to the city’s Economic Development Department.