The 2024 Centennials
Seven iconic structures hitting their 100-year mark this year
1924 was a pretty good year in Coral Gables. As George Merrick’s Florida real estate development began delivering on the promise of the City Beautiful movement, purposeful buildings arose to serve the needs of his new community’s residents: schools, hotels, churches, single-family and multi-family homes, ceremonial entrances, a water tower that resembled a lighthouse… even a rock quarry that became the country’s largest freshwater swimming pool. Urban planning was being re-imagined in the heart of the American Tropics. That so many of our original structures have survived is a testament not only to the ongoing stewardship of successive owners, city officials and preservationists, but to Merrick’s foundational idea that Coral Gables would be both traditional and modern — a multi-cultural reboot of the traditional American home town. As such, it drew upon Spanish, French, Gothic, Moorish, Venetian, Chinese and New England design antecedents. The mix was clearly the message. As the 2025 centennial of Coral Gables approaches, we’ve taken a look back at some of our 2024 landmarks whose own centennials we believe deserve recognition. Some properties have been re-purposed, others remain true to their original roles. Fortunately, all continue to enliven our streetscape as they seemingly defy time.
105 Minorca Avenue: The school (now known as the Coral Gables Preparatory Academy) was designed by Richard Kiehnel and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1988.
3010 De Soto Boulevard: Designed by Richard Kiehnel (of Kiehnel & Elliott), the church was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.
2701 De Soto Boulevard: Originally known as the Venetian Casino, the structure was
designed by Denman Fink and Phineas Paist and is the only pool in America listed on
the National Register of Historic Places.
2000 Alhambra Circle: Designed by Denman Fink to resemble a lighthouse, the Tower
originally enclosed a steel water tank that supplied water to Coral Gables.
Story written by Bruce Fitzgerald and Karelia Martinez Carbonell, president of the Historic Preservation Association of Coral Gables. Photos courtesy of Vicki Cerda.