Time Machine 

The La Salle Building

Lizzie Wilcox

Summer 2018

In 1923, Coral Gables founder George Merrick set up shop in a building that still stands at the intersection of Aragon Avenue and Le Jeune Road. Here, he headquartered his construction company, and here he and artist Denman Fink – the man who designed City Hall and the Venetian Pool – drew up plans for the city. It was also the city’s first gas station.

La Salle in 1925, photo courtesy of City of Coral Gables
La Salle in 2018, photo by Lizzie Wilcox

In 1925

  • The first motel (aka motorist’s hotel) opens in California
  • F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby” is published
  • The Mount Rushmore National Monument is dedicated
  • The Scopes Monkey Trial on teaching evolution is held in Tennessee
  • The Chrysler Corporation is founded