The Saving of the Streetlights

How a leading preservationist, with help from the city, rescued a trove of historic Coral Gables streetlights.

It was five years ago when Karelia Carbonell, president of the Historic Preservation Association of Coral Gables, got the phone call. Tucker Gibbs, a preservation-minded attorney in Fort Lauderdale, called to say he’d seen some lampposts that said “Coral Gables” on their decorative bases. “ ‘Do you know anything about this,’ he asked, showing me the photos,” recalls Carbonell. “I went up there and verified those were the [the city’s historic] streetlights. Then I met with the mayor.”

Coral Gables Mayor Vince Lago, then a city commissioner, wanted the city to buy the lights — eight of them, still functioning in a small development off Davie Boulevard in Fort Lauderdale. “For years, even before I got into office, there was always a discussion about the [White Way streetlights] becoming more extinct. They weren’t being kept up. And they are one of the cornerstones of historic preservation here in the city.”

Five hundred of the so-called “White Way” lights were originally commissioned by city father George Merrick in 1926, for installation across the city. The four-sided bases of the lights were designed by Denman Fink and Phineas Paist with Spanish castles and rampant lions; the words “Coral Gables — The Miami Riviera, Fla.,” encircled the tops of the bases.

Unfortunately, the owner of the Fort Lauderdale property where they stood was not interested in selling them, period. There was nothing to be done, except set aside funds to preserve the remaining 45 lights in the Gables. Mayor Lago and Carbonell also collaborated on a project to restore two missing lamps in front of the historic Coral Gables Country Club, after Lago was able to personally purchase two of the antique top globes.

Then word came that the Fort Lauderdale property had been sold. “When we found out there was a new owner, we took advantage of the situation and started negotiations [with him],” says Lago. “And staff and I ran up there to look at the lights, to review the conditions of the eight White Way lights still standing upright and working. And we also noticed that there was a pile of other White Way lights. We asked the gentleman, the new owner, whether he’d be willing to include everything in a package. He said, ‘For sure.’ ”

Those negotiations are currently being finalized by City Manager Peter Iglesias, who was authorized by the City Commission to make the purchase, at an estimated $1,000 per light.

According to Carbonell, the standing lights are in perfect condition, while another ten stacked nearby can be restored. “I have to thank the mayor,” she says. “He took it up and made it happen.” The mayor gives the credit to Carbonell, who has long advocated the saving of the lights and was instrumental in insisting the city set aside funds to save those still standing. If you want to see them, the corridor with the most remaining streetlights is Riviera Drive from Anastasia Avenue to University Drive. They will soon be joined by another 18. 

Read Carbonell’s monthly articles on historic preservation in the City Beautiful.