Even many South Florida locals don’t know about the international housing styles planned almost a hundred years ago, helping make Coral Gables one of the most distinctive cities in Florida.
Today Coral Gables is the Latin American headquarters for hundreds of multinational firms and internationally known for its beautiful Mediterranean Revival architecture. Dating from the early 1920s, the community was carefully planned by George Merrick and drew heavily on inspiration from Spain, with many streets in the original sections – like Castile, Alhambra Circle, and Granada – graced with Spanish names. Dubbed the “Miami Riviera” Coral Gables featured lush tropical landscaping, plazas, parks, and grand entrances. Plans included areas for shopping, manufacturing, and business as well as for churches, clubs, medical care, hotels, and leisure pursuits such as golf, horseback riding, and swimming. The architectural style was designated as “Spanish, Venetian, Moorish, Italian or other similarly harmonious types . . .”
Much less known are the thematic villages that Merrick commissioned to be built beginning in 1925 when Coral Gables incorporated as a city. New architects were recruited to join the existing team and design some of the 14 styles planned for 1,000+ homes. The impact of the 1926 hurricane and declining U.S. economy took their toll and construction of the Villages ended in 1927 with only 80 completed in half of the thematic styles. Planned but never built Villages were African Bazaar, Japanese, Mexican Hacienda, Neopolitan Baroque, Persian Canal, Tangier, and Venetian Town/Canal.
Fortunately, today we can still see homes in the Chinese Compound, Dutch South African, Florida Pioneer (Colonial), French City, French Country, French Normandy, and Italian Country/Venetian Villages.
The Chinese Compound is the most unusual and distinctive of the group. The properties are colorful with distinctive moon-doorways, lattice features, faux bamboo inserts, and up-curving roof lines.
Dutch South African homes feature gabled and dormered roofs adapted from farmhouses of the Boers. A Dutch East India Compound was also planned and walls around some of the homes look like they might have been a part of the “compound” design, which tied together individual properties with a surrounding wall.
The Florida Pioneer Village is a name that has always confused me. It was used to identify Colonial two-story homes with balconies and spacious, elegant surroundings.
French City homes were inspired by 17th and 18th-century design. Although both sides of the street are lined with beautiful classical and formal homes, those on the south side are more rustic in design. Each side of the street was designed by a different architect.
A provincial, more rural flair with half-timbering, towers, and steeply pitched cross-gabled roofs can be seen in the charming 18th century-inspired French Country Village.
Just prior to WW2, the French Normandy Village housed five fraternities from the University of Miami and during the war was a home-away-from-home for soldiers. The closest Village to downtown Coral Gables, just off busy Le Jeune Rd, thousands of daily drivers probably don’t realize what’s just around the corner in this small, cozy enclave.
Seventeen homes make up what is known as the Italian (Venetian) Village, inspired by rural farmhouses. This is a larger area and the homes are spread over several blocks. Even with the most complete homes and a bigger area, this is the least known of the Villages. I lived a stone’s throw away for many years and never knew its history. A Miami Herald report from 1927 mentions the completion of a Venetian Waterway house I think must also be (or have been) near this area.
It’s good news these homes have been painstakingly repaired and updated through the years. As of this writing, major work is once again in progress on quite a few.
History through postcards. They are fun, collectible, and a window into our past. I thought some of my readers might enjoy an article I wrote for a recent issue of Coral Gables Magazine. The postcards were all photographed from the collection of my fascinating friend and fellow volunteer-preservationist, Linda Z. Read on – Postcards from Coral Gables’ Past.
I’ve had to think long and hard about how I would approach this week’s Lens-Artists Challenge, Special Moments #139. Tina put it all in perfect perspective but that didn’t make it any easier for me. Of course, as she said, very personal moments are front and center and always the most precious. Special times with family and friends really can’t be topped (and often photos can’t be shown). With two grandchildren born in the last two years, I have an ever-growing supply of special moments, but since this is supposed to be a travel blog, I will segue.
Today’s photos represent some of the special places I had yearned to visit. Most of from years ago when I had a marginal camera and my emphasis was mostly photos featuring family and friends. The opening pic above was taken during a hot air balloon ride in Cairns, Australia. It was a beautiful morning and we were on one of four balloons launched that morning. Not being a fan of heights I was wary and hesitant but ended up being very pleasantly surprised. Our ride was so smooth, quiet, and peaceful. Looking down you could see kangaroos running wild. What a wonderfully special way to start the day.
I wanted to visit the Galapagos since my freshman year in college and the experience did not disappoint. This was the trip that made me realize I needed to work on my photography skills and get a better camera. I also had issues with my SD cards corrupting. Fortunately, most pics were recovered but the photos were all out of order, which is not good when so many shots have a similar look. I was delighted when our naturalists presented us with a CD of photos they had taken and made my first Shutterfly album after this trip. The pic above is one of mine and I think it was taken on Seymour Island.
Every moment in Africa seemed more special than the next. As a cat-lover, I could not get enough of the cheetahs, leopards, and lions. Here, a precious lion cub in Sabi Sands takes a break from a meal.
Next up, I conquered some of my worst fears to get in this cage to see White Sharks up close and personal off the coast of South Africa in Gansbaai. The adrenalin rush was amazing.
Some special memories are only in the mind’s eye. No cameras were allowed when we visited The Valley of the Kings (I wonder if that’s still true). So I have no personal pics of King Tuts’ tomb. I have kept my love of Egyptian antiquities stoked by visits to the occasional museum exhibit. The pic below is from nearby Luxor.
The Amazon. So few pictures, such an experience! I studied this region during many college classes in Latin American studies; it only took me 30 years to get there. Oppressively hot, humid, and incredible buggy makes it a difficult place to visit. One of the many highlights was fishing for piranha. Yes, we caught some, and then they served them to us as a surprise, with great flourish, for dinner that night. I only pretended to eat them; those fish eat dead things for a living. One trip here was enough, I got this out of my system.
I’ll conclude with a very special anniversary trip that centered around travel on the Orient Express. It wasn’t difficult to get my train-loving husband on board this idea, even if he did have to wear a tux for dinner in the Lalique dining car. Amazing French cuisine, good wine, beautiful scenery between Venice and Paris, and a friendly fun crowd just added to the trip’s enjoyment. We were so young and yes, my hair is really curly.
I’ve said it before – March and April are my two favorite months in Florida. I’ve never been one to lay out in the sun, but I do love to walk on the beach and the Beach Walk on Miami Beach is lovely this time of year. It can be quite breezy with riptides, migrating sharks, and loads of jellyfish, all good for keeping the beach a bit quieter as far as I’m concerned. In this year of Covid, I am wary of the expected onslaught of spring breakers and those seeking refuge from the months of lockdown and frigid northern temps. But, I get it and understand their need to escape, I just hope they behave once they’re here.
Miami Beach is redoing its Beach Walk, removing the old wooden portion and replacing it with a wider, paved walkway. Trees are being removed and new plantings focus on more native vegetation with a goal towards added shade. Work is still in progress, and to check it out before the crowds hit town, we headed over on a weekday. Quite a few of the lifeguard stands have also been replaced, still among my favorite things to photograph, providing a good example of pics in natural light for this week’s Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #138.
