Coral Gables: No, Seriously

For all you fans of Coral Gables, Florida who may be ruffled by my title, let me just say that we, too, are fans.

But you have to admit, when you think about the original city plan for CG, doesn’t it seem a bit…goofy?  

Here’s the deal:

In the Florida land boom/real estate bubble of the 1920s, dynamic local son George Merrick left a law career to take over his father’s 160-acre plantation.  With the late 1800s City Beautiful movement in mind, he envisioned his hometown as a quieter, more middle-class alternative to glitzy Miami. With blueprints in hand for one of the nation’s first fully-planned communities, he began to rustle up local money and excitement; the creation of Coral Gables and its hard-won gem, The University of Miami, began in earnest.

Here’s where the goofiness comes in.  While most of the original architecture was Mediterranean Revival, there were also more, shall we say, inventive features. There was a man-made “Tahitian” beach with a bandshell in the form of a huge coconut and grass be-skirted dancing girls from the suburbs.  Some areas were dedicated “villages” with imaginary versions of French Country, Dutch South African, English Tudor, and Chinese houses.  Canals criss-crossed parts of town, and you could take to them in gondolas.  Still standing are an endless golf course and the Venetian Pool, a crusty grotto of a swimming hole that used to be a rock quarry, but is now open to the (paying) public.

By 1929, Coral Gables, like many American businesses built on a foundation of romance and speculation, had started to seem like a naive idea.  Gotta say, being there for Christmas 2008, amidst a looming, history-repeating depression, felt a little poignant.

It’s still a lovely neighborhood, but now mostly for very wealthy people; we had a jaw-dropping time just driving around and ogling stately homes and the canopies of banyan trees that overhang the wide residential streets.  A great deal of dull revisions were made in the less charming 1960s and 1980s, and sadly, little of the original architecture remains.

We managed to see some, though, especially a whole block of colorful pagoda-style houses.  One cul-de-sac looked like an abandoned backlot for a silent film set in the French countryside.  We caught glimpses of 1920s stone bric-a-brac, gargoyles, ceramic tile, fountains, and stained glass.  Coral Gables is all about the, “Oooh, look at that!” factor.

To see how it was back in the day, check out the book Coral Gables: Images of America.

Or better yet, see dozens of photos at the most famous landmark in town, The Biltmore.  I can hardly wait to tell you about our stay at this hotel…

*To see more of our photos from Coral Gables, click here.

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