Coral Gables
Coral Gables is actually a city in its own right, but being only 6 km (4 miles) from downtown Miami it has the look and feel of a suburb, albeit a rather unusual one. This was one of the first planned communities in the USA and the brainchild of one man, George E Merrick. He was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1886, the son of Congregational minister Solomon G Merrick. In 1898 the whole family moved to Miami but George moved to New York following his graduation. In 1911 Solomon Merrick died leaving his citrus groves to his son which prompted George to move back to Miami. By the 1920s Florida was in the grip of a land boom and Merrick made a fortune selling off some of his land. In 1921 he decided to build a planned community which he named Coral Gables after his childhood house. At the centre of his community, Merrick built a huge hotel, the Biltmore, and he also donated 100 hectares (240 acres) of land to the University of Miami. Around the central business district he clustered houses into seven themed villages, each reflecting the style of a different region around the world. The Great Depression wiped out much of George Merrick’s fortune and brought an end to his plans for Coral Gables. He died in 1942 at the age of just 55.
Coral Gables Congregational Church
Being the son of a Congregational Minister, one of the first things that George Merrick decided to build was a Congregational Church. Architect Richard Kiehnel designed the church in the Spanish Colonial Revival style and it opened in 1923. Coral Gables Congregational Church was added to the US National Register of Historic Places in 1978. It remains an active place of worship.
The Venetian Pool
This is the only public swimming pool on the US National Register of Historic Places. Merrick chose an old rock quarry as the location for a pool, using coral from the quarry to create many of its features. It was designed in the Mediterranean Revival style complete with a bridge in the Venetian style. It opened in 1924 as the Venetian Casino with the pool filled (as is still is) with spring water from an underground aquifer. Over the years many changes were made to the pool including, for a time, the introduction of Venetian-style gondolas. In 1989 a major renovation restored the Venetian Pool back to its original look.
House in French Country Village
The remainder of this page covers some of the seven themed villages in Coral Gables, namely Dutch South African Village, Chinese Village, French Normandy Village, Colonial Village, French Country Village, French City Village and Italian Village. Although more houses have been built since Merrick’s day, the original themed villages remain. Inspired by 18th century rural French architecture, the French Country Village has homes in the farm style designed by architect Frank Forster and more rustic houses designed by architects Edgar Albright, and Phillip L. Goodwin.
Coral Gables Biltmore
To build his hotel, George Merrick teamed up with hotelier John McEntee Bowman who had founded the Bowman-Biltmore Hotels Corp. New York architects Schultze and Weaver were given the task of designing the hotel. The Biltmore opened in 1926 and was soon attracting the rich and famous including the Roosevelts and Vanderbilts not to mention a certain Al Capone. in 1929 when Merrick's Coral Gables company declared bankruptcy, Bowman bought out his stake in the hotel. In 1931 Bowman sold the hotel to millionaire Henry Latham Doherty. During World War II the government took over the building and used it as a hospital. After the war it remained a hospital and also housed a medical school until 1968 when the building was left abandoned. The City of Coral Gables gained ownership of the building in 1973 but it was not until 1983 that work began to restore the building as a luxury hotel. The restored Coral Gables Biltmore opened its doors on December 31, 1987.
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House in Chinese Village
The Chinese Village was built between 1926 and 1927. The houses were designed by designed by Henry Killam Murphy, who was a scholar of Oriental architecture. The houses are linked by a common wall with ornamental gates to create the impression that the houses stand in a compound. Click Tab 2 to see one of the ornamental gates.
Houses in French Normandie Village
The French Normandie Village was designed by architects John and Coulton Skinner to resemble a 15th century French village. The houses are half timbered with shingled gabled roofs and projecting second-story sections. The original village was constructed between 1926 and 1927, but further homes have been added since then.
House in Colonial Village
The Colonial Village was built between 1925 and 1926. Although the houses look rather like plantation houses from the deep south, architects John Pierson, and John & Coulton Skinner were actually inspired by the historic buildings of a New England town.
Alhambra Water Tower
Inside this structure is a conventional American water tower, but George Merrick did not want utilitarian structures in Coral Gables. Built in 1924, the water tower was encased in an outer structure that gives it the appearance of a lighthouse. The water tower was in use until 1931 when Coral Gables was connected to the Miami water supply. Inevitably the redundant water tower came under threat of demolition, but residents campaigned to save it and in 1958 the City of Coral gables purchased it for a token sum. In 1993 the Alhambra Water Tower was restored to its 1924 appearance.
© Mike Elsden 1981 - 2025
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