Any City Beautiful Movement will definitely influence the urban planning of a town or city. This paper presents a research on the Beautiful City Development of Coral Gables in Florida. The main aim of the research is to introduce and discuss in details the City Beautiful Movement as it was represented by George Merrick, and how the movement would inspire the planning and development of the Coral Gables City. The research will also look at the major historical buildings and the design that was chosen by George Merrick. There is also a discussion of the overall concept and the dream George Merrick was trying to sell to the world about the Coral Gables.
Coral Gables, also known as the Beautiful City, is known to stand out as a rare pearl at the heart of South Florida. South Florida is a cohesive and dynamic community which is built on the ancient-modern Mediterranean Revival and using architectural styles which created an overwhelming harmony with the coastal environment it lies (Leonard 23). Looking at the historical events during the development of the Coral Gables, the early planners of the city and visionaries had been influenced to have an aesthetics City Beautiful Movement that swept the entire America in the beginning of the 1900s. The original source of inspiration to the landscaping architecture was by Frederick Olmstead who is behind the design of the Central Park of New York (Melanie 30). The Central Park and The City Beautiful Movement basically encouraged the planting of wide avenues of tree lines, construction of monuments and monumental buildings, green space winding roadways, fountain galore and ornate plazas. Not only Coral Gables, where the movement took shape, but many other cities in different parts of the world adopted the City Beautiful Movement.
The city planners of City Gables incorporated all these styles and today they continue being used by the present city planners of the city. Villa Viscaya, which was built by Deering James in 1914, set the right pace for what was known as the Mediterranean Revival and began to take effect in South Florida. This was during the famous land boom of the 1920s. Some visionaries, like Mizner Addison, Palm Beach, and George Merrick, Coral Gables, carried on with the style all through, designing and planning unparalleled communities in order to make sure they would pick up and transport them directly from Mediterranean Coast with all their antiquities (Leonard 36). For people, like Sevilla, Merrick, Majorca, Malaga and Cartagena, these were not just Spanish cities, but symbols representing the American ideal. Therefore, Merricks dream was to make sure he developed his large land holdings as he built on the Floridas rich and the dynamic Spanish history.
City Beautiful Movement in Coral Gables
George Merrick was the founder of the famous Coral Gables. Merrick came to live in Miami together with his family from Massachusetts in the mid 1899. His father, Merrick Solomon, had purchased about 160 acres of land which had not been developed and used it as a family plantation for growing oranges, avocados and grapefruit. The land today is near the famous Granada Golf Course. Ten years following the death of his father in 1921, George Merrick had already amassed over 3,000 acres of the land, which was enough to begin a massive development project and come up with a Real Estate idea which would be unprecedented in the City of Florida. Merrick had set a plan of proving that he was a man possessing impressive imagination, and a man of action as well. Today, his story is definitely the greatest story that is known in Miami today (Lejeune 17). This shows that he was very much interested in coming up with a great city meeting all the requirements of the City beautiful movement.
Merrick had a great plan of creating a new city which he would call Coral Gables. The city would be named after a native rock at home where he was born and spent all his childhood. George Merrick wanted to do this in a cohesive manner by applying an aesthetic style through the incorporation of the visions given in poems and works of art. He himself was an artist and a poet, and, therefore, his work must have also played a greater role in the inspiration. Also, the Florida Land Boom may have also inspired him in a way. It was, hence, a very exciting time for the frontiersmen, who seemed to love the natural Miamis climate and its coastal magnificence which shone with great picturesque (Melanie 76). While these frontiersmen were anxious to put their stamp into the Real Estate, they were also eager to share the beauty exhibited by South Florida, then the desire for fame rather than fortune.
Together with his team constituted of extraordinary designers including the likes of the artist Fink Denman, architects Fink George and Paist Phineas, and landscaping architect Button Frank, Merrick came out with this impressive plan of creating a unique suburb in the Miami city. This is a project he deemed to give an outstanding and unrivaled beauty, featuring the present Mediterranean Revival styles. These styles featured all the key elements of the City Beautiful Movement from the slightest details, like the installation of posts to hold the city lamps (Jackson 13). Merricks land holdings had been subdivided with usage specifications and clear zonings. These original planners of the city set aside areas for residential property and a country club, areas operating business, craft and industrial subdivisions, and recreational areas which would include parks, bridle paths, golf courses and tennis courts.
Phineas Paist, the supervising architect, was the one responsible in ensuring that there was the continuity of developing the Coral Gables city, and create the aesthetic for keeping Coral Gables as beautiful as it is this day. Paist came up with the Board of Architects Review Panel during the conception of the city, an organization which is still in existence up to today (Jackson 19). The Panel now oversees all architectural details like the selection of paint, the tiles for roofing, sienna and ocher colors, which deflected and neutralized the Florida suns brilliance. Paist became a famous colorist for creating vibrant color-schemes for the city ranging from pastels to intense, and true to the Mediterranean original style. The artistic advisor, Fink Denman, was responsible for the conceptualization of Coral Gables Grand plazas and entryways and is today credited for having exposed bricks on the colossal arches of the city to give it an antiquity look.
In 1925, nearly in the shortest time possible, the Coral Gables city was incorporated and became a city.
During these four years from the conception and incorporation, about seven million worth of property was sold out in dollars, over 600 homes had been constructed, nearly sixty-four miles roadways had been built, and about eighty miles constituted of the sidewalks. This saw the birth of the Great City of Coral Gables.
This came into human sight as a miracle and the event was indicative of the fever for building that was sweeping over Florida during the period. Today, the rapid erection and finishing of the Biltmore Hotel in 1920s, now makes it as the enchanting example and the Coral Gables trademark of the Mediterranean Architectural Design. This Biltmore tower, which houses the hotel, ends with a 3-stage cupola, and was an inspiration from the Giralda standing at the Seville Cathedral in Spain. This is a 400-roomed premier resort and was designed by Schultze Leonard and Weaver Fullerton. This day, the Biltmore stands is still as magnificent as used to be on its first opening day, right from the ground floor all the way to its rich cotta terra color schemes (Lejeune 42).
As Merricks interest in the Coral Gables and the Real Estate began to go down, he recollected his creative wheels and in 1926 he decided to come up with a 75 million USD project of building what would become the largest development project for homes in history (Melanie 87). Georges vision was to build about fourteen villages in different international places and regions. This marked his departure from his inspired Mediterranean Revival in Coral Gables. Having decided his next course of action, Merrick George came up with a joint venture with The American Building Company and Cooper Myers, the former Governor of Ohio their mission was to attract the prospects of home purchasing by offering the people a good variety of architectural designs. This new Village Project aimed to be a showcase on the greatest architectural designs and styles of different international locations like Africa, China, Mexico, France, and Italy. The Hurricane which swept the Mediterranean in 1926 brought the depression which had to put a halt to this Merricks land development idea. The following years brought a number of changes and the pioneers of the Coral Gables vanished. Merrick later ran in debts and he was rendered powerless.
The Miracle Mile which emerged in the mid 1950s marked a new beginning and a new era which resulting in the development of the Coral Gables. During the same time, some heightening restrictions had been waived and at the very time, several high market prices for buildings went up as more and more American groups, Latin Americans and people from the Caribbean and a few companies came to the area (Jackson 42). Due to this insurgence, and without the monitoring of the original planners and architects of the city, other modern planners and architects saw many newer buildings stand at the city, stylistically clashing with the Mediterranean Revival Styles and the structures it had brought about. Around 1986, the Coral Gables once again adopted the Mediterranean Architectural Ordinance, providing relevant incentives to the builders conforming only to the relevant Mediterranean Revival Style, using cotta terra colors, and also the tile roofs. While still there stands some glass sheathed and modernistic architectural buildings, it is quite clear that Coral Gables is coming back to its original Spanish roots and architecture.
In terms of buildings, Merrick was sure that he would achieve the City Beautiful Movement by having them standing at Coral Gables. This is why there are a number of historical buildings at the Coral Gables giving the magnificent impression of the City Beautiful Movement. As already mentioned, one of the outstanding historical buildings is the Biltmore Tower housing the Biltmore Hotel (Jackson 44). This Biltmore tower is a historical structure and a landmark and was constructed in 1926, and up to this day it stands with the same elegance as it used to some years after its completion. Some of the amenities in the hotel making it and historical structure include the golf course, the spa, and a very large hotel pool in the entire continental US (Lejeune 63).
Also, the site is also associated with a private university leading in research in the southern parts of the United States, the University of Miami. The University offers the famous Lowe Art Museum, theater, sports, music, among other socio-cultural events. The other famous building is the Coral Gables Merrick House. This house marks the boyhood homeland of the founder of the city, George Merrick. The house is listed on the countrys National Register of Historic Houses and Places, and has also been restored back to its original 1925 appearance which featured beautiful architectural designs and details as created from the local materials from the coastline like Miami-Dade pine and coral rocks. The Merrick House has also been filled with his personal treasures of his life, elegant furniture and his artworks (Goldfield 45). Among these building, it will be agreed that there were other more building that carried the exact impression of the Beautiful Movement.
In all the buildings constructed under the mentorship of Merrick and his colleagues, it will be agreed that there was the essence of making the greatest city of his time. The City Beautiful Movement must have made a considerable impression on Merrick George until he thought of transforming his fathers landholdings into a great city, the Coral Gables. This city incorporated all the variants of the Mediterranean style which would in a very great way affect different cities along the coastline. Basically, the overall concept of the city was the adoption of architectural designs and come up with a dream city which would remain a historical achievement. The major concepts applied involved the use of tree lines, grand structures integrating the Mediterranean styles, and these were all in accordance with the ongoing City Beautiful Movement. Basically, the major things done involved the creation of a Central Park and structures which would make a beautiful city. With the City Beautiful Movement, there was the construction of houses, which integrated different architectural designs from all parts of the world, bringing them into one harmony, and making it possible to achieve his dreams of a great Gables City. Very many buildings were constructed as the wave of City Beautiful Movement rocked the country, and other parts of the continent. There was also the planting wide avenues of tree lines, construction of grand structures and monumental buildings, green spaces winding roadways, fountain galore and ornate plazas, among others. Not only at Coral Gables where the movement took shape, but also all the other cities in different parts of the world adopted the City Beautiful Movement with the desire of selling out similar dreams. The dream was to achieve a great city which he would call Coral Gables. The city would be in accordance with the cohesive nature of aesthetic styles which would incorporate the visions given in poems and works of art (Goldfield 83). He himself was an artist and a poet, and, therefore, his work must have also played a greater role in the inspiration. Another dream was coming up with Real Estates which would be a valuable kind of investment. Although this is a god dream in itself, it is also clear that George was more after fame other than money. Therefore, we should conclude that the City Beautiful Movement was a great idea that would transform the way in which man lived in his apartments, bringing the best of life and improving the standards of life of people.
Coral Gables, also known as the Beautiful City, is known to stand out as a rare pearl at the heart of South Florida. South Florida is a cohesive and dynamic community which is built on the ancient-modern Mediterranean Revival and using architectural styles which created an overwhelming harmony with the coastal environment it lies (Leonard 23). Looking at the historical events during the development of the Coral Gables, the early planners of the city and visionaries had been influenced to have an aesthetics City Beautiful Movement that swept the entire America in the beginning of the 1900s. The original source of inspiration to the landscaping architecture was by Frederick Olmstead who is behind the design of the Central Park of New York (Melanie 30). The Central Park and The City Beautiful Movement basically encouraged the planting of wide avenues of tree lines, construction of monuments and monumental buildings, green space winding roadways, fountain galore and ornate plazas. Not only Coral Gables, where the movement took shape, but many other cities in different parts of the world adopted the City Beautiful Movement.
The city planners of City Gables incorporated all these styles and today they continue being used by the present city planners of the city. Villa Viscaya, which was built by Deering James in 1914, set the right pace for what was known as the Mediterranean Revival and began to take effect in South Florida. This was during the famous land boom of the 1920s. Some visionaries, like Mizner Addison, Palm Beach, and George Merrick, Coral Gables, carried on with the style all through, designing and planning unparalleled communities in order to make sure they would pick up and transport them directly from Mediterranean Coast with all their antiquities (Leonard 36). For people, like Sevilla, Merrick, Majorca, Malaga and Cartagena, these were not just Spanish cities, but symbols representing the American ideal. Therefore, Merricks dream was to make sure he developed his large land holdings as he built on the Floridas rich and the dynamic Spanish history.
City Beautiful Movement in Coral Gables
George Merrick was the founder of the famous Coral Gables. Merrick came to live in Miami together with his family from Massachusetts in the mid 1899. His father, Merrick Solomon, had purchased about 160 acres of land which had not been developed and used it as a family plantation for growing oranges, avocados and grapefruit. The land today is near the famous Granada Golf Course. Ten years following the death of his father in 1921, George Merrick had already amassed over 3,000 acres of the land, which was enough to begin a massive development project and come up with a Real Estate idea which would be unprecedented in the City of Florida. Merrick had set a plan of proving that he was a man possessing impressive imagination, and a man of action as well. Today, his story is definitely the greatest story that is known in Miami today (Lejeune 17). This shows that he was very much interested in coming up with a great city meeting all the requirements of the City beautiful movement.
Merrick had a great plan of creating a new city which he would call Coral Gables. The city would be named after a native rock at home where he was born and spent all his childhood. George Merrick wanted to do this in a cohesive manner by applying an aesthetic style through the incorporation of the visions given in poems and works of art. He himself was an artist and a poet, and, therefore, his work must have also played a greater role in the inspiration. Also, the Florida Land Boom may have also inspired him in a way. It was, hence, a very exciting time for the frontiersmen, who seemed to love the natural Miamis climate and its coastal magnificence which shone with great picturesque (Melanie 76). While these frontiersmen were anxious to put their stamp into the Real Estate, they were also eager to share the beauty exhibited by South Florida, then the desire for fame rather than fortune.
Together with his team constituted of extraordinary designers including the likes of the artist Fink Denman, architects Fink George and Paist Phineas, and landscaping architect Button Frank, Merrick came out with this impressive plan of creating a unique suburb in the Miami city. This is a project he deemed to give an outstanding and unrivaled beauty, featuring the present Mediterranean Revival styles. These styles featured all the key elements of the City Beautiful Movement from the slightest details, like the installation of posts to hold the city lamps (Jackson 13). Merricks land holdings had been subdivided with usage specifications and clear zonings. These original planners of the city set aside areas for residential property and a country club, areas operating business, craft and industrial subdivisions, and recreational areas which would include parks, bridle paths, golf courses and tennis courts.
Phineas Paist, the supervising architect, was the one responsible in ensuring that there was the continuity of developing the Coral Gables city, and create the aesthetic for keeping Coral Gables as beautiful as it is this day. Paist came up with the Board of Architects Review Panel during the conception of the city, an organization which is still in existence up to today (Jackson 19). The Panel now oversees all architectural details like the selection of paint, the tiles for roofing, sienna and ocher colors, which deflected and neutralized the Florida suns brilliance. Paist became a famous colorist for creating vibrant color-schemes for the city ranging from pastels to intense, and true to the Mediterranean original style. The artistic advisor, Fink Denman, was responsible for the conceptualization of Coral Gables Grand plazas and entryways and is today credited for having exposed bricks on the colossal arches of the city to give it an antiquity look.
In 1925, nearly in the shortest time possible, the Coral Gables city was incorporated and became a city.
During these four years from the conception and incorporation, about seven million worth of property was sold out in dollars, over 600 homes had been constructed, nearly sixty-four miles roadways had been built, and about eighty miles constituted of the sidewalks. This saw the birth of the Great City of Coral Gables.
This came into human sight as a miracle and the event was indicative of the fever for building that was sweeping over Florida during the period. Today, the rapid erection and finishing of the Biltmore Hotel in 1920s, now makes it as the enchanting example and the Coral Gables trademark of the Mediterranean Architectural Design. This Biltmore tower, which houses the hotel, ends with a 3-stage cupola, and was an inspiration from the Giralda standing at the Seville Cathedral in Spain. This is a 400-roomed premier resort and was designed by Schultze Leonard and Weaver Fullerton. This day, the Biltmore stands is still as magnificent as used to be on its first opening day, right from the ground floor all the way to its rich cotta terra color schemes (Lejeune 42).
As Merricks interest in the Coral Gables and the Real Estate began to go down, he recollected his creative wheels and in 1926 he decided to come up with a 75 million USD project of building what would become the largest development project for homes in history (Melanie 87). Georges vision was to build about fourteen villages in different international places and regions. This marked his departure from his inspired Mediterranean Revival in Coral Gables. Having decided his next course of action, Merrick George came up with a joint venture with The American Building Company and Cooper Myers, the former Governor of Ohio their mission was to attract the prospects of home purchasing by offering the people a good variety of architectural designs. This new Village Project aimed to be a showcase on the greatest architectural designs and styles of different international locations like Africa, China, Mexico, France, and Italy. The Hurricane which swept the Mediterranean in 1926 brought the depression which had to put a halt to this Merricks land development idea. The following years brought a number of changes and the pioneers of the Coral Gables vanished. Merrick later ran in debts and he was rendered powerless.
The Miracle Mile which emerged in the mid 1950s marked a new beginning and a new era which resulting in the development of the Coral Gables. During the same time, some heightening restrictions had been waived and at the very time, several high market prices for buildings went up as more and more American groups, Latin Americans and people from the Caribbean and a few companies came to the area (Jackson 42). Due to this insurgence, and without the monitoring of the original planners and architects of the city, other modern planners and architects saw many newer buildings stand at the city, stylistically clashing with the Mediterranean Revival Styles and the structures it had brought about. Around 1986, the Coral Gables once again adopted the Mediterranean Architectural Ordinance, providing relevant incentives to the builders conforming only to the relevant Mediterranean Revival Style, using cotta terra colors, and also the tile roofs. While still there stands some glass sheathed and modernistic architectural buildings, it is quite clear that Coral Gables is coming back to its original Spanish roots and architecture.
In terms of buildings, Merrick was sure that he would achieve the City Beautiful Movement by having them standing at Coral Gables. This is why there are a number of historical buildings at the Coral Gables giving the magnificent impression of the City Beautiful Movement. As already mentioned, one of the outstanding historical buildings is the Biltmore Tower housing the Biltmore Hotel (Jackson 44). This Biltmore tower is a historical structure and a landmark and was constructed in 1926, and up to this day it stands with the same elegance as it used to some years after its completion. Some of the amenities in the hotel making it and historical structure include the golf course, the spa, and a very large hotel pool in the entire continental US (Lejeune 63).
Also, the site is also associated with a private university leading in research in the southern parts of the United States, the University of Miami. The University offers the famous Lowe Art Museum, theater, sports, music, among other socio-cultural events. The other famous building is the Coral Gables Merrick House. This house marks the boyhood homeland of the founder of the city, George Merrick. The house is listed on the countrys National Register of Historic Houses and Places, and has also been restored back to its original 1925 appearance which featured beautiful architectural designs and details as created from the local materials from the coastline like Miami-Dade pine and coral rocks. The Merrick House has also been filled with his personal treasures of his life, elegant furniture and his artworks (Goldfield 45). Among these building, it will be agreed that there were other more building that carried the exact impression of the Beautiful Movement.
In all the buildings constructed under the mentorship of Merrick and his colleagues, it will be agreed that there was the essence of making the greatest city of his time. The City Beautiful Movement must have made a considerable impression on Merrick George until he thought of transforming his fathers landholdings into a great city, the Coral Gables. This city incorporated all the variants of the Mediterranean style which would in a very great way affect different cities along the coastline. Basically, the overall concept of the city was the adoption of architectural designs and come up with a dream city which would remain a historical achievement. The major concepts applied involved the use of tree lines, grand structures integrating the Mediterranean styles, and these were all in accordance with the ongoing City Beautiful Movement. Basically, the major things done involved the creation of a Central Park and structures which would make a beautiful city. With the City Beautiful Movement, there was the construction of houses, which integrated different architectural designs from all parts of the world, bringing them into one harmony, and making it possible to achieve his dreams of a great Gables City. Very many buildings were constructed as the wave of City Beautiful Movement rocked the country, and other parts of the continent. There was also the planting wide avenues of tree lines, construction of grand structures and monumental buildings, green spaces winding roadways, fountain galore and ornate plazas, among others. Not only at Coral Gables where the movement took shape, but also all the other cities in different parts of the world adopted the City Beautiful Movement with the desire of selling out similar dreams. The dream was to achieve a great city which he would call Coral Gables. The city would be in accordance with the cohesive nature of aesthetic styles which would incorporate the visions given in poems and works of art (Goldfield 83). He himself was an artist and a poet, and, therefore, his work must have also played a greater role in the inspiration. Another dream was coming up with Real Estates which would be a valuable kind of investment. Although this is a god dream in itself, it is also clear that George was more after fame other than money. Therefore, we should conclude that the City Beautiful Movement was a great idea that would transform the way in which man lived in his apartments, bringing the best of life and improving the standards of life of people.
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