Coral Gables Essay, Research Paper

George Merrick, a son of a Congregational minister, Solomon Merrick, was not even thirty years old when he embarked on the construction of Coral Gables. His family first came here when he was only a child, escaping the raging blizzard happening in New England at the time. They were actually headed for Miami, but, because of a yellow fever quarantine, they decided to settle west in an area known then as “pine land.

George had a vision, a vision of a city inspired by the fury and tumult of the Old Testament. But instead of constructing a confining biblical fortress, as described by Ezekiel, Merrick proceeded to convert the plantation into a modern residential city with open inviting gates, wide avenues, trickling fountains and lush greenery, stretched into an immense garden commensurate with southern Florida. A visit to the city would begin with a passage through one of eight elaborately designed entrances intended to evoke the feeling of passing through the gates of an exotic walled city of antiquity.

He also traveled extensively. He traveled to Mexico ,and also almost all of Europe. This, and also his loved for Walt Whitman’s poems, for Washington Irving’s Alhambra, his knowledge of the English and American city-gardens, the City Beautiful movement, was certainly intended to seek clarity and practical technical solutions needed to create Coral Gable’s grandeur. But the seeds of these ideas might have sprouted from his Bible readings. Merrick wanted to begin the creation of this city right after his fathers death. Unfortunately, no bankers would give him a loan to begin his city. They did not believe he had the potential to construct such a city. The considered him a sort of dreamer, because he readpoetryy and wrote some himself. He finally got the money by selling lots to people living in Miami.

Florida was one of the things that Merrick loved. In 1920, while he was already working on the shape of Coral Gables, he wrote a poem called “Florida The Treasure Land”.

The fairest mountains that arise

Pile peaks and crags in glowing change-

Like an enchanted fairy range-

Loom near;- then fade in tropic skies

-’bove Florida

The sweetest breath the fairies know;-

And perfumed deep of spices rare-

Borne from far countries whence they fare;-

Their stolen wealth- the trade-winds blow

-On Florida

The style of architecture in Coral Gables is very Mediterranean. Adapting this style to a tropical climate already defies imaginary, not to mention the problems of scale. Coral Gables’ invading vegetation largely offsets these difficulties, but it is the role of the automobile that ultimately renders the typology coherent. Cars are usually garaged in a separate building, not attached to the main residence, around which articulate interior and exterior spaces, forming, according to their position, a patio, a lateral garden, and a courtyard. The question of color is not less important. The subtle tones of Provence or estremadura fade out under south Florida’s bright skies. In much the same way that Greek temples were highlighted by polychromy, the architecture of a Coral Gables habitation is accentuated by the intensity of its colors. Windows casings are painted in Italian blue, chromium yellow, and Chinese red, blending in with the multicolor stripes of the tents, awnings and canopies brandished by all the houses, offering shade and freshness before being outdone by air conditioning. As for the walls, the stucco is painted with a primer of strong color that is, in turn, modified and softened by another more transparent layer of another hue, forming a warm tonality, favorable to receiving the shade from trees and passing clouds.

Merrick’s vision of his city came complete with a past, a city whose walls should transmit history and bear witness to the roughness of life. It rests with the patina to evoke the passage of time, the tragedies and souvenirs which in turn become engraved in the stone and stucco. Merrick lent particular attention to the texture of the roofs. He had them covered with old Spanish tiles bought in Cuba, recuperated from derelict prisons, barracks, slaughterhouses, and churches. The walls of Coral Gables have been daubed with cow manure. And it has been said that the houses in Coral Gables, barely erect, were beaten with iron chains and then finished off under a spray of manure for the purpose of generating moss, and the mold gave the walls a three-hundred year old look.

Coral Gables was constructed with the help of some of the most topnotch architects, designers, and landscape artists. It outlawed factories and other marks of commerce, and all life would be ordered and serene, where everybody’s house blended with their neighbor’s, where beauty and harmony existed in architecture and landscaping, planned by a master hand. The street signs in Coral Gables are low, and are meant to represent tombstones. They used rustic wooden signage to mark the streets. These stone markers were adapted in the 40’s along with ground hugging stop signs done in neon paint so you would be able to see them a night.. These stop signs where later replaced with the ones we know now, because of there low visibility. The stone markers each weigh about two-hundred and fifty pounds.

The individuality of Coral Gables is in part related to the extensive recreational system originated by George E. Merrick. The integrated system contained municipal and private units. The Biltmore Hotel, Country club and golf courses, and the Venetian pool and the Tahiti Beach were the most significant realizations of the ambitious plan. In addition, original plans for the city included one more golf course, a yacht club, several yacht basins, an amusement island, a two thousand- room hotel and casino, and other outdoor sports facilities. The abundance and generosity of the invented landscape of Coral Gables, in the form of Unique open spaces, giant banyon trees, poincianas and a variety of palm trees provides comfort to the resident, and dazzles the visitors’ eye and confirms Merrick’s vision of the American Dream.