A Historical House

A Historical House

I live in a historically designated house. Recently, I decided to look more closely into the history. It has changed my attitude to where I live. The house was built in 1923 of locally sourced coral rock, mined from the Venetian pool. It lies half a mile outside what is now Coral Gables, and is the only coral rock house in this part of Miami. Coral Gables itself has quite a few coral rock houses built around the same time as mine. Such houses ceased being built soon after because of a shortage of rock, so they are in short supply; they are now regarded as rare gems. George Merrick’s house was built as early as 1906, the oldest house in what would become Coral Gables being built in 1899; the others were built between 1921 and 1926. Coral Gables itself was created and incorporated in 1925 (Coconut Grove was incorporated in 1919). So, my house was part of the beginnings of what is now a famous town—the “City Beautiful”. It is indeed a very nice house. It still has the original tiled floors. The beige rock still reflects the sunlight beautifully. It has an extensive tropical garden with many rare plants. My study looks out over a lush green landscape. It is possible to find a nice video about in on YouTube by Ashley Cusack, a local realtor, by searching under 2411 SW 62^nd Avenue, 33155. Somehow, I had been taking all this for granted, but now I see why the house is historically designated and cannot be torn down or extensively reworked. It was constructed at roughly the same time as the historic Biltmore hotel, which is a couple of miles away. These were the original buildings of what would have been a small village a century ago. It is now regarded as the equivalent of Beverly Hills, and is indeed rated as more expensive than that location.

I don’t know who built this house and for what purpose, or why it is at some distance from the cluster of similar houses that constituted the nascent town. The connecting road, Coral Way, was not constructed till 1922 and would have been primitive by modern standards. The other houses surrounding my house were built in the 1950s and 1970s; there is nothing like my house near me. It is unique in what is now South Miami. I picture it as isolated, proudly alone in a tropical landscape. Was it some kind of plantation or just a choice by the owner to keep his distance? I assume the original owner knew George Merrick, given his proximity and importance to the town. The owner will have seen the Biltmore grow up, though living in splendid isolation. I have my own kind of isolation, though now I am surrounded by newer houses with a children’s hospital at the end of the road. I skateboard where there used to be only vegetation. I do regard it as a haven and have found it conducive to contemplation. It is quiet and restful. I have my trampoline, table tennis table, and knife throwing range; also, two motorcycles and a car. I sold the attached property recently, so now another big modern house has been built next to mine—the march of progress, I suppose. I now contemplate this history and wonder about previous occupants going back 102 years. It seems fitting that the house should now be occupied by a philosopher nostalgic for the past.