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PRESERVATION TODAY Editor

Becky Roper Markov

Assistant Editors

Beth Ann Clark Advertising

Madie Kinsey Circulation

Marty Lee Stofik Features

Art and Production Paul E. Thompson

Board of Trustees

Timothy Carl Blake President

Juliane Bishop Vice-President GordonPimm

Secretary Margaret K. Wood

Treasurer Les Beilinson Allen Caldwell

John Ward Clark SallyeJude

Dermis G. King Becky Roper Markov

Richard G. Miller Donald D. Slesnick, II

Marty Lee Stofik

Board of Advisors

Jeanne Bellamy Dolly MacIntyre

Arva Moore Parks Dan Paul

Executive Director Paul E. Thompson

Cover photo by Phil Brodatz .

10

19

On the Cover:

Volume 1, Number l/Spring 1983

CONTENTS Around the Town . .. . ...... . . .. . . . . . . . .. . .. ........ 5

Political Update .... .... .. . . .. . .... . . . .... .. .. . .... 7 by D on Sl esnick

Miami's O ldest House ... .. . ... . ... . . .. .... ... .. .. . . 8 by Margo t Am midown The Wagner H omestead l ives o n in Lum mus Park.

The Working River . .. .. . . . . . .... .. . .. . . . . ... . .. . . . 10 by Mar ty Lee Stofik New development is fast changing the Miami River.

Tommy's Boat Yard .... . . ..... . ... . .. . . . ....... . . . 15 by Bogue Wallin The old marine railway sti ll works best fo r To mm y's.

Miami's Newest Historic Site . .... . .. .. . . . ... . ... . .. 16 by Arva Moore Parks The James L. Knight Inter nat ional Co nven tion Center is built o n Miami 's past.

The Young Man and the River .. . . .. . . ... . .. . . . . . . ... 19 by Robert S. Carr An archaeologist recalls growing up o n the Miami River.

Preser vation at Work: The O range Bowl Corporation . .. 22 by Becky Rop er Matkov Combin ing o ld houses and moder n additi o ns makes lif e at the office mo re interesting.

Personality Profile: Bess Burdine Read .. . .. . . .. . . . . . . 25 By Grace Wing B ohne The only daughter o f pioneer store owner Wi lliam Burdine remembers Miami 's past and enjoys its present.

The Vizcaya Gate Lodge ... . .. .. .. . . . . ... . . . .. . .. . . 27 by Car l]. Weinhardt,Jr. Th is h istoric, architectu rally appeal ing bu i ld ing wi ll soon become o ffices fo r the Vizcayans.

Sitting forlornly in the still-to-be developed Fort Dallas Park is dle last remaining physical link to Henry Flagler, the man who brought his railroad to Miami in 1896 and changed the course of histoq :

This two-story wooden home, which in recent years was known as the Butler building, was one of a row of "company" houses that Flagler built for his workmen in 1897. It was moved to Fo rt Dallas Park from its original site on SE 2nd Street and awaits restoratio n.

Dade Her itage Tru,t is a pr ivate, non-profit Florida co rp()r:uioll dedic~ted [() the p resen-alion of Dade CouJUy's historic architecture. neighborhoods and archaeologica l sites. Its headquarte rs are located <ll 190 SE 12th Terrace, yliami. FL 33131. Phone (305) 3';8-95'72. © Co pyr ight 19!13. Dade Herit:lgeTrusl, Inc.

3

The Editor's Corner

W ELCOME to the pages of Preservation Today, a quarterly magazine on historic preservation published by Dade Heritage Trust. In this our premier issue, we have spotlighted the Miami

River, the source of Miami's earl iest civilization and a reawakening center of development. Barely noticed by thousands of commuters each day, and admitted ly at its best when seen by boat, the Miami River has a fascinating story to te l l.

Preservation Today will feature stories on interesting neighborhoods and historic structures in all of Dade County, from the Art Deco of Miami Beach to the Mediterranean of Coral Gables and the ea rly vernacular of the Red lands, from the kingly Villa Vizcaya to the austere Wagner Home­stead.

We will profile groups and individuals who have played a part in the history of Miam i or who p laya part in the shaping of her future. We will update you on political activity affecting histor ic preservation and keep you informed on the latest economic incentives for restoration work. We'l l highlight case studies of successfu l rehabilitation projects, and we'll give you practical advice on how to renovate a bUild ing yoursel f.

Dade Heritage Trust bel ieves that saving the best of the past, incor­pOl·ating archi tectu ra l remnants of eras gone by into our modern envi­ronment, enhances our present and enriches our future. A sense of p lace, of root ,gives a city an identity. By encouraging historic preservation and an appreciation of Dade County:~ heritage, Preservation Today hopes to be a source of information and inspiration and a force for community cohesiveness. Becky Roper Matkov Art Deco Weekend on O ld Miami Beach drew tt·e·

mendous crowds.

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4

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Left: Miami Mayor Maurice Ferre at the Orange Bowl. Right: Author Mary Emmer­ling lectured on American Country prior to DHT's An­tique Show at Dinner Key.

AROUND THE

TOWN WITH

PRESERVATIONISTS

Left: The glamor and excitement of DHT's Tenth Anniversary Event in the Orange Bowl was personified by Myriam Rovirosa and patron chairman Bruni Pie lago. Top right: Trustee john and Beth Ann Clark enjoyed the festivities. Right: Antique show chairman Dolly MacIntyre chats with co-chairman juliane and husband, Dr. Frank Bishop.

Susan Heatley and chairman Susan jones supervise a workman restoring the Vizcaya Gate LOdgefor thejunior League of Miami Designer's Show House.

5

o T E

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Left : Brodatz' photodrawings of the Oade County Courthouse saved 1,500 hours preparation time prior to restoration.

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6

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MARGOT AMMIDOWN Historical Research Consultant

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JIM WILLS DESIGN~ Interiors and Accessories

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•

POLITICAl 4

UPDATE D ADE HERlTI\GE TRUST CON­

DUCTS ELECTION POll ... In a serious effort to emerge as a

po litically effective o rganizatio n , Dade Heritage Trust conducted its fi rst pre-election survey of local can­didates in order to ascertain their positions regarding historic preser­vation. A five-part questionnaire was designed to test the candidate's pres­ervation "I.Q." and his/he r commit­ment to pro-preservation legislation.

Three key issues highlighted were ad valorem tax abatements, a state his­toric preservation council and the establishment of a grant-in-aid and funding program. The survey was circulated to candidates p articipating in the November gene ral election, and despite its being DHTS first such effort, an impressive response was re­ceived.

An overwhelming majority of the respondents indicated their support for the historic preservation cause and the tax legislation vital to its ulti­mate success.

Among those who returned the questionnaire were Secretary of State George Firestone; Senators Roberta Fox and Joe Gersten; and Representa­tives Roberto Casas, Hal Spaet, Mike

Abrams, John Cosgrove, Tim Murphy, and Ar t Simon. Inte restingly, two of Dade County's Congressional delega­tion took the time to reply with per­sonal lette rs.

Congressman Larry Smith summed up his philosophy with the statement: "I have always worked and supported historic preservation matters:'

An equally strong commitment was offered by Congressman Dante Fas­cell: "I am writing this letter to reite r­ate my long-standing support for ef­forts at the federal level to conserve important physical aspects of our na­tions heritage. I will continue to sup­port federal p rograms to achieve the objectives embodied he re in Dade County by your effective organiza­tion:'

DADE HERITAGE TRUST HAS I PUT TO LOCAL BOARDS ... As the number and impo rtance of local his­toric preservation boards grow, Dade Heritage Trust continues to be well rep resented in the ir membership. Many of those persons who have been appo inted to serve are lo ng-time members of the Trust, and several are current trustees. Recent appOint­ments include Marty Stofik (Miami

Cauley Square's Span ish-style, flat-iron buildi ng with its coral rock and Dade County pine was constructed by millionaire tomato farmer, William H. Cauley.

The I ittle houses that lie in its shadow have been restored and tu rned into antique, boutique and craftsman shops, a charming garden tea room and a nostalgic walking village.

by Don Slesnick Sho res); Le s Beil e nso n (Miami Beach); John Clark (Miami); and Don Slesnick (Metro-Dade). Everyone is encouraged to keep track of the ac­tivities of these boards and, whenever possible, to attend their public hear­ings and workshops.

FIRST ANNUAL PRESERVATIO DAY PLANNED ... Plans are now un­derway fo r Florida's first Annual Pres­ervation Day celebration, to be held in Tallahassee on Wednesday, May 11. The baSic idea is to gather preser­vationists from all over the state at the capitol to impress the legislature with the movement's size and strength. Ac­tivities will include cocktail recep­tions, briefings by the secretary of state, meetings with the cabinet, lunch in the old capitol, and plenty of lobby­ing with hometown representatives and senators. DHT will soon be an­nouncing specific details for you who wish to participate in this most impor­tant political activity. See you in Tal­lahassee!

Attorney Don Slesnick writes for the Miami Review and is a member of the Metro-Dade Historic Preservation Board.

Cauley Square cherishes history, creating a mood of less hectic years. . .

22400 Old Dixie Highway #wtjt<Yttant -BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION

Open Monday- Saturday, MARCH 5

10:00 a.m.-4:30 p.m.

Phone (305) 258-3543

7

JULY 25 FAL L FESTIVAL

NOVEMBER 5

Miatni's Oldest House: THE WAGNER HOMESTEAD by Margot Ammidown

A MILE and a half up the Miami River, in Lummus Park, sits a wood-frame structure that

looks incongruous in its current city setting. Over a hundred years ago, this house stood just a short distance from its present site in a startlingly different environment. There, off a branch of the Miami River known as Wagner Creek, in a wilderness unknown to most of the country, William Wagner built his ho me between 1855 and 1858.

William Wagners daughter sold the homestead to a real estate company in t he ea rl y 1900s an d move d to downtown Miami with her family Over the next decade Wagner's land was transformed into the suburban Highland Park. The Wagner House was moved squarely onto a residential lot, and its identity was soon sub­m erge d int o a middl e -cl ass ne ighbo rhood streetscape of neat, nicely painted bungalows.

Ma ny o ld-time reside nts were aware of the history of the house at 1145 NW 8th Avenue, so knowledge of its pioneer origin was never com­pl e te ly los t. It s e xi s te nce was threatened , howeve r. The plan for the northward extension of Dade Coun­ty's Metrorail system cut right through Highland Park and meant that if Miami was going to retain its oldest know n private reS ide nce, ac ti o n would have to be taken. Dade Heri­tage Trust acted. In 1979, members acqui red funds fro m the City of Miami 's Co mmunity Developme nt Block Grant Program and made plans fo r the relocation and restoration of the Wagner House.

Lummus Park was selected as the re locatio n s ite for a num be r of reasons. It was not far from the origi­nal site. Like the wagner homestead, it was close to the Mian1i River. And the park contained another structu re from the mid-nineteenth century, the Fort Dallas barracks, also known as the William English slave quarters.

The Wagner house was moved to the park and stabilized, and work was begun on its restoration and partial reconstruction. That process is still underway, but the house is now be­ginning to look like its former self. The restoration will be completed when period furnishings are col­lected and othe r displays are assem­bled. Eventually the Wagner house will be open to the public as the only example of a pioneer ho use from Miami 's ho mesteading era, whe n South Florida was a remote frontie r.

WILLIAM Wagner was an in­tegral figure in that period in Dade County's past. The

Wagner family were plain fo lk. Wil­liam came to Miami in 1855, following his fo rme r milita r y unit , which reopened Fort Dallas during the last Seminole War. He was a vete ran of the Mexican War, fighting under Gene ral Winfie ld Scott until he was wounded in the battle of Cerro Go rdo. He met and married his wife Eveline in Charleston, South Carolina, where he was se nt to recover. The former Eveline DeBau (or Aimar, as she was

also known) was a French Creole whose life in Charleston before Wil­liam is a fascinating story on its own.

William Wagner left most of his family in South Carolina when he first came to Miami. He established a sut­lers store at the fo rt fo r the soldiers in reSidence, and up river, o n land that later became his ho mestead, he built a coontie mill and house. Wagners fa mily joined him three years late r. The Wagners soon became popular figures in the small river community They were honest, hard working, and hospitable by all accounts. They were pillars of a setdement d1at was popu­lated largely by transients, scound re ls or settlers who eventually gave up u-y­ing to eke out a living from the sandy pine flats and moved on.

Pioneer life in Miami was laced wid1 many obstacles. Food, compan­ionship, shelter - nothing came easily Hostile Indians were anod1er worry The Wagners were among the first settlers to make friends with mem­bers of the Seminole tribe who, dur­ing the mid -1 800s, we re hunted ruthlessly by a military seeking d1eir

The Wagner Homestead, being restored by Dade Heritage Trust, recalls the p ioneer era of Miami's past.

8

e>..1:ermination in Florida. Indian re­prisals o n settlers, a ltho ugh in­frequent, were the topic of incessant rumors. The Wagners were friendly, however, and apparently not given to alarmism. Over the years they enter­tained in their ho me some of the legendary Seminole fighters of the Indian wars.

They also entertained at various ti mes most of the significan t figures of Miami's pio nee r histo r y. Besides settlers and members of the military community, the Wagners were visited by contingents of both Union and Confederate soldiers during the Civil War. Othe r g uests were Miami's no torio us carpetbaggers, William Gleason and William Hunt, the wil­li am Brickell s, Julia Tuttle, Vice­Pres ident of the United States Schuyler Colfax, and two U.S. senators who stopped by on their way to a sightseeing trip of the Everglades.

If the heavy, hand-hewn beams and joists of the Wagner house could tell the story of what they had wiUlessed, the details of the histo ry of Miami would be very much enriched. For­tun atel y, Rose Wagner Richards, William's and Evelines daughter, did record some of her memo ries in a series of articles in 1903 for the Miami Daily News, one of the few firsthand accounts local historians have of the period. Additional information used in reconstructing the Wagners' life on the Miami River was supplied by one of Roses daughters, Maude Black, be­fo re her death a few years ago, and by a son, Charles Richards, who was born on his grandfather's homestead in 1887 and died only this year.

William and Eveline Wagner spent the rest of thei.r lives on the Miami homestead. Mrs. Wagner was buried on the property near a small church the family erected, the first church in Dade County William Wagner died in 1901 of o ld age and medical complica­tions caused by his Mexican War in­juries. He was buried in the Miami City Cemetery. Wagner had lived long enough to see the arrival of the rail­road and the incorporation of the City of Miami. It was also long enough to see that Dade Countys homesteading era had come to an e nd , and that pre-

-- ---- - - ----

Archaeologists excavate the original site of the Wagner Homestead aftet· it was removed to Lummus Park.

Sitting close to the Wagner House are the former William English slave quarters, built in 1849 and later used by the military at Fort Dallas. The Daughters of the American Revolution relocated the building to Lummus Park in 1925.

railroad pioneers were already some- mon with them. He and his family thing of an anachronism who had lit- bear a different relevance to Dade tie influe nce in the development of Countys histo ry in both deed and Henry Flaglers city symbolism. The Wagners came to

TODAY, it is difficult to imagine Miami when o thers were not in-tile Miami Rive r as an isolated, terested and forged a life for tIlem-lawless, subtropical wilderness selves in a place many thought inhos-

with o nly a few scattered inhabitants. pitable. They were active in local poli-Lummus Park is a relatively small tics and community affairs, and the ir g reen tri ang le wedged between loyalty to their home and neighbors apa rtm e nt buildings, maritim e was not ba ed on potential profit, but businesses, and the Scottish Rite Tem- in a genuine affection that evolved pie. The Wagner house is now mo re over tIleir years of hard work and ded-than 120 years old, and one might ication. Few people today are aware wonder what relevance this small rus- that settlers like Eveline and William tic home has to its current highly ur- Wagner even existed in tIlis area's past. banized surroundings. After all , we It is time the people of Dade County live in an area where all the major had a monument to their lesse r histo rical figures - Julia Tuttle, Henry known, but eq u all y important , Flagler, Carl Fisher, George Merrick - forebear. were land developers, not politicians, ---------------theologian , or frontiersmen.

AltIlough William Wagner person­ally knew orne of Miamis early de­velopers, he had very little in com-

9

Margot Ammidown, an historical reo search consultant, is co-author (with Ivan Rodriguez) of a book on the his­torical architecture of Dade County, From Wilderness to Metropolis.

o a:

~ <t a: o z <t x W ...J <t

THE

M lAMl was bustling with activ­ity when Max Swartz first ar­rived at the City Curb Market

in 1918. Residents of the rapidly grow­ing city came daily to the banks of the Miami River to buy fresh fruit, vegeta­bles and seafood. Max sold oy ters.

By 1933, with the nation in the throes of economic depression, Max was able to buy a seven-year-old build­ing by the river at the foot of Flagler Street. There he opened his seafood restaurant and fish marke t.

Fisherme n coming from Biscayne Bay to his East Coast Fishe ries would pass the Dallas Park and Julia Tuttle Hote ls. The ope n-air market, at SW 2nd Ave. and orth River Drive, was gone, replaced by the graceful Rya n Motors building.

Twenty-five years passed. MaJ(s son, David , was learning the fish business fro m his fathe r. The Miami waters were yielding fifteen million pounds of fi h a year. TheJulia Tuttle Hotel had become home to the YWCA. The Dal­las Park was closed.

Ano the r twe nty- fi ve yea rs has passed. The Dallas Park is gone, re­p laced by the angular Hyatt Regency. The Julia Tuttle fell in 1974 to make room fo r a new YWCA, now being converted into the ultra- luxurio us River Parc Hotel. The catch is only a million pounds of fish in a good year. David Swartz still is selling seafood in the o ld building on SW orth River Drive.

LEFT: An aerial view shows the Miami River as it flows by Metrorail construc­tion, the old Florida East Coast Rail­way Freight House and past the Knight Convention Center into Biscay ne Bay.

CITY OF MIAMI/DDA

Today's Miami River is a paradox. Old bu ildings are being demolished to make way for new buildings, and other old buildings are being moved in as their ne ighbors. The 1902 Butler Insurance Bui lding has been relo­cated to Fo rt Dallas Park as the cen­terpiece of an urban plaza. Between it and the sunrise is the raw concrete hulk of the James L. Knight Conven­tion Ce nte r. In Lummus Park, the pre-1858 Wagne r Ho use is be ing renovated in the shadow of the new Government Center and tlle hubbub of 1-95.

Towering hotels, office buildings and condo miniums are be ing e n­couraged by high-density zoning on both sides of the river. At the same time, a river walk and improved public parks are being developed to bring people back to the river's edge.

All of this wi ll come as a shock to tens of thousands of Dade reSidents who a re o n ly vag ue ly awa re of downtown Miami, much less that a busy river runs through it.

Admittedly, it's not much of a river anymore, compared to the Ohio or mighty Mississippi. North of 36th Street it has been reduced to no more than a canal. The rapids at 27tllAvenue we re conque red by dynamite. It gets only an occasional swig of fresh wate r whe n the fl ood-control gates are opened.

A working rive r. That's what it's called by the cargo shippers, boat builders and scrap metal dealers who p o pul a t e it s b a nk s b eyo nd downtown. People in the condos, res­taurants and hotel rooms gawk as huge ship filled with fo reign sounds

11

by Marty Lee Stofik

squeeze through the o ld bridges, shiny sa ilboats and an occasional pelican in their wakes. They call it picturesque. Environmental group call it a disaste r.

In spite of its history, the riverfront has been surprisingly under-utilized by today's standards. Now, the birth­place of Miami is undergoing a re­birth. Downtown riverfront land is selling fo r $100 pe r square foot. As developme nt spreads out fro m the city cente r, the value of o ld neighbo r­hoods and small businesses will make their land attractive fo r redeve lop­me nt. The builders, marine inte rests and environmentalists agree the river wi ll not remain as it is. Agreement ends there.

(continued)

The Art Deco building of Miami Ship ­yards is on Southeast 2nd Avenue at South River Drive.

MARTY STOFIK

Commerce floats by with a Caribbean beat.

(continued)

Downtown, on the no rth side of the river, is whe re the action is. Just west o f Fo rt Dallas Park lies an unde­ve loped tract of land fl anked by the proposed People Mover and 35-foot high, six-lane Miami Avenue Bridge. It and a large parcel immediate ly across

the river are owne d by Arm ando Codina's Intra-Ame rican Investments, Inc. The prope rty o n the south side is the site of two historic ware ho uses. The 1905 Citrus Exchange Building, o riginally timbe r now covered with metal siding, is the oldest in the com­munity The company hasn't decided

Boats of every siz e and purpose pass each other on the Miami River.

MARTY STOFIK

12

what to do with the p roperty Or the wareho uses.

Fiftee n acres of pr im e und e­veloped land lie between the new Miami Avenue Bridge and the path o f Metrora il. Wo rsham Brothe rs, Inc. plans to start constructio n late this year of an 18,000- to 22,000-seat col­iseum with convention, exhibit and merchandise mart space. On the west edge of the p rope rty is the 1925 Flo r ida East Coast Rail way fre ight te rminal, a one-of-a-kind brick relic from the rail road' heyday. There is a "possibility" the fo ur-story building will be re novated fo r shops and res­taurants, if the company decides it will draw sufficient traffic. And if the space isn't needed fo r parking.

Adjacent to the FEC property is a long stretch of land owned by Florida Power and Light. Across SW 2nd Av­enue, the old Ryan Motors Building has been re legated to use as an FPL storage build ing, the beautiful mural o n its ceiling obscured by stacks of boxes. (continued)

o a:

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MARTY STOFIK

. On the south side of the River sits the f orm er Fruit Grower's Ex change.

A man takes a free shower at the empty Habrew Maritime Warehouse .

As the river turns northwest, it is flanked by a mixture of shiny new yachts, seedy boat

yards, old neighborhoods, a public housing project, fisheries and junk yards.

The City of Miami Parks Depart­ment is trying to keep the river acces­sible to the public. Lummus Park (404 NW 3rd Ave.) is being connected to riverfront land across North River Drive. The $4 million Jose Marti Park (SW 2nd St. at SW 4th Ave.) is under construction on ten acres where a tent city housed thousands of Marie l boat­lift refugees. Volunteer groups are being enlisted to clean up Sewell Park (1801 NW South River Dr.), a rare patch of natural flo ra along the river. A new recreati on b uilding is being con­structed in Curtis Park (1901 NW 24th Ave.) along with new lighting fo r the athletic fields.

And the departme nt is working with the Downtown Developme nt Authority and property owners to build Riverwalk, a way to remind the public there is a river behind that wall of new construction. The $944,000

The Ry an Building on North River Drive was once an automobile showroom.

MARTY STOFIK

13

first phase leads from the Brickell Av­enue Bridge to Fort Dallas Park. Paper plans call for a walkway lined with Roya l Palms and mahogany trees, vendors with pushcarts, seating, and lighting for evening strolls winding along the north bank from 27th Av­enue to the bay.

A new clean-up-the-river group, the Miami River Revival Committee, re­cently emerged with a five-year plan focusing on commerce, recreation, transportation, beautification and his­tory. A Miami River Coordinating Board is being formed from mem­bers of various river-interest groups. It plans to review problems to deter­mine if one of the 30 organizations with jurisdiction over the river and its banks failed to do its duty or if new laws are needed. The re is talk of a water-taxi project with terminals at the Hyatt, Dupont Plaza Hotel and Bay­front Park.

Life o n and alo ng the r ive r is fl ourishing. Life in the river isn't doing so well. A study done a few years ago showed there was a highe r level of toxic PCBs in the bottom sedime nt of the Miami River than any other river in the country.

Manatees, snook, tarpon and peli­cans still visit the river, but the sea­birds no longer nest there. The river has become the victim of the de­velopment it spawned. Industrial ac­tiviti es , sto rm runoff, live-a board boats and shipping all contri bute to the pollution.

(continued)

The Art Deco-sty le 7th Avenue bridge is operated by tender Luis Herrara.

MARTY STOFIK

(continued)

The river no longer flows. A foot and a half of silt has collected on its bottom since it was dredged in the 1930s. Shipping and marine inte rests want it dredged back to its original 15-foot depth . Environme ntalists claim dredging the PCB-laden sedi­ment would kill the river and Bis­cayne Bay

Shippers are vehemently opposed to any new bridges. They want tun­nels, to eliminate the hazard and in­conve nie nce of bridges. Down­towners look at the shipping traffic as an obstacle to be overcome in getting from tlle city center to the Brickell Avenue financial distr ict.

Business me n say the b illi o n­dollar-a-year shipping industry is vital to Miami's international trade. Re­gional shippers serving the Carib­bean and South America prefer tlle non-union r iv~r docks. But they bring with them certain problems. As one vete ran river observer put it, "It's fun to see a ship come up the river in the . morning, then see it on the six o'clock news that evening:'

It's been fif ty yea rs since Max Swartz moved his little seafood oper­ation into the building on the river at Flagler Street. It, too, will change.

David Swartz is making plans to redevelop the fo ur acres he now owns. It might be a combination of offices, hotels, condominiums and restaurants. He isn't sure. He already has fired two planners because he didn't like their ideas. Whatever it is, it will relate to the river.

"I have certain commitments to my property," he said. "It's my heritage. I want something 'Miami: Miami is the most fabulous city you will ever find."

The old building Max bought in 1933 probably will remain. Swartz re­cently spent $90,000 on reinforcing tlle structure in an attempt to save it. "I like it the way it is;' he said.

Almost everyone likes their part of tlle Miami River the way it is. Almost everyone agrees it won't stay that way It never has.

Marty Stofik is assistant editor of Pres­ervation Today.

Florida's First Lady, Adele Graham, on the Miami River:

"The Miami River has been the geographic and economic lifeline of Miami since the time when it was a small frontier settlement. Now iliat Miami flourishes as an international metropolis it is more important than ever to preserve and revitalize the natural beauty of the river that has given the city so much.

"The river provides a place of enjoyment for area reSidents as well as a vital transportation link for Miami's economy I am pleased to have played a small part some ten years ago in an effort to improve the Miami River. I am proud of the efforts being made today to make the Miami River what it should be - a jewel in the setting of a great city"

Sewell Park provides an oasis of tranquility along tbe busy River.

14

TO

BETWEEN 4 p.m. and d usk, when the fishing boats straggle in, followed by sea gulls and

pelicans swooping and diving for the morsels of fish jettisoned after the cleaning, the afternoon sun makes long shadows of the boats in Tommys Boat Yard. Across the river is the mod­ern Miami of the James L. Knight Con­vention Center. Here, it is much as it was forty or fifty years ago.

Tommy Curry was a Bahamian who worked on his father's schooner haul­ing pineapples and fruit to Miami from the Bahamas and then north to Baltimore before returning home. When the winds were out of the north and northwest, they usually anchored south of Cape Florida waiting for a good wind to sail up the bay. In 1917, Tommy and his brother stayed in Miami and began working at local boatyards along the Miami River. By 1929,Tommy decided to open his own boatyard close to the mouth of the river. He rented a tract of land from the Brickells, removed the old fishing shack from the water's edge and began clearing the land for a suitable yard.

Today, Tommy's Boat Yard is little changed from when it opened. Its marine railway was designed by Tommy based on his experience in other boatyards. Although marine railways were not uncommon, Tom­my's is the only remaining railway of its kind in Miami. (Miami Shipyards' tl1ree much larger railways, for ships, have been completely rebuilt to ac­commodate newer technology.) The railway at Tommy's was built after World War II. Concrete was poured to support the rails, designed to haul yachts and fishing boats. Boats that draw more than five feet, are wider tl1an fifteen feet and longer than fifty­four feet are too large for the railway

Tommy's son, Tom Junior, the cur­rent proprietor of the yard, explains the advantages of a railway:

'S BOATYARI) "You see, the newer lifts pick a boat

up in slings, and that can be hard on the boat. With a railway, tl1e boat is supported all from underneath; the only thing keeping the boat on the car is the weight of the boat itself. If the cable breaks on the railway, the boat just slides back in me water. But if a sling breaks on a lift, tl1e boat falls and you got real trouble. With tl1ese tracks laid criss-cross all over the yard, we can push a boat where we want it. You can't do mat too well wim new lifts:'

Has he ever thought of replacing the railway?

"No, no. It's the best thing for this yard. It's safer and we can haul a boat in five or ten minutes. The only reason the yard looks the way it does is that we're not sure what's going to happen. You see, my daddy, Tommy, died about a month ago and we don't know what's going to happen to me area. We want to stay here, but we just can't tell.

"With that kind of building" - he pointed to the new Convention Center - "and the people mover going right me omer side of this shed" - with a sweep of his arm he included a long, narrow, metal building adja-

by Bogue Wallin cent to the yard that once housed a machine shop - "and the Brickell property, that's who I lease from , being in probate court 'til April, we just can't tell what's going to happen:'

Will he know his plans after April? "I don't know. The Brickells may

owe a lot of inheritance taxes and this space is getting pretty expensive, high taxes and all.

"Besides mat, since the Bal1amas declared their waters off limits to foreign fishermen, me commercial fleet hasn't been doing too well , and tl1e countys trying to get me shippers to use the new port, but it's union and more expensive tlun picking up way up river. And you see, in Fort Lauder­dale they want boatyards; why, mey give you a tax break for setting one up up there. Here in Miami , they just don't seem to care about us:'

The sun had almost set. An empty freighter on me rivers edge appeared ghostlike in me waning light. It was time to go home.

Bogue Wallin, former deputy director of the Metro-Dade Historic Preserva­tion Division, is now executive director of the Preservation Fund of Penn.

Co-proprietors Tommy Curry and Sidney Curry stand beside their original marine railway.

15

M I'SNE:WEST HISfOmC SITE

T HE beautiful , new City of Miami James L. Knight In­ternational Conference and

Convention Center is more dlan a harbinger of Miami's future as a great international city. It is our link with the past - our generation's contribu­tion to a 4,OOO-year-old continuing story of human endeavor on the nordl bank of the Miami River.

The construction of the Knight Center gave Miamians a rare oppor­tunity to learn about the people who preceded them. Before dle Centers foundation was laid, archaeologists were a ll owed to spend severa l months digging up the past and Sifting dlrough the layers of time. Although

much of the four-acre site had been disturbed by previous consu-uction, several areas, including the gardens of the Granada Apartments, remained intact.

The site looked vacant when the archaeologists arrived except for a few trees and the shiny, gold tiles of the short-lived riverwalk. The earth, however, had retained memorabilia of past events and had pressed the ob­jects between layers of dirt like pages in a giant scrapbook. The ar­chaeologists knew that the earth's scrapbook offered more than a nos­talgic trip through time. It was a re­verse mystery book with a backward plot dlat began with "to be continued"

by Arva Moore Parks

and ended with chapter one. As dle archaeologists began dig­

ging dleir neat, grave-like pits, pieces of recent times were the first to sur­face - pop-tops, bottle caps, plastic botdes and a 1966 dime dlat someone had dropped in a parking lot. Boom­time Miami appeared in a tangle of debriS left behind by the wreckers who demolished the Robert Clay, Pa­tricia and Towers hotels and the Granada Aparullents.

Except for a few pieces of concrete Sidewa lk, the foundations of the boom-time hotels had all but obliter­ated any trace of dle homes that once made up the exclusive, rurn-of-the­century riverfro nt neighborhood

The City of Miami/University of Miami James L. Knight Conference and Convention Center and Hyatt Regency Hotel complex looks out over the Miami River.

16

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Before the Knight Center was built, the site was excavated for archaeological remains.

called Fort Dallas Park. During the mus Park where it remains today, and a broken clay pipe. One of their heady days of the boom, these river- known as Fort Dalla. contributions to the site did not have front homes yielded to the skyscraper The archaeo logists also found to be unearthed. Standing as a solitary hotels and the tourists. mini-balls, liquor bottles and other sentinel was a tall palm, the last of

Although the house was gone, the items that the soldiers dropped or hundreds that had been planted on archaeologists uncovered the entire discarded during their stay at Fort the banks of the river in the early solid rock foundation of Julia Tuttle's Dallas. The most poignant discovery 1800s. The last palm tree hung on to home. It was torn down in 1926 to was the unmarked grave of a young life after it was moved to make way for make way for a hotel that was never soldier. For over a hundred years, his d1e Knight Center. A second move, built. For d1e neA1: fifty years it lay skeleton, surrounded by the nails of however, took its toll , and the tree undisturbed under an asphalt parking his coffin that time had turned to dust, died. lot. If it had survived, it would have lay undiscovered. The pits were deep now, and the been our most important historic site. The neA1: items to surface were left archaeologists knew that soon they More than just the home of the by settlers in dle early nineteenth cen- should find material from a period of "Mother of Miami;' it was also d1e 1845 tury. Someone threw away a bottle Miami's history of which little was home of William F. English, the man known. When they unearthed a piece who had platted a forgotten village A turbanned face on a clay smoking- of a Spanish plate, a broken olive jar

pipe bowl, dating from the 1850s, was cal led Miami fifty years before the City found at the dig site. and the tip of a scabbard blade, they of Miami was born. entered the era when the Spanish

Nearby, the archaeologists found a built a mission on the north bank of military button, lost by a soldier who the river in hopes of Christianizing came to fight the Seminole Indians Miami's native people, whom they who drove poor Mr. English away. called Tequesta Indians. Although the Even the Semino les left something mission was short lived, Spanish con-behind on the site. Colorful glass tact set the stage for an incredible beads were scattered about, left from event d1at occurred 200 years later. a friendlier time when the Indians When the English and the Seminoles came to trade with the white man. took over Florida in 1763, the Teques-

SOME of the soldiers lived in tas left for Havana with their Spanish both d1e English house and in allies. his slave quarters, which housed A T last the archaeologists were

Miami's first black residents. When the into the first chapter of the slave quarters were scheduled for story of human life on the demolition to make way for the banks of the Miami River. Because Robert Clay Hotel, citizens raised the money to move the building to Lum-

17

(continued)

(continued) Miami's native people had lived in­termitten tly on the site for more tl1an 3,000 years before any European set foot on Florida's sho res, tl1e natives had left the most behind. The plot thickened as thousands of broke n shells and pieces of potte ry were lifted to the surface. Bones from ani­mals, fish and birds told the story of a thousand meals on the river bank. Tools, hand made from conch shells and sharks teeth, spoke of the native's ingenuity One woman lost a bone pin that might have held back her hair, and ano the r d ropped or discarded a necklace fashioned from the under­side of a turtle. Was the little carved canoe a toy for a young Indian child or a totem to some unknown god?

When the archaeologists left witl1 their plastic bags filled witl1 Miami's past, tl1e contractor began to drive the Knight Center fo undations in the earth. As the concrete shafts were driven through 4,000 years of history to the beginning of time, our genera­tion added its page to the book.

Today, whe n yo u come to the Knight Center, you become part of the story. As you leave and walk out into the busy city, you can see the future unfo ldi ng before yo ur eyes . One glance backward, however, and the Miami River comes into view, just as it did thousands of years ago when tl1e first people discovered the small strea m and decided that its northern shore was a nice place to call home.

Arva Parks is an historian and au ­thor 0/ the books The Forgotte n Fron­tie r: Florida Through the Lens of Ralph M. Munro e and Miami, the Magic City. She is also associate editor o/Tequesta, published by the Historical Associa­tion o/ Southern Florida.

preservation is progress

ALEXANDRA WARD

The new Hyatt Regency Hotel towers over the Mediterranean Revival-sty le Bric­kell Avenue bridge.

18

•

IRE YOUNG MAN AND THE I

GREW up near the Miami River and haunted its banks like a wharf rat. I overturned rocks to find bit

and pieces of fossil bone, Indian ar­tifacts, or just to watch the strange trilobite-like creatures scramble as I molested their dark home. Despite my young age (thirteen), I was always aware that I was sharing the river with a long heritage of life and people that had lived here from an ancient time, long befo re I had arrived into the wo rl d, and even earlie r than the history-book time when my own an­cestors had stepped from European ships onto a New England shore.

I knew that I was sharing the river with a large metropolitan city that had shaped and altered this river dramati­cally from the time that it had been simply the gentle, sometimes wild , flow of Everglades water across the oolitic lime tone. The city had alte red the river and its flow with dredges, dynamite and indiffere nce. Once fresh and clean enough to drink, the r iver's discharge had been slowed and contaminated by salt-water intrusion as fre h-water pressure continued to drop over the years. The "falls;' the rocky ledge that had separated the Everglades from the coastal ridge, was dynamited in 1909, and the rapids ceased. The river's pulse deadened as a long serpent plume of dark brown water spread four miles down the river into Biscayne Bay like a mortal wound.

As the city grew, the river's quality worse ned. Sewage and industrial waste were dumped into the river until 1968, when an 1896 law was en­forced fo r the first time and stopped such practices.

In 1959, when I first discovered the river, I knew nothing of those grim facts, only that I had discovered a fas­cinating new world that was the heart of the City, a vital organ that for some reason no one had told me about -

by Robert S. Carr

not my family, not my teache rs, not any of the other children. I felt as if I had learned a special secret, and only late r, at age fifteen, when I read Marjorie Stoneman Douglas' The Everglades: River of Grass, did I realize that there were others who knew and deeply understood the river, but they were the exceptions.

At a recent scientific confe rence, I was intro du ce d to an e mine nt geomorphologist, an expert on riv­e rs. I seized the opportunity to ask him how he thought the Miami River had been formed. He looked at me askance and responded, "That's hardly a river. Now, if you want to know about an interesting river, let me tell you about some recent research on the

Mississippi .. :' His response reminded me of the

reaction of so many people when they are told about Dade County's mul­titude of historic and prehistoric sites. They are eithe r amazed o r begin to tell you about the really "old" sites that they had seen "up north:'

In truth, the Mian1i River, the natural lands of Southern Florida and the local heritage have all suffered in the publics perception because of subtle e levations, the unimposing native flo ra (unimposing only to the unin­itiated) and a history that gene rally has been unknown and only part of the Anglo -Amer ica n main strea m

(continued)

Metro-Dade archaeologist Bob Carr searching for artifacts in a limestone solu­tion hole.

19

(continued)

since the nineteenth century. It is pre­cisely this subtlety in the landscape and flo ra, and tile many unknowns about tllis area's histo ry, that make it so attractive. And while the Miami may not be the Cadillac of rivers, it cer­tainly has been a vigorous and domi­nant fo rce in man's habitatio n of Southeaste rn Florida fo r the past 4,000 years.

The river may have had its o rigin as a alt-wate r tidal channel flowing from a salt-water lagoon upon a land form that e me rged a re lati vely recent 200 ,000 to 400 ,000 ye a rs ago . Geologists be lieve that the coastal limestone ridge beneath metropoli­tan Dade County fo rmed as a result of the slow deposition of microscopic ino rganic particles called (olids) on a shallow sea bottom. Many scie ntists believe that the coastal ridge has been high and dry for the last 120,000 years.

As a boy" I had picked up fossil bones along the river bank at Brickell Point. As I tumbled the dark brown forms between my fingers, my mind wrestled with the forgotte n times whe n these bones had been part of living creatures that roamed the river bank long before man was tlle re to give the river a name.

Eight to ten thousand years ago, Florida was drie r than it is today, with vast savannahs where the Everglades is now located. Large mammals such as the mammoth, horse, bison, and tapir fo rayed tI1rougho ut the area. Animal ranges probably shifted from the savannahs to tile highe r, drier coastal ridge as the Everglades began to form abo ut 7,000-8,000 years ago. This shift meant a tremendous de­crease in the available food range, and in all probability, tile animal popula­tio ns also began to dec rease. Al­though South Florida may have been one of tile last refuges of tile large Pleistocene animals, it is doubtful tlley could have survived the major climat­ic changes. It was probably man, the hunter, who undid the final knot that had tied these animals to the SOUtil Florida landscape.

The first Indians may have arrived in South Flo rida as lo ng as 9,000-

The mouth of the Miami River as it looked in the 1850s.

12,000 years ago, but to date, evidence that it was the remains of an o ld rusted of these Paleo-Indians has been found Mode l.:r car, probably one that had only in otller parts of Florida. They been plucked from the river years fo llowed the game animals - a single ago, and with it had come the sand and kill could provide food and suste- artifacts that we had been finding for nance for a relative ly long pe riod of the last two years. Despite the shock time. Large animals could easily be of realizing tllat our mound was no trapped and ambushed at rive r cross- more ancient than our parents, we ings o r within Dade Co unty's many were not discouraged. limestone sinkho les. With tile eA'tinc- We continued o ur journeys to tile tion of large game, the Indians shifted river and soon found a wealth of ar-their depe ndence to the sea and to tifacts that linked us to tllose Indians smaller animals. The Indians learned who had stOod and walke d and the r ive r's ways with an unca nny adeptness and beca me a canoe­culture tllat moved freely from tile Everglades to Biscayne Bay and even braved the open Atlantic.

I did not discover the area's Indian heritage until Mark Greene, a seventh grade r at Ada Merritt

Junior High School, came to class with bulging pockets filled with potsherd and pieces of she ll artifacts that he had picked up on a mound near the rivers south bank on a site where the Rivergate is now situated. I convinced Mark to le t me join him on his excava­tions of tile river mound, and with as much p recision as two thirteen-year­o ld archaeologists were capable of, we began to slowly excavate the mound. Our interest was maintained by the occasional potshe rds and ani­mal bones we would uncover.

After two years of afternoon and summer digging, with several new re­cruits, we learned the secret of the mound. In its cente r we uncovered a huge mass of rusted iro n. As we scraped away the sand we realized

20

laughed upon the same river bank as we, and we pictured in our minds the deer and bears and what a Tequesta Indian would have said to us if he had known us.

Our days along the river e nded in the late afternoon before dinner, and we would wander home tired and dirty. I remember once afte r Hur­ricane Donna in 1960 when I discov­ered, wedged between the roots of an overturned tree, an ancient limestone anchor that was used fo r an Indian canoe. It took several days for me to successfull y saw the roo ts fro m around the anchor, and I recall what seemed like hours spent trying to carry the twenty-five-po und artifact a mile to my home. My mother was never enthusiastic about the things I might re tu rn home with, and this large ancho r was certainly not wel­come. I couldn't hide it very we ll, so I kept it outSide until I finally donated it to the Histo rical Association of South­ern Florida.

After my day on the river I would walk past an old two-story woode n house, at 59 SE 6th Street, only a block

•

fro m the river. The ho use intrigued me, and I would imagine that hidden in the ho use's attic were great trea­sures. A 1948 blue Cadillac sat in the house's driveway Sometimes, I could see th rough a window shade a single electric bulb dangling from a ceiling cord and fleeting shadows of some­body moving behind the shade. Those years in the early 1960s, when I passed the ho use with all its secrets, I would pause to lean against the fenc~ and stare dreamily The car never seemed to move; the ho use was always quiet and mysterio us again t the din of Bricke ll traffic.

The years passed and boyhood d reams were pushed aside. One day, in 1979, whe n I had returned to Miami after seven years in Tallahassee, I d rove past the ho use and was am azed to see the same blue Cadillac in the d riveway, as well as a mountain of ho usehold tr~sh on the sidewalk curb o ut fron t. I knew instantly it was the "secrets" of the attic. The Sidewa lk was littered with o ld clo thes, books and newspapers dating fro m the 1920s. As I stood the re looking at these trea­sures, the lean, gaunt figures of two men emerged from the ho use. They were the Fer ri brothers, as o ld and craggy as the ir ho use. I to ld the m of my desire to collect any histo ric docume nts that might be on the sidewalk.

"He lp yo urself;' the e lde r Ferris said, "but the re' mo re upstai rs," and he soon led me up narrow steps into a mu s ty, d a nk a tti c -caver n above Miami's streets. I was asto unded by what I saw! A bookshe lf filled with vo lumes, mo u n ta ino us stacks of newspaper, o ld tr unks filled with papers. "Yo u see;' he said, "o ur Aunt Hattie was a teache r and a writer, and for a while the assistant edito r of the Miam,i Metrop olis. These are all her papers and her library"

But the treasure was not perfect. As I began to pull the ancient books from their he lves, I saw pinho les of daylight through dle wood , termite tunne ls everywhere. Miles of holes channe led dlrough books, wood and paper. Despite the extensive damage, I fo und many papers of historical value,

including a 1918 map of dle City ot Miami never before seen by local his­to rians.

I spent ho urs sorting dl roUgh Hat­tie Carpe nters lifetime as the Fer­ris brodle rs talked of dle ho use

and the ir lives. Like two tall wax can­dles slowly e bbing be neath a small but soodl ing fire, they stood beside me, relaxed , but keeping an eye on exactly what I did find as I sorted th rough the pape rs of the ir aunts life. They to ld me countless sto ries of the ir joy in early Miami - of riding mules across Miami Avenue, of picnics and w hite- trimme d wo me n w ho smiled at the ir awkward youth - but these stories alway seemed to flicke r against the ir despair abo ut the fate of the ir ho use.

"The re's no thing we can do;' H. T Fer ris said , "We're helpless to save this ho use. Taxes are too high and we're going to have to se ll it. This land is just too damn valuable. Maybe somebody will restore it and, if need be, move the house to preserve it. Be ing built in 1906 by Ma ry Bricke ll makes this ho use mighty historical, you know."

I knew. Miami as a city was only te n years o lder than the ho use, and the Bricke lls were amo ng the city's ear­liest pio neers. William Bricke ll had opened a trading post in 1871 only a few hundred yards east of there. Be­fo re I left that day I agreed to try to he lp the m find a way to save the ho use. I visited them several odler times within the next mo ndl, but two mo nths after my introduction to the Ferris brothers, dle ho use was gone.

One evening in March, 1979, H. T Ferris had heard a noise o n dle o ut­side porch. He rushed o ut, an o ld Colt revolver in his hand, and saw a man attempting to ignite an o ld mattress against the build ing. Fe rris scared dle arsonist, who fled into the night, and when the police arr ived they arrested Ferris for having a gun and took it away from him.

Two weeks late r, o n Apr il 7, during a night when the Ferris brothers were staying at their o ther ho me, the ar­sonist struck again. This time he was successful as he sprinkled kerosene

21

across the Dade Co unty pine. The ne ighbo rs said the ho use was soon a sheet of flames that went above the brick chimney and that you could see dle charred pages of o ld books and pape rs gliding skyward from the attic. The o ld wood popped and groaned.

For twe nty minutes the orange tige r leapt and danced across the Br icke ll skyline. Its char re d ribs shrank against the night as the fi re­men soaked the ho use thoroughly The fire was put o ut easily, but the damage had been do ne.

Two weeks later what was left of the house was leveled with a bulldoze r. H. T Ferris to ld me o f how a ne ighbor had overheard two strange rs speaking in dle adjacent office parking lot the day of the fi re. "One man offe red the o ther $100 to burn down my ho use. I guess he earned his money," he aid.

Las t wee k , I s too d up o n the sidewalk and looked across me grassy lo t (now crowded with parked cars) where dle Ferri ho use had stood . I looked beyond dle Ferris ho me site toward the U.S. Custo ms building, where an Indian village had been more than 1,000 years ago. The river dlat had brought fo ur mille nnia of men together in dl is spot to build thatche d huts, and late r woode n ho mes, was hidden fro m my view by a mass of concrete and glass , and I couldn't help but sense me broke n link between the river and the com­munity This link was broke n because dle people had fo rgotte n; but neithe r an arsonist, a bulldozer no r a city's growing pains would ever erase dle r iver's legacy so lo ng as a child­dreamer could collect the memo ries and trinke ts dlat un ify man and his fo rgotten self widl a land well worn fro m a rivers jo urney

Robert S. Carr is an archaeologist w ith the Historic Preservation Divi­sion of Metropolitan Dade County and is editor of the Florida An­thropologist.

Preservation at Work

WHY would a former builder of modern apartments, an owner of no-frill snack bars

in shopping malis , seek out old houses to restore for his corporate headquarters?

Leonard Turkel, president of the Orange Bowl Corporation, puts it simply. "We just didn't want any more new. There was no longer any p lea­sure in building a new building:'

Though the Orange Bowl Corpora­tion has 150 standardized fast food outlets and "Pop Tops" tee shirt kiosks in regional shopping centers across the country, Turkel wanted his corpo­rate headquarters to have character, to be something architecturally unique.

A

by Becky Roper Matkov

From 1970 to 1976, he assembled four parcels of property on NE 17th Street, a half block west of Biscayne Boulevard near the Omni in downtown Miami. The oldest dwel­ling was an "early Miami" style home built in 1919. Beside it was a Spanish­influenced house built in 1924. Dur­ing that era, 17th Street, with its wide, grassy median strip, was considered one of the finest residential areas in town, stretching all the way to Bis­cayne Bay.

Two older houses were joined to make offices for the Orange Bowl Corporation.

When Turkel bought the property, the Spanish house had been con­demned by the City. Architects Gail Baldwin and Don Sackman were hired to devise a plan that would pre­serve tlle charm of the original ar­chitecture and add the space and modern conveniences required for corporate offices accommodating forty or more employees.

They did tllis by connecting the dwellings with a two-level enclosed passageway, stucco on the front side to blend with tlle exterior of tlle old houses, glass on the interior side to create a feeling of spaciousness. A two-story addition of walled glass was built onto the rear of the early Miami house, angling around a courtyard of patio decking. In tlle back, an apart­ment house was converted into a training center, a garage became extra office space, and ample parking for employees and guests was provided. The front of the Orange Bowl Corpo­ration was unified by a brick sidewalk, landscaping and by coral-colored

22

trim used on both the white stucco houses.

A visitor enters tl1fough the Spanish house, crossing over a tiled porch with arches and serpentine columns. A decades-old purple flowering vine -carefully nurtured through all the construction work - still bloom be­side tlle front steps.

The former living room, with its fireplace and magnificent col umned stairwell, is now a reception area. The Florida room is a sunny conference room and display area. Bedrooms be­came offices, and the kitchen was up­dated with commercial appliances for product development.

Great care was taken to retain the authenticity of the Spanish ho use. The tile and wooden floors and moldings were preserved. The original arches, some of which had been filled in, were restored. Ai r-conditioning ducts were fitted inconspicuo usly between joists and under the floor. The barrel tile roof, windows and shutters were salvaged.

In the second house, Turke l was able to preserve a handsome carved ceiling and a brick firep lace. "Thats a very ordinary looking fireplace;' he comments, "and we co uld replace it with something much more impres­sive, but I believe we shouldn't just preserve what we find beautiful, but what is of the period:'

T HE presidents office, on the second floor of the glass addi­tion, seems to hang in space,

with a view of the tropical plants in the courtyard below. The decor, de­signed by Turkel's wife Annsheila, is contemporary, with Turke l's collec­tio n of antique soda-fo untain dis­pense rs provid ing an interesting coun terpoint.

"It's important not to be afraid of building new onto old;' Turke l asserts. "We have to get away from a museum mentality abo ut old buildings and use them. When restoration is done with senSitivity, everyone benefits."

He waves his hand over the room. "This whole complex gives us and all the employee a good feeling - they care about it. Its easy to get in and out of. It has all the right dimensions. It just makes the day more pleasant to be here:'

Turke l admits that it takes time and effort to acquire the right property for restoration. Buildings with great po­tential are often demolished before an inte rested buyer can act. And its hard to pursue owners of old build­ings, Turkel continues. "You have to develop rappo rt and trust with them:'

Turkel did just that when he was assembling his property He has re­mained in contact with members of the Ro ncoli family, the for mer owners (con(inued)

The Sp anish p orch prOVides an in viting entrance.

Abundant use of glass in the addition creates a f eeling of sp aciousness.

23

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(continued)

of the Spanish house, ever since his purchase, keeping them updated about their old home.

From a fin ancial viewpoint, re­habilitating an older building can provide a great avings. Though he was not able to take advantage of many of the tax incentives available for preservation efforts today, Turkel found that he could carefully restore the older buildings and add on for approximately half the cost of build­ing an all-new structure.

'And the long-range appreciation of old buildings in secondary neighbor­hoods is just fantastiC ;' Turkel em­phasizes. "People just aren't aware of the potential for profit - and the good it can do a neighborhood - in re­habilitating rather than demolishing.

"Besides, a new building is so ordi­nary; it's no accomplishment. When you restore, you end up with some­thing intriguing, worthwhile. You real­ly have something:'

Becky Roper Matkov is editor of Preser-vation Today. Serpentine columns add drama to the reception area.

DON 'T HAVE A NICE DAY.

HAVE A GREAT LIFE.

STONEAGE ANTIQUES

on the river

24

DAN FORER

Personality Profile

BESS BURDINE READ by Grace Wing Bohne

T HAT bumper-strip slogan, Miami's For Me, didn't originate with Bess Burdine Read, but

she has always felt that way. As the only daughter of pioneer

store owner William M. Burdine, Bess grew up in Miami, drove a car on Flagler Street's wooden p2ving blocks, danced the waltz and two-step in the posh Royal Palm Harel ball­room. Petite and sparkling, she still loves to go to parties and dance.

In 1918, Bess married Lt. Cmdr. Albert Cushing (Putty) Read, who be­came a world-famous aviator a year later when he commanded the first transoceanic airplane flight. As a Navy wife, Bess lived in Washington, D"C, California, China and the Philippines, not to mention several less exotic stops. But wl~en her spouse, by then an admiral, retired from active duty late in World War II, there was no question about where the Reads would settle. They knew it would be Miami.

Bess has kept her enthusiasm for life wherever she lived. "It's easier that way," she says wisely. "You can't like every place. But there is something about every place to like:'

What's not to like about Miami are the muggy summers. Bess spends June through October at her house in Blowing Rock, N.C. , and until two years ago was a golfer. At home in Miami, she is an angel to the opera and St. Stephen's Episcopal Church in Coconut Grove. Her address is a breezy house on the church grounds.

Adm . Read died in 1967 and is buried in Washingtons Arlington Na­tional Cemetery. Be s still shares his honors and his zest for travel. Two years ago she went back to China, where her husband and his Navy pilots were part of the U.S. Asiatic Fleet so many years ago. Last summer she and LaGorce Islander Virginia Sutherland (Mrs. Richard K) rode the born-again Orient Express across Europe. This pastJanuary the two em-

DHT 10th Anniversary Celebration chairman Grace Wing Bohne, honorary chairman Bess Burdine Read and Trust president Tim Blake welcomed 200 guests to the Orange Bowl spectacular.

barked on a South Pacific cruise. The head of the Burdine clan

brought his wife and sons, Freeman, Roddy and William M. Jr. (Billy), from Mississippi to Bartow, Fla., in the 1880s and bought orange groves. When a freeze killed the crop, they followed Henry Flagler's new railroad into Miami, and in 1898 opened Burdines store. (To answer your question, the family pronounces it Bur-DINE.)

Bess was born in Bartow. Growing up in Miami, she swam in the Royal Palm Hotel pool, the only one in town. Bathing attire called for a skirt and stockings. Young folks swam in Biscayne Bay, too. There were houses where Biscayne Boulevard is now, and seagrapes shaded the waters edge.

Burdine pere died in 1911. Bess and her mother, who lived until 1929, were reSidents of the elegant Halcyon Hall hotel, which in the 1930s yielded its location to the skyscraper Alfred I. duPont Building.

It was love at first sight when Bess met Lt. Cmdr. Read, who arrived in 1918 to command the new Navy flight training base at Dinner Key. Being a Yankee from Boston did not endear him to Mrs. Burdine, but his beautiful

25

blue eyes and equally beautiful man­ners did. Bess and Putty Read married in Trinity Episcopal Church, then downtown, and drove to Palm Beach for a brief wartime honeymoon.

But 1919 was their year of destiny. The young Reads moved from Coconut Grove to Washington. Albert Cushing ReadJr. was born. And in May, Putty took off with a five-man crew in an NC4 for the epoch-making flight to London , via Newfoundland, the Azores and Lisbon. They were as wildly acclaimed as astronauts. Putty was presented to the Prince of Wales and Parliament and received the British Flying Cross.

When the NC4 was put on perma­nent exhibit at the Pensacola Naval Air Station a few years ago, Bess was an honor guest at the ceremonies. It was a sentimental homecoming for her. Putty Read had earned his gold wings at Pensacola before World War 1. Later, when he and Bess were stationed there, daughter Elizabeth was born.

Grace Wing Bohne is the former society editor of the Miami Herald and a frequent contributor of arti­cles to magazines.

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The Vizcaya Gate Lodge, where James Deering's servants once lived, has been restored for use as offices for the Vizcaya Foundation.

26

THE

A north Italian baroque farm village preserved almost in­tact in the heart of Miami?

Not bloody likely! But on second thought, there are the Turkish delights in Opa-locka and the Chinese Village in Coral Gables. Both are left-over whimsies of the native excesses of the Roaring Twenties . Though worth keeping as charming mementos, like faded valentines, they cannot really be taken seriously as architecture. Like the Royal Pavilion of Brighton, or Louis XIV 's long-gone Chinese Trianon de Porcelaine at Versailles, they are late, small stepchildren in the age-old tradition of "follies;' or as Pro­fessor Kenneth Conant of Harvard fondly called them, "joke buildings:' In our serious and increasingly ordi­nary world, heaven knows there is room for some of these.

The Italian Farm Village does in­deed exist, but by way of contrast it is in the great tradition of what would better be called Renaissance survival rather than revival , executed with great senSitivity in the finest Beaux Arts manner. This style was only rarely applied to vernacular buildings , which makes these all the more re­markable and worthy of serious study and preservation.

Vizcaya in its original complete form was a magnificent ensemble of almost Hadrianic proportions. It in­cluded some twenty-five miles of paths and roads; an exotic "Casbah" with an elaborate forecourt and re­flecting pool; a large lake divided by a causeway lined with royal palms; a great yachthouse, the roof of which was a flower-filled garden with a cen­tral pool; many smaller lakes and ca­nals and bridges; small forests of ex­otic trees; tennis courts; elaborate greenhouses; and on and on ...

•

VIZCAYA GATELODGE

Much has been lost, of course, of the approximately 180 acres of the origina l estate; only about thirty­seven are now owned by Dade County and can be pre erved for the pleasure and enlightenment of future generations. When the Villa, its Barge, the formal gardens and hammock were acquired from James Deering's heirs as "The Dade Coun ty Museum of Art" in 1952, the County very wisely also saved "The Village" by means of a separate purchase agreement.

The design architect wa E Bun-all Hoffman,Jr., a thirty-year-old graduate of Harvard and the Ecole des Beaux Arts, who had studied with Deglane, the co-designer of the Grand Palais des Beaux Arts on the Champs Elysees, which is still admired today as one of the handsomest buildings in Paris. Hoffman received the commis­sion in 1912 and spent the summer of 1913 studying the villas along the Brenta River near Venice. There he consciously or unconsciously ab­sorbed an extraordinary feeling for the minor as well as the major build­ings, which were, of course, the real reason for his "study trip" to that blessed corner of the earth. He said of that trip, "What was really important was not a particular villa, it was dis­covering the baroque. It was a ques­tion of getting your eye in. I don't know why, but over here you don't get the same feeling of space and scale -the relative size of things. It's partly a matter of the north Italian light:'

M R. Hoffman certainly had his "eye in" when he designed the Village. His newly found

sense of space and scale is pre­eminently manifest in the Village, where with the limited and simple vocabulary of baroque farm architec-

ture he created a complex of extraor­dinary variety and beauty.

It included three gatehouses, a simple one on the Dixie Highway that served as the carpenters and painters workshop, and the handsome one on the west side of Miami Avenue, which is grand in scale and detail to balance the Villa's across the street. This west gatehouse was called the "Chauffeurs Lodge;' and though it reads in passing as a pendent, it is ingeniously differ­enr in plan and originally conrained two duplex apartmenrs for married servants, extra rooms for Single ser­vants and the storehouse keeper's of­fice and "Supply House:'

The east gatehouse, which stands beside the Villa's main gates on the Avenue was called the "Gate Lodge" and became the center of much ex­citement and activity this winter. It is an essenrially small , but architectur­ally very impressive and appealing building, with severa l delightful porches and balconie . From letters of the period we know that in 1919 it was the residence of a chauffeur and his wife, one of the hou emaids from the Villa, and provided quarters for a visiting maid who might accompany a house guest.

In recenr years it had been neglect­ed in favor of more pressing priorities and was badly in need of restoration . Now, through a happy alliance of the Vizcayans, the Vizcayan Foundation the Junior League of Miami and a number of enlightened corporations it was renovated to become the League's 1983 Show House. After it has filled this role, it will become the permanenr offices of both the Viz­cayans and the Vizcayan Foundation. It is a classic example of the adaptive use of a historic building to insure its preservation in which the whole

27

by Carl J Weinhardt, Jr.

community can take pride. Vizcaya was placed on the ational

Register of Historic Sites in 1970, and the Village joined it there in 1975. The future reunion of these two integrally related parts will be a happy day in­deed, for they were designed together as a unified whole, and neither can tell the story without the other. The mag­nificenr Villa alone is like a play with­out a second act, and the Village is perhaps the most elaborate, sophisti­cated and architecturally significanr group of functional service or "out" buildings ever built in America. It is miraculously fortunate for the com­munity that the Counry owns them both and can control the destiny and preservation of this very importanr monumenr in our counrry's architec­tural heritage.

Carl]. Weinhardt,Jr. is the director ojVizcaya.

Is your art properly

ffamed? Time, light, humidity, pollu­tion, and poor materials can destroy the beauty and value of your art.

Insure it from damage by having it examined by our professional staff.

norman's 12209 South Dixie Highway, In the Dixie Belle Shoppes. 233-5495, Open Mon. -Sat., 9-6

JOHN WARD CLARK Broker Salesman

HISTORIC PRESERVATION SPECIAUST

CONSULTING SERVICE ON TAX INCENTIVES FOR

PRESERVATION • Trustee, Dade Heritage Trust, Inc. • Member, City of Miami Heritage Conservation Board • Chairman, Coconut Grove Chamber of Commerce

Zoning Watchdog Committee • Member, Miami and Coral Gables Boards of

Real Estate

448-4123/442-2656

VIZCAYA MUSEUM AND GARDENS

An Italian Renaissance Villa set in a subtropical jungle on Biscayne Bay.

Open daily from 9:30 TO 5. Free guided tours. Gift shop. Cafe.

VIZCAYA ALSO

Sound and Light at VIZCAYA weel~end evenings.

For information coil 579-2708.

3251 South Miami Avenue, Miami, Florida 33129

Just 10 minutes from downtown Miami.

Fresh produce. Fine meats. Quality brands. Tasty specialty items.

There's no place more pleasant to shop for them than at Publix.

•

On a river cove. Near the Civic Center. Overlooking a park.

Introducing a luxury marina address for you and your boat.

, ~,

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Artist's coli~tiOl'1 t.L ' .• 1!--_--', 1' - _\~

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At River Run, you can moor your boat in your own hack yard. And live so close to O mni and downtown that all kinds of entertainment are no more than

h;mJn<l1l courts. Exercise <l ntI sauna f<lcilities. Whirlpool spa . Swimming pool, sundeck.~ and priv<l te clun flXlm. Plus luxurious river view condominiums with outdcxlr terraces, security features, and so much more .

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