History of Coral Gables
1890s
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1899 – Solomon Merrick and George E. Merrick (Founder of Coral Gables), move to Miami from Duxbury, MA.
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1899 – George Washington Carver School is founded as a private school by D.A. Dorsey. Today it is a public middle school. It was formerly a segregated K-12 school for black students.
1900s
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1900 – Althea Merrick and the other four Merrick children arrive in Miami, committing themselves to working the land.
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1907 – At age 21, George leaves Miami for Rollins College in Winter Park, FL.
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1908 – George Merrick enrolls in the New York Law School, and lives with his uncle, Denman Fink. Denman Fink would later create the Coral Gables Corporation’s artwork.
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1909 to 1911 – Solomon Merrick’s health declines. George Merrick forms a company with his father.
1910s
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1911 – Solomon Merrick dies, necessitating George Merrick's return to Florida.
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1916 – George Merrick successfully manages the Coral Gables Plantation.
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1916 – George Merrick marries Eunice Peacock, whose family’s history is also entwined with that of South Florida. Her parents owned and operated what are believed to be the first two hostelries in the Miami area.
1920s
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1920 – George Merrick enters the real estate business, developing several early subdivisions in addition to cultivating fruit and produce in Miami.
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1921 – George Merrick amasses 3,000 acres of land, which he uses to create a unique suburb, featuring all the elements of the City Beautiful Movement. Bahamian workers are essential in clearing the land and in construction.
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1921 – George Merrick announces Coral Gables will become "Miami's university suburb."
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1923 – Coral Gables’ Granada Golf Course, designed by Langford & Moreau, opens.
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1923 – Granada entrance to Coral Gables is completed.
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1923 – George Merrick sells the site where Coral Gables Elementary sits to the Dade County School Board for $10,000.
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1923 - Coral Gables' first Boy Scout troop is chartered.
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1924 – The quarry used for local projects is reconfigured as the Venetian Casino by artist and designer Denman Fink and architect Phineas Paist.
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1924 – Crafts section of Coral Gables opens.
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1924 – Alhambra Water Tower completed.
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1924 – Ponce De Leon High School is founded by Robertson Olsen. It later became a middle school.
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1924 – George Merrick offers five acres and a newly designed nine-room Spanish building for an established school, which would later become Carver Elementary.
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1925 – Coral Gables Congregational Church is dedicated.
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1925 – The University of Miami is chartered.
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1925 – The City of Coral Gables is incorporated.
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1925 – The Coral Gables Chamber of Commerce is established.
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1925 – St. Joseph’s Academy, later becoming St. Theresa Catholic School, is founded.
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1925 – Trolley service begins in Coral Gables.
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1925 – The Coral Gables Garden Club is organized.
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1926 – The Biltmore Hotel opens.
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1926 – Church of the Little Flower is founded.
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1926 – First United Methodist Church of Coral Gables is established.
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1926 – The 1926 hurricane derails plans for Merrick’s historic villages.
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1926 – The first houses of the MacFarlane Homestead subdivision are completed.
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1926 – St. Mary’s Baptist Church, a focal point of the MacFarlane community, is built.
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1926 – The Coco Plum Woman’s Club is built.
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1927 – Construction of the Douglas Entrance is completed.
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1927 – The Coral Gables Woman’s Club opens the first free public library at the Douglas Entrance, their original headquarters.
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1928 – Construction of Coral Gables City Hall is completed. It was designed by Phineas Paist, supervising architect and Denman Fink, art director of Coral Gables.
1930s
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1939 – The city's first fire station is completed. It sat at the location of the current Coral Gables Museum.
1940s
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1940 – Thousands of WWII soldiers occupy unused Coral Gables buildings, including the Biltmore Hotel, which becomes an Army hospital.
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1942 – George Merrick dies at age 56.
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1943 – St. Philip’s Episcopal Church holds its first service at the Coral Gables Women's Club.
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1943 – The parishioners of St. Philip’s Episcopal Church purchase the property at 1142 Andalusia, the location of the church today.
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1945 – Grace Doherty gives final parcel of land to the University of Miami creating a 245-acre site that becomes the main campus.
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1945 – Riviera Country Club is established as a gathering place for members, their families, friends and business employees.
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1946 – Plans for the first (and still the only today) reform synagogue in Coral Gables begin at an information meeting in the old Hillel House. It's to be called the Coral Gables Jewish Center.
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1947 – Biltmore Hotel becomes Veterans’ Administration Hospital.
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1947 – Granada Church is organized June 29.
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1948 – The Junior Orange Bowl is created with a mission dedicated to "celebrating youth."
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1948 – The Miracle Theater opens on Miracle Mile.
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1949 – Doctors Hospital is founded to provide quality care for the community.
1950s
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1950 – Coral Gables Senior High School opens.
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1950 – Coral Gables Bar Association is founded.
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1950 – South Miami Episcopal Mission begins meeting at Sunset Elementary and later is incorporated as St. Thomas of Canterbury. Three acres of property are purchased on the corner of Red Road and North Kendall Drive.
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1953 – St. Philips Episcopal School is founded as a preschool.
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1953 – Gulliver Preparatory Academy is purchased by Marian Krutulis and relocated to Coral Gables.
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1953 – The Little Learners day care was started, eventually to evolve into St. Thomas Episcopal Parish School.
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1954 – St. Thomas of Canterbury is changed to St. Thomas Episcopal Church.
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1954 – Henry S. West Laboratory School, an elementary school in Coral Gables is established as experimental school of choice associated with the School of Education at the University of Miami.
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1955 – The commercial district designed by Merrick is rebranded as Miracle Mile, thanks to Albert H. Friedman’s work with the Miracle Mile Merchants Association.
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1956 – The Coral Gables Jewish Center changes its name to Temple Judea.
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1959 – A Catholic Student Center across from the University of Miami is dedicated as St. Thomas Aquinas.
1960s
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1960 – Coral Gables Commission adopts a high-rise ordinance, allowing 13-story buildings. David William apartments is the first to be built under the new ordinance.
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1962 – The Junior Orange Bowl International Tennis Tournament was created.
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1964 – The Junior Orange Bowl International Golf Tournament was established.
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1966 – Temple Judea moves to its current location on Granada from Palermo Ave.
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1968 – Veterans’ Administration Hospital moves out of Biltmore Hotel.
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1969 – St. Thomas Aquinas is renamed St. Augustine Church & Catholic Student Center.
1970s
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1974 – Coral Gables City Hall is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
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1976 – City of Coral Gables purchases Coral Gables Merrick House from Merrick Manor Foundation.
1980s
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1980 – Coral Gables Citizen Crime Watch was established.
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1981 – Venetian Pool is listed in the National Register of Historic Places, the only pool on the list.
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1985 – City of Coral Gables designated as a Tree City USA. That designation continues through today.
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1987 – The Biltmore Hotel opens as a luxury hotel.
1990s
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1990 – The Biltmore Hotel closes amid the country's economic downturn.
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1991 – The Coral Gables Community Foundation is established to promote philanthropic solutions for a thriving, collaborative, and generous community.
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1991 – Historic Preservation Association of Coral Gables is established.
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1992 – Hurricane Andrew makes landfall in South Florida as a category 5 storm.
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1992 – Seaway Hotels Group becomes operator of the Biltmore Hotel and Golf Course. They embark on a 10-year, $40 million renovation project to restore the property.
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1995 – Actors’ Playhouse enters into a partnership with the City of Coral Gables to renovate the historic Miracle Theatre and transform it into the company’s new home.
2000s
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2003 – The Coral Gables Trolley is reinstated after almost seven decades.
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2004 – The 2004 U.S. Presidential Debate takes place on Sept. 30 from the University of Miami's Convocation Center featuring George W. Bush and John F. Kerry.
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2009 – Crystal Academy, a special education school, is founded.
2010s
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2010 – The Coral Gables Museum opens.
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2010 – The Coral Gables Art Cinema opens.
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2010 – International Studies Preparatory Academy is established as a language premier high school. It moves to its current location on Madruga in 2011.
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2011 – Bike Walk Coral Gables is established to improve the quality of our life and promote the accessibility of streets and trails for cyclists and pedestrians.
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2015 - Coral Gables adopts the Sustainability Management Plan, which has been updated for 2025.
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2017 – Coral Gables partners with Freebee to provide a more convenient, sustainable, inclusive and connected future. The rideshare service offers free, on-demand rides in electric-powered vehicles.
2020s
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2020 – Keep Coral Gables Beautiful program begins.
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2021 – The City of Coral Gables opens a state-of-the art Police and Fire Headquarters at 2151 Salzedo Street.
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2022 – City achieves LEED for Cities Gold Certification.
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2022 – City of Coral Gables takes over management of the Coral Gables Golf & Country Club.
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2023 – The University of Miami is elected to the prestigious Association of American Universities, a distinguished national organization of leading research universities founded in 1900.
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2025 – City celebrates 100 years.
Contact us
Stay connected
Coral Gables City Hall
405 Biltmore Way
Coral Gables, FL 33134
Tel: 305-446-6800