History Of Coral Gables
The City of Coral Gables has eleven resources which are listed in the National Register of Historic Places (National Register), one of which is also designated as a National Historic Landmark. The National Register is the list of the Nation’s historic places worthy of preservation. Listing in the National Register is largely honorary in nature, and recognizes a resource’s significance on a local, state, or national level.
The National Historic Landmark program recognizes nationally significant historic resources which possess exceptional value in representing the country’s history. Approximately 90,000 resources are listed in the National Register and 2,500 are designated as National Historic Landmarks throughout the country.
Coral Gables City Hall was constructed from 1927 through 1928, during one of South Florida's most difficult financial periods. One year prior, the Florida Land Boom had collapsed as a result of the devastating 1926 hurricane, resulting in the sudden deflation of real estate values. Phineas Paist, the Supervising Architect of Coral Gables, and Denman Fink, the Art Director of Coral Gables, designed the building.
The building was designed in what has come to be known as the Mediterranean Revival style, utilizing the native oolitic limestone. When George Merrick commenced the planning and development of Coral Gables, he envisioned it as a cohesively designed Mediterranean inspired city. The design of City Hall conformed to Merrick’s Mediterranean ideals, and is an excellent example of the period’s architecture which blended elements commonly used in Spanish, Moorish, and Italian architecture.
