History Of Pinecrest
During the early 1900s, Miami pioneer and
railroad tycoon Henry Flagler used the property at US 1 and Southwest 102
Street as a staging area during the construction of the Overseas Railroad to
the Florida Keys.
In the 1930s, the area’s growth continued and
the community began to evolve around one of the first tourist attractions
established in the Miami vicinity - Parrot Jungle and Gardens. The Parrot
Jungle was founded in 1936 by Franz and Louise Scherr on twenty-acres of
property located at Red Road and Southwest 111 Street and over the years became
a world famous tourist attraction whose visitors included Sir Winston
Churchill. Today it is the site of Pinecrest Gardens and the property was added
to the National Register of Historic Places in 2011.
The Miami Serpentarium, another popular tourist
attraction, was located on US 1, next to the current site of the Pinecrest
Municipal Center, for many decades prior to closing in the mid-1980s.
During the 1950s and 1960s the area flourished
with the development and construction of ranch-style homes on acre lots which
laid the foundation for the community’s rural and lushly landscaped residential
character.