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Iconic Buildings In South Miami, Coconut Grove, and Coral Gables

Mr. C

The popular luxury hotel, Mr. C is located on the Cocowalk. The building drew inspiration from Italy’s iconic coastal style. The hotel has an ode to the historic Stiltsville structures that make up Biscayne Bay which can be seen in the distance of the hotel. The 5-Star, 62,000 SF boutique lifestyle hotel boasts 100 rooms with private terraces including eight Premier Suites and one Presidential Suite. The architecture company, Arquitectona, is known for creating designs for Mr. C, Mandarin Oriental, St. Regis, Ritz-Carlton, JW Marriott, Westin, W Hotels, Four Seasons, Canyon Ranch, Conrad, Viceroy, and many others.

 

The Biltmore Hotel

The Biltmore Hotel, constructed in 1926, was once the tallest building in Miami. The Mediterranean Revival-style hotel and golf course is most known for its soaring bell tower, designed around the idea of the Giralda Tower in the Cathedral of Seville. The architects, Leonard Schultze and S. Fullerton Weaver were also the architects of the well-known Grand Central Station in New York City. The Biltmore Hotel has had its fair share of infamous guests: The Duke and Duchess of Windsor, the Roosevelts and Vanderbilts, Judy Garland, Babe Ruth, Oprah Winfrey,  Antonio Banderas, Carolina Herrera, Jennifer Lopez, Ricky Martin, Julio Iglesias and Gloria Estefan. The Hotel also has a legend around one of their most extravagant suites, where it is rumored that Al Capone ran a speakeasy during the Prohibition era. 



Venetian Pool

The popular pool in Coral Gables first opened as the Venetian Casino in 1924. It’s built in the former limestone quarry that provided the materials for construction of many infamous houses around Miami. After the quarry was abandoned, the city came up with a plan to create the Venetian Pool. George Merrick, the city’s founder, had a dream of incorporating the city’s heritage into new buildings. 

 

Vizcaya 

The Vizcaya Estate is a grand place known for its extravagant architecture and view of Biscayne Bay. James Deering, a businessman from the Midwest commissioned the construction of the Vizcaya Estate in 1908 after retiring to South Florida. James was introduced to the  artistic director Paul Chalfin. They were inspired by the European style, and wanted to create this type of winter estate in Miami. They picked up antiques from Italy and hired Francis Burrall Hoffman, Jr. as the architect that would build his dream estate upon the 130 acres of Vizcaya Bayfront land that he had purchased from Mary Brickell. The construction of the Main house was finished in 1916 and the surrounding villages and gardens were completed by 1923. In 1936 and 1935, two hurricanes hit the Estate, which devastated the building. In 1952, after hurricane renovations, the estate was sold to Miami-Dade county for $1M where it was converted into a museum. 

 

Grove at Grand Bay

 

The twisting form of these grand apartment complexes are known in Coconut Grove for their unconventional architecture. This swiveling was designed by the Bjarke Ingels Group to ensure that apartments in the back had a similar view to those facing away from the water. With its design, the Danish firm Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) jettisoned the typical rectilinear high-rise and a straightforward, gridded plan. Instead, the firm conceived of two 20-story residential buildings of reinforced concrete where floor plates rotate as they rise from the second to the 17th level, capturing the views of Biscayne Bay.

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