Coral Gables, Florida


Coral Gables is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The city is part of the Miami metropolitan area of South Florida and is located southwest of Downtown Miami. As of the 2020 U.S. census, it had a population of 49,248.
The city is a Mediterranean-themed planned community known for its historic and affluent character reinforced by its strict zoning, popular landmarks, and tourist sights.
The University of Miami is located in Coral Gables. With 16,479 faculty and staff as of 2021, the university is the largest employer in Coral Gables and second-largest employer in all of Miami-Dade County.

History

Coral Gables was formally incorporated as a city on April 29, 1925. It is a planned community based on the popular early twentieth century City Beautiful Movement and is known for its strict zoning regulations. The city was developed by George Merrick, a real estate developer from Pennsylvania, during the Florida land boom of the 1920s. Merrick named the development after his family's home, a plantation built in the early 1900s. The main building of their estate had been named Coral Gables because it was built with Miami Limestone and coral-colored Ludowici tile.
The city's architecture is almost entirely Mediterranean Revival style, mandated in the original plan, with an emphasis on Spanish influence in particular, such as the Coral Gables Congregational Church, donated by Merrick. The domed Catholic Church of the Little Flower was built later, in a similar Spanish Renaissance style.
Early in the city's planning and development, Merrick shared his vision for Coral Gables as "a most extraordinary opportunity for the building of 'Castles in Spain'," according to Coral Gables historian Arva Moore Parks. Merrick's success in executing this vision for the city would catch the attention of Spain's King, Alfonso XIII, who awarded Merrick the Order of Isabella the Catholic for his support of Spanish culture in Coral Gables.
By 1926, the city covered and had netted $150 million in sales, with over $100 million spent on development. That year also saw the opening of the Biltmore Hotel and Golf Course, a major landmark in city.
Merrick meticulously designed the city with distinct zones. For example, he designed the Downtown commercial district to be only four blocks wide and more than long. The main artery, now known as Miracle Mile, bisected the business district. The city used to have an electric trolley system, which was ended as a result of the growing usage of automobiles, but now a new free circulator trolley system, initiated in November 2003, runs down Ponce de León Boulevard. Another distinctive and character-defining feature of the city planned by Merrick are the themed Coral Gables Villages that date to the 1920s and were designed to expand the city's architecture beyond Spanish influence to include Italian, French, and Dutch South African, among others.
In 1925, roughly simultaneous to the founding of Coral Gables, the University of Miami was constructed on of land just west of U.S. Route 1, approximately two miles south of Downtown Coral Gables. By the fall of 1926, the first class of 372 students enrolled at the university.
During World War II, many Navy pilots and mechanics were trained and housed in Coral Gables.
Coral Gables has traditionally placed high priority on historic preservation. The city passed its first preservation ordinance in 1973 as many of its founding structures from the 1920s began to reach their 50th anniversaries. Further ordinances were enacted in the 1980s establishing the Historic Preservation Board and in the 1990s establishing the Historic Preservation Department, now called the Historical Resources & Cultural Arts Department.
As part of the city's historic preservation program the Historical Resources Department is tasked with researching and identifying significant properties and local landmarks for listing in the Coral Gables Registry of Historic Places as well as on national historic registers. The department also reviews modifications to locally designated landmarks and initiates grant proposals. The Historic Preservation Board is a quasi-judicial body that votes on local landmark designations and other issues pertaining to the historic character of the city.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city has a total area of of which is land and is water.

Climate

Coral Gables has a tropical climate, similar to the climate found in much of the Caribbean. It is part of the only region in the 48 contiguous states that falls under that category. More specifically, it generally has a tropical monsoon climate.

Demographics

Historical demographics20202010200019901980
White 30.6%40.1%47.7%53.2%65.1%
Hispanic or Latino58.8%53.6%46.6%41.8%29.6%
Black or African American 4.8%2.5%3.1%3.1%4.0%
Asian and Pacific Islander 2.6%2.7%1.7%1.7%1.3%
Native American < 0.1%< 0.1%0.1%0.1%1.3%
Some other race 0.7%0.2%0.2%0.1%1.3%
Two or more races 2.5%0.9%0.7%N/AN/A
Population49,24846,78042,24940,09143,241

Nativity20152010200019901980
% population native-born61.5%62.3%62.1%64.4%69.9%
... born in the United States57.5%58.3%58.8%61.2%67.9%
... born in Puerto Rico or Island Areas2.0%2.0%1.8%1.6%2.0%
... born to American parents abroad2.0%2.0%1.5%1.7%2.0%
% population foreign-born38.5%37.7%37.9%35.6%30.1%
... born in Cuba15.0%16.4%19.2%20.3%15.1%
... born in other countries23.5%21.3%18.7%15.3%15.0%

In 2000, 24.45% had children under the age of 18 living with them. As of 2000, in Coral Gables, 61.11% were family households, 17.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.89% were non-families. The average household size was 2.36, and the average household had 1.68 vehicles.
According to the 2010 United States census, there were 46,780 people, 16,453 households, and 10,377 families residing in the city. In 2010, 11.4% of households were vacant.
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 49,248 people, 18,457 households, and 11,087 families residing in the city.
In 2022, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated that the median household income in the city was $118,203; the estimated per capita income, $74,780. Some 9.5 of citizens were estimated to be living below the poverty line.

Economy

Major economic contributors to Coral Gables include:
Located four miles from Miami International Airport, Coral Gables has around 140 dining establishments and gourmet shops, and many notable international retailers. Among Coral Gables landmarks are the Venetian Pool, Douglas Entrance, and Miami Biltmore hotel.

Arts and culture

Places of interest

operates Coral Gables Branch Library in Coral Gables.

Education

University of Miami

The University of Miami, a private university ranked in the top tier of national universities, with particular national status in the fields of business, engineering, law, marine science, medicine, communications, and music, is located in Coral Gables.

Primary and secondary schools

Public schools

Coral Gables schools are part of Miami-Dade County Public Schools, which serves Miami-Dade County. The district has several high schools in Coral Gables, most notably Coral Gables Senior High School and International Studies Preparatory Academy, both of which educate students in grades nine through 12. It also has a K–8 school, Coral Gables Preparatory Academy, with two campuses, including a historic campus located on Ponce de Leon Boulevard. Henry S. West Laboratory Elementary is another school for K–6. Finally it has two middle schools: George Washington Carver Middle School located on Lincoln Drive and Ponce de Leon Middle School located across from the University of Miami on the east side of U.S. Route 1 on Augusto Street. Present day George Washington Carver Middle was moved to the current location on Grand Avenue on land donated by George Merrick. When Carver died in 1942, the school was renamed in his honor.

Private schools

Gulliver Academy, Marian C. Krutulis Campus, a PreK–8 school that is a member of Gulliver Schools, is within Coral Gables. The management offices of Gulliver Schools were formerly located in Coral Gables. The lower campus of Riviera Schools is located in Coral Gables.
The historic St. Theresa Catholic School, a Pre-K–8 school is located near Coral Gables Biltmore Hotel. St. Philip's Episcopal School, French-American School of Miami, and St. Thomas Episcopal Parish School, all Pre-K–5 schools, are also located in Coral Gables. Coral Gables Preparatory Academy, a private K-8 school, is located in Coral Gables.

Media

The Miami Herald is the region's predominant daily newspaper. Coral Gables has one newspaper, Coral Gables News Tribune, which is published twice monthly and covers local and regional news and one weekly newspaper that is part of the portfolio of Miami Community Newspapers publications.
At the University of Miami in Coral Gables, The Miami Hurricane, the official student newspaper, is published weekly each Tuesday.
Coral Gables is part of the Miami-area media market.

Film location

Numerous movies have been filmed fully or partially in Coral Gables, including Nude on the Moon, Goldilocks and the Three Bares, Jimmy, the Boy Wonder, I Eat Your Skin, Shock Waves, Absence of Malice, The Mean Season, Miami Rhapsody, Bad Boys, The Perez Family, Fair Game, Two Much, Blood and Wine, Curdled, Wild Things, The Hours, My Sexiest Year, Dostna, Posthumous, and others.

Infrastructure

Transportation

Coral Gables is served by Miami Metrobus, and by Miami Metrorail at University Station.
Coral Gables provides a free trolley service.

Notable people

Coral Gables' sister cities are:
Countries with consulates in Coral Gables include: Barbados, Colombia, El Salvador, Italy, Peru, Spain, Monaco, St. Lucia, and Uruguay.
Countries with honorary consulates in Coral Gables include: Australia, Belize, Hungary, Senegal, St. Kitts and Nevis, Togo, and Thailand. The Taipei Economic and Cultural Office maintains Taiwan's diplomatic mission here.

In popular culture

  • The 2014 adventure game A Golden Wake is based on the founding and development of Coral Gables in the 1920s.