A CITY BEAUTIFUL SALUTE TO
GRANADA, SPAIN:
A SOURCE OF INSIPRATION, A SENSE OF HISTORY
Located in southeast Florida, the City of Coral Gables is considered one of the most desirable
cities in the United States of America. Only 14 square miles in size, it is known for its fine residential
homes and for its thriving international business community with more than 175 multinational companies. It is
also home to the University of Miami, a private university with national and international accolades in Medicine,
Law, Business, and other important disciplines.
But the secret to Coral Gables’ success does not rest with residential beauty, corporate strength, and academic rigor.
The real aura of the City emerged before the first cornerstone was laid. It began in the 1920s with one man’s desire to
create a special community, in then-primitive Florida, that would capture the grace and elegance of Spain and the attention
of a growing nation. No place served as much to inspire the creation of the City of Coral Gables as Granada, Spain, in architecture,
ambience, and in names.
Coral Gables is known as “The City Beautiful,” having been part of the city planning movement which believed that all areas
of a proposed community should be designed, intended land use placed, and public gardens and open space organized before any
construction actually commenced. As construction began, man-made canals were dug to bring South Florida’s tropical waters into
the heart of the city, and glorious boulevards and drives were established with lush landscapes that meandered through the
small city situated southwest of Miami.
While Coral Gables today serves as a celebrated example of the City Beautiful movement, its true legacy and delight
came from more than solid planning principles – it came from an attention to detail, a commitment to make certain that
even functional elements were attractive, and the ability to incorporate the ideas and images of another land to make\
the city elegant, exotic and desired.
From the design of glorious entry gates that announced one’s arrival, to artistically placed plazas and
fountains, to the naming of streets, Coral Gables City Founder George Merrick received inspiration and visions
from a city he had never traveled to ~ only dreamed of. Important streets such as Granada Boulevard, Alhambra
Plaza, and Andalusia Avenue emulated a place far away from then-primitive Florida ~ Granada, Spain.
Inspired by the writings of Washington Irving and the architecture of the Mediterranean, rugged
plots of land were transformed into elegant structures with plazas, arches, gardens, paint and titles.
A stately hotel called The Biltmore Hotel (and now a U.S. national landmark) was constructed reminiscent
of a style similar to “La Giralda” in Sevilla. Public buildings emerged which incorporated other design
elements from Spain. Even the Coral Gables official city seal “borrowed” symbols of Iberia’s ancient
kingdoms such as “Castilla y León”. The style and elegance of Spain was so tastefully woven into the fabric
of this new city that Alfonso XIII de Barbón (1886-1940), King of Spain, bestowed in 1927 a decoration award
upon George Merrick as Comendador de la Real Orden de Isabel la Católica, in appreciation of the recognition
given Spanish architecture in the building of the City of Coral Gables.
The images of Granada and the influences of Spain continue today. In the 1980s, another fabulous
hotel was erected on Alhambra Plaza with ballrooms and meeting areas named Court of the Lions and
Alcazaba among others. New buildings in Coral Gables are encouraged, in fact expected, to incorporate
Spanish and Mediterranean-styled design elements in order to be approved for construction. But Spain’s
presence extends beyond architectural beauty. Coral Gables is proud to have the Consulate of Spain, the Trade
Commission Office of Spain, and the Office of the Government of Canarias located in the City. Spain’s Consular
residence is located in one of Coral Gables’ most elegant streets ~ Granada Boulevard.
These interests may have selected South Florida by virtue of geography but we believe, the City believes, that
they chose Coral Gables because of the inspiration they homeland provided in the building of Coral Gables.
In 1989, in recognition of the history and the influence of a far away city but close to the hearts of the
people of Coral Gables, an official Sister City Agreement was officially executed between Coral Gables and Granada.
This twinning is the ideal complement that makes Coral Gables truly a “City Beautiful”.
Media
Please click here for historical photos and documents of previous trips to Granada and more
You can find more information on Granada, Spain
at http://www.granada.es
ESPAÑOL
Usted podrá encontrar más información sobre
Granada, España en http://www.granada.es
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