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Home My WebLink AboutM-79-0326TO - Joseph R. Grassie City Manager kleAAn mCarl Kern`, Director Department of Parks. c:t1 0 HIAML FLarlttin (NN`T'1..R.c)1=F1C tviVAORANOUM GATE: May 14 s �e1ec* Butler Building i Fort Dallas Park •".e,r r.Rrf4 • }NCLOSURV,S,., On March 21,.1979, Mr. Fosmoen requested that the Park Design Division discuss the placemet of the Btlrg in Dallas Park with the va parties. To summarize our findings, rutheFlordavHistoricof eAssociationDade age Trust; the Villagers; the So Ms. Arva Parks, historian; Mr. Charles Chase, Architect; Mr. Ivan Rodriguez, research historian; taand eplaeeCity of tt of Miami Planning and Parks Departments supportthe the building on the Fort Dallas modatePar the buildingtwith ease andthat that itssite could physically accom presence provided a catalyst for programmatic opportunities which the Park has lackeduntil cpshis memo is r ofa ocument jointly produced bythe hitoiccommunityearlie this year. It outlines historical Dallasssgitefasathe mostof hhistorically Building and identifies the Fort appropriate. It is the conCfile,nof thattaiconsensusDearmehas beenreached documented in:various meeting notes regarding this, matter. We, therefore, recommend that the Bur Buildingsdg besited dt onthe Fort Dallas Park site. We, furthermore, interested partiesundertake, immediately, search various undng soures tonsurethe poperandtimelyrenvationand accommodation of the structure once it has been relocated to Fort Dallas Park. 1 . i fII „ ! � 1, llt r M ETEZOPOLU AN1 DAD COUL' 9 "i!!�' FLLQ;P $6: i► . PARK & RECREATIOP DI RI►jTME ! Dade County Historic Survey,.. 190 SAL.-:12 Terrace Miami, Florida 33131 January 10, _ 1979_= Ms:"Joyce:Meyers:, City -of:Miami°Planning Departmen 06.,Pan American Drive Miami, Florida 33133 Dear Joyce: Enclosedare our re:cotrmendations to the City, of Miami on the alternatives forthe :preservatlun-of" theproperty at 134.S.E. 2: Street., We hope this will help In the proper assessment of.the situation, and on reachinga, fair decisionon the fate of :this important landmark. Sincerely, Ivan, /(Rodriguez,;, Director Dade County Historic Survey IAR:Jw, enclosure. RECOMMENDATIONS ON ALTERt1ATIVES TO 'PRESERVE 1311 S.C. 2 STREET On Monday, January 8 a group composed of representatives from several local historic preservation organizations met, upon request from the City ofMiami, to discuss alternatives leading to the preservation of the building at 134 S.E. 2 Street, should the property; come into public ownership. Pre- sent at the meeting were: Randy F. Nimnicht, forthe Historical Association of Southern Florida; Alice White and Valerie Lassman, for the Villagers, Inc.; Sallye Jude, for the Dade Heritage Trust; Arva Parks, of the Dade County Historical Board; Nancy Itoffrnan and Ivan Rodriguez for the Dade County Historic Survey. The final outcome and recommendations from the group follow. V The building at 134 S.E. 2 Street is aone-of-a-kind' structure in downtown Miami. I_ t Is the only. one, of its type, ageand size still standing in the downtown area. It was part of a housing project of at least thirty buildings erected; by IlenryM.`Flagler, starting in 1897, for his workers. The railroad, had been extended south to Miami and Flayler's.next project in order to develop the area into a resort attraction ,was. the building` of the Royal Palm Hotel. The source of work brought down to the area, many families hard -stricken by the devastating frost. of1896.. When.Flagler sawthese. families living in tcnts, unable to afford better housing, he ordered that workers' quarters be built, and personally.sclected-the site for these houses. The "`location was ideal, on axis with the two majorsources of livelihood and: communications of the :sprouting community, the hotel and railroad. The building is not a major architectural or historical monument ,in;:and of ►tself.Its major significance'Iies,.rather, on how "eloquently it still;. tells the story, 32 years later, of the very beginnings of thecity of Miami. Although the Royal , :ilm- is gone, its presence is still felt today in the void- of the parking iot. Although' the Florida East Coast raiiroad tracks are soon to become the Rapid Transit path,their physical evidence 1 ives on. Al though the rest = of the workers' quarters have given way to progress, to Fiagler's dream, the. Butler bui:!ding ``stiI1 marks the spot where it al began. Thus the true sign;ficance:of this structure lies in its close association in place and purpose with the other, cottages built with it, and with the.. site. It is the physical and symbolic; representation of the workers' quarters, of the rationale for its site choice, "of,the generosity of Mr. Flagler toward his workers and, of his .foresight towardsdevelopment thc;�future��deuelo ment of his dream city,. The, site.at,:134 S.E. 2 Street, based` on the above cri:ter ia of= its sign'ficance_ as the potential for eligibility to the National Register of Ili.storic:Places. RECOMMENDATIONS'` 1 -Based on the above mentioned sogfirst�and foremostsite retomnenditself, aistudy the consensus of the meeting t by the architcCtural firm to be in charge of the project, on the, feasibility of leaving the building on its present site. The study would be aimed at incorporating the old structure esthetically, through; the dramatic contrast of; elements such as scale and materials, and, functionally through adaptive re -use, with the new structure proposed forthe present site and surrounding arca. RELOCATION If moving the building is the only solution to its preservation, the recommended move should be to a. site meeting the following criteria: �a) the newsilo. should be within thearea in close proximity to the original site. ThisWouldbe thc area south of East Flagler Street, east of South Miami Avenue, north of the Miami River, and west of S.E. Second Avenue..` b) a setting should be created on the new site,throucjh scale, orientation, setback and streetscapc,:to portray the original ° setting c) Pedestrian. accessibility from shopping` and business areas, and from the,: Knight. Convention Center' and proposed World Trade Center` should be emphasized. d) the building's; new function should not be restricted to that.`;of a museum, but rather .it should aimat adaptive re -use, while utilizing its interpretive potential. - The site of the proposed Fort Dailas Park seemed to all present at the meeting tobe a logical _and appropriate choice of site if. sthe .` building has to be moved. It is within the boundaries' described above, its sit... orientation could be reproduced, while its site rclationship to both the Royal Palm Hotel and to the railroad would not be seriously: altered. The fact that this is not an existing park yet would also be an advantage. This would allow the possibility of creating a proper setting for the building: in terms oforientation, n.tation,he s tback,iosof cale, pedcstrian.acccssibilily -.fin _streets -cape. he building could be directly_ associated with the park and its visitors The suggestion was made that the building could esesrveu ve sd ausnylckck shop, with.limited:. food .services, .where .downto►�n then enjoy it in the relaxed :itmosphere.of shaded park benches. The architect,shoeld seek for the proper, sensitive integration of Visual and functional determinants of an historic structure within a modern setting. This would certainly produce a fine demonstration ProJect to" raise local public awareness on the values of historic preservation. Another site discussed as a possibility for relocation`. was the, area adjacent to the Rapid Transit system, just south, of the rlaglcr Street station sate.This alternative opens up rnanyopportuflities for adap- tive're-use. in connection with the Rapid Transit system. the architec- tural scale of the area and the vastness if the urban space, however, would detract from the building, making it seem almost insignificant in its setting.: While the same might be argued to be true of the sugges- tion toleave the building onits present slte, amidst the arge high-rise devclopmeflt, the cont.rast here would be obvious and direct, purposely incorporated into the design of the new building, as a power- ful literal statement on the reverence of a progressive city to its historical continuity. - The possibility of moving the building to Lummus Park was also discussed. While the area is easily accessible from downtown and would receive good exposure, there would not be anyhistorical integrity to the setting. The site significance, somewhat maintained in the other suggested locations, would be completely lost, since` the original workers' quarters had nothing to do with this part of the city. Furthermore, although this move would ;reinforce ;the historical ambience of the park by the visual relationship of the Butler building to two other relocated landmarks, Fort Dallas and the Wagner Homestead, the historical relationship would be non-existent.' The other two buiidlflgS both date from the pre -railroad, frontier era of Miarni, and William Wagner worked at Fort Dallas. The Butler: building, on the other hand, is a result of the corning of the railroad and speaks of the early development of the city of Miami. To group the three buildings together would be historically inaccurate and misleading, thusdefeating the purpose of the educational experience to be gained from such a physical grouping. The major accomplishment of ourmeeting was bringing together represent- atives from the different groups to collectively discuss a problem and to try to find a _sol ut i fl to it. "We now encourage the City of Miami to keep these ,lines of comrnun i cat i on open, and to designate ,a person as liaison with t preservation organizations. Many problems and misunderstandings could be eliminated, and solutions could be more efficiently reached through this collaborative, unified: approach than through the fragmented words and actions. of individualS on both sides of the issue. • ("1"...,11011111im„,illok. 79-326