HomeMy WebLinkAboutExhibit AFLORIDA DEPARTMENT Of STATE
RICK SCOTT
Governor
November 17, 2017
Mr. Warren Adams
Historic Preservation Officer
City of Miami Planning Department
444 Southwest 2nd Avenue, 3rd Floor
Miami, Florida 33130
KEN DETZNER
secretary of State
Re: Coconut Grove Playhouse (DA01070), 3500 Main Highway, Miami, FL 33133
Miami Marine Stadium (DA11451), 3501 Rickenbacker Causeway, Miami, FL 33149
Dear Mr. Adams:
Florida National Register Nomination Proposals for the above referenced properties have been
prepared by the State Historic Preservation Office. We solicit your review and recommendation
concerning eligibility in accordance with the procedures established by the National Historic
Preservation Act [Title 1, Section 101 (16 U.S.C. 470a) (c)(2)] which created the basis for the
participation of Certified Local Governments in the Florida National Register of Historic Places
nomination process.
According to the Act, before properties within the jurisdiction of the certified local government
may be considered by the State to be nominated for inclusion on the National Register, the State
Historic Preservation Officer shall notify the owners, the applicable chief local elected official,
and the local historic preservation commission. The commission, after reasonable opportunity
for public comment, shall prepare a report as to whether or not such properties meets the
eligibility criteria. Within sixty days of the notice from the State Historic Preservation Officer,
the chief local elected official shall transmit the report of the commission and his
recommendation to the State Historic Preservation Officer. If no such report and
recommendation are received within sixty days, the State shall proceed with the nomination
process.
If either the preservation agency or the chief local elected official supports the nomination of the
properties, the proposals will be scheduled for consideration by the Florida National Register
Review Board. The nominations for the above properties are tentatively scheduled for
Division of Historical Resources
R.A. Gray Building • 50o South Bronough Street* Tallahassee, Florida 32399
850.245.630o • 850.245.6436 (Fax) • FLHeritage.com
ITT
Adams
November 17, 2017
Page Two
consideration by the Florida National Register Review Board, meeting on February 8, 2018, at
1:30 p.m. at the R.A. Gray Building, Tallahassee, Florida.
If both the commission and the chief local elected official recommend that a property not be
nominated to the National Register, the State Historic Preservation Officer shall take no further
action, unless within thirty days of the receipt of such recommendation by the State Historic
Preservation Officer an appeal is filed with the State. Any party may file an appeal with the
State Historic Preservation Officer. If the State Historic Preservation Officer, after hearing the
appeal, determines that the property is eligible, he shall proceed with the nomination process.
The State Historic Preservation Officer shall include any reports and recommendations from any
party along with the nomination submitted to the Keeper of the Register.
We look forward to your recommendation and comments regarding these properties. If we can
be of any further assistance to you, please do not hesitate to contact me at
ruben.acosta@dos.myflorida.com or 850-245-6364.
Sincerely,
Ruben A. Acosta
Survey and Registration Supervisor
Bureau of Historic Preservation
RAAlraa
Enclosure
NPS Form 10-900
(Rev. 10-90
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES
REGISTRATION FORM
OMB No. 1024-0018
This Corm is for use in nominating or requesting determinations for individual properties and districts. See instructions in How to Complete the National
Register of Historic Places Registration Form (National Register Bulletin 16A). Complete each item by marking "x" in the appropriate box or by entering
the information requested. If any item does not apply to the property being documented, enter "N/A" for not applicable." For functions, architectural
classification, materials, and areas of significance, enter only categories and subcategories from the instructions. Place additional entries and narrative
items on continuation sheets (NPS Form 10-900a). Use a typewriter, word processor, or computer, to complete all items.
1. Name of Property
historic name Coconut Grove Playhouse
other names/site number Coconut Grove Theater; Players State Theater; The Grove; FMSF DA01070
2. Location
street & number 3500 Main Highway
city or town Miami
state Florida
❑ not for cublication
vicinity
code FL county Miami -Dade code 025 zio code 33133
3. State/Federal Agency Certification
As the designated authority under the National Historic Preservation Act, as amended, I hereby certify that this El nomination
❑ request for determination of eligibility meets the documentation standards for registering properties in the National Register of
Historic Places and meets the procedural and professional requirements set forth in 36 CFR Part 60. In my opinion, the property
El meets ❑ does not meet the National Register criteria. I recommend that this property be considered significant
❑ nationally ❑ statewide El locally. (❑ See continuation sheet for additional comments.)
Signature of certifying official/Title
Date
Florida Department of State, Division of Historical Resources, Bureau of Historic Preservation
State or Federal agency and bureau
In my opinion, the property ❑ meets 0 does not meet the National Register criteria. (❑See continuation sheet for additional
comments.)
Signature of certifying official/Title
Date
State or Federal agency and bureau
4. National Park Service Certification
I hereby certify that the property is:
❑ entered in the National Register
❑ See continuation sheet
❑ determined eligible for the
National Register
0 See continuation sheet.
❑ determined not eligible for the
National Register
❑ See continuation sheet.
❑ removed from the National
Register.
❑ other, (explain)
Signature of the Keeper
Date of Action
COCONUT GROVE PLAYHOUSE
Miami -Dade County, FL
Name of Property
County and State
5. Classification
Ownership of Property Category of Property
(Check as many boxes as apply) (Check only one box)
❑ private
❑ public -local
public -State
❑ public -Federal
buildings
❑ district
❑ site
❑ structure
❑ object
Name of related multiple property listings
(Enter "NIA" if property is not part of a multiple property listing.)
"NIA"
Number of Resources within Property
(Do not include any previously listed resources in the count)
Contributing Noncontributing
1
0
0
0
0
0
buildings
sites
structures
0 0 objects
1
0
total
Number of contributing resources previously
listed in the National Register
0
6. Function or Use
Historic Functions
(Enter categories from instructions)
RECREATION AND CULTURE/Theater
Current Functions
(Enter categories from instructions)
VACANT/NOT IN USE
7. Description
Architectural Classification
(Enter categories from instructions)
LATE 19TH & 20TH CENTURY REVIVALS/
Mediterranean Revival
Materials
(Enter categories from instructions)
foundation Concrete
walls Stucco
ranf Asphalt
nth er
Narrative Description
(Describe the historic and current condition of the property on one or more continuation sheets.)
COCONUT GROVE PLAYHOUSE
Miami -Dade County, FL
Name of Property County and State
8. Statement of Significance
Applicable National Register Criteria
(Mark 'X' in one or more boxes for the criteria qualifying the property
for National Register listing.)
A Property is associated with events that have made
a significant contribution to the broad patterns of
our history.
❑ B Property is associated with the lives of persons
significant in our past.
C Property embodies the distinctive characteristics
of a type, period, or method of construction or
represents the work of a master, or possesses
high artistic values, or represents a significant and
distinguishable entity whose components lack
individual distinction.
❑ D Property has yielded, or is likely to yield
information important in prehistory or history.
Criteria Considerations
(Mark "x" in all the boxes that apply.)
Property is:
❑ A owned by a religious institution or used for
religious purposes.
❑ B removed from its original location.
❑ C a birthplace or grave.
❑ D a cemetery.
❑ E a reconstructed building, object, or structure.
❑ F a commemorative property.
❑ G less than 50 years of age or achieved significance
within the past 50 years
Narrative Statement of Significance
(Explain the significance of the property on one or more continuation sheets.)
Areas of Significance
(Enter categories from instructions)
ENTERTAINMENT/RECREATION
ARCHITECTURE
Period of Significance
1927
1956-1970
Significant Dates
1927
1956-1970
Significant Person
N/A
Cultural Affiliation
N/A
Architect/Builder
Arch: Kiehnel, Richard; Parker, Alfred Browning
Bider: Peacock, Albert
9. Major Bibliographical References
Bibliography
Cite the books, articles, and other sources used in preparing this form on one or more continuation sheets.)
Previous documentation on file (NPS): Primary location of additional data:
❑ preliminary determination of individual listing (36
CFR 36) has been requested
❑ previously listed in the National Register
❑ previously determined eligible by the National
Register
❑ designated a National Historic Landmark
❑ recorded by Historic American Buildings Survey
recorded by Historic American Engineering Record
® State Historic Preservation Office
El Other State Agency
El Federal agency
El Local government
❑ University
❑ Other
Name of Repository
COCONUT GROVE PLAYHOUSE Miami -Dade County, FL
Name of Property County and State
10. Geographical Data
Acreage of Property 2-9 Acres
UTM References
(Place additional references on a continuation sheet.)
111 71 517151711 71 2181415 519I11
Zone Eastin Northing
2 III 111111111
Verbal Boundary Description
(Describe the boundaries of the property on a continuation sheet.)
Boundary Justification
(Explain why the boundaries were selected on a continuation sheet.)
3 11 1 1 I I I I I 1 I II 1 II
I I I Zone Easting Northing
4) I
0 See continuation sheet
11. Form Prepared By
name/title Max Adriel Imberman, Historic Preservationist
organization Bureau of Historic Preservation
street & number 500 South Bronough Street
city or town Tallahassee
state Florida
date June 2017
telephone (850) 245-6333
zip code 32399-0250
Additional Documentation
Submit the following items with the completed form:
Continuation Sheets
Maps
A USGS map (7.5 or 15 minute series) indicating the property's location.
A Sketch map for historic districts and properties having large acreage or numerous resources.
Photographs
Representative black and white photographs of the property.
Additional items
(check with the SHPO or FPO for any additional items)
Property Owner
(Complete this item at the request of SHPO or FPO.)
name Trustees of the Internal Improvement Fund of the State of Florida
street & number 3900 Commonwealth Boulevard #412 telephone
city or town Tallahassee
state Florida zip code 32399
Paperwork Reduction Act Statement: This information is being collected for applicatons to the National Register of Historic Places to nominate propenies for listing or determine eligibility for listing, to
list properties. and amend listings. Response to this request is required to obtain a benefit in accordance with the National Historic Preservation Act, as amended (16 t},g.C. 470 et seq.).
Estimated Burden Statement: Public reporting burden for this form is estimated to average 18,1 hours per response including time for reviewing instructions, gathering and maintaining data, and
completing and reviewing the form. Direct comments regarding this burden estimate or any aspect of this form to the Chief, Administrative Services Division, National Park Service, P.O. Box 37127,
Washington, DC 20013-7127 and the Office of Management and Budget, Paperwork Reductions Projects (1024-0018), Washington, DC 20503,
NPS Form 10-900-a OMB No. 1024-0018
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number 7 Page
1
Coconut Grove Playhouse
Name of Property u-------------------�-�_
Miami -Dade County, FL
County and State
Name of multiple listing (if applicable)
SUMMARY
The Coconut Grove Playhouse is a three-story Mediterranean Revival theater located at the northwest
corner of Main Highway and Charles Avenue in the heart of downtown Coconut Grove, a neighborhood
in the city of Miami, the county seat of Miami -Dade County. The building was originally opened in 1927
as a movie theater, and altered in 1955 to become a playhouse. The theater has seen a number of changes
over the years, both interior and exterior, with expansions being constructed on the back and sides of the
building, as well as sidewalk commercial bays being filled in by the theater infrastructure. Despite these
additions and alterations, the building maintains its Mediterranean Revival character.
SETTING
The Coconut Grove Playhouse is located at the southwestern end of Coconut Grove's business district.
The theater is located at the intersection of Main Highway and Charles Avenue. Main Highway runs
from northeast to southwest, and passes by businesses, schools, houses, and places of worship on the
west and east. Charles Avenue is primarily residential, with some commercial properties on the far east
end. The Coconut Grove Playhouse is surrounded by a large parking lot, and neighbors a vacant lot.
Across Main Highway to the east are multiple large domestic properties, and across Charles Avenue to
the south are commercial properties. While there are a few small trees on the playhouse property, nearby
lots have many trees, a common feature in Coconut Grove.
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION
Exterior
The footprint of the Coconut Grove Playhouse is asymmetrical, with a three -floor central building with
an auditorium surrounded by additions weighted to the northeast. The building has a flat roof, decorated
with a rim of red -roof tile on the southern elevation. The entire building is made of concrete masonry
with a stucco finish.
Main (South) Elevation
The frontage on Main Highway and Charles Avenue (Photo 1) is three stories tall and wing -shaped, with
three sections. The west and east bays of the frontage are mostly similar, but the west bay is slightly
longer than the east one. The roofline across the entire south facade is flat and lined with red terra cotta
tiles in the Spanish style. The central entrance bay is characterized by its ornamentation. The entrance
consists of two doors covered by an awning supported by two metal rods. It is flanked by two pairs of
SoIomonic columns which each originally surrounded advertising posters (Photo 2). The right poster
spot has been converted to a door. To the south of the southern pair of Solomonic columns is a door,
which was originally mirrored by one on the north side, but has now been filled in.
NPS Form 10-900-a OMB No. 1024-0018
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number 7
Page 2
Coconut Grove Playhouse
Name of Property
Miami -Dade County, FL
County and State
Name of multiple listing Of applicable)
This central bay has five segments, which each have shared design features going up all three stories.
There is a central bay, two bays characterized by the Solomonic column pairs at the base of the building,
and two bays at the far ends of the central section which correspond to the original placement of the
doors to the south and north. On this section of the southern elevation, the more elaborate ornamentation
is placed in the central bay, while the column bays have less, and the door bays have little to none. The
central bay, where the entrance doors are, is topped by a symmetrical plaster ornamentation feature with
eight mini -arches on the bottom. The windows on this elevation of the building are all 8-light fixed
windows. On the second story of the central bay, there are three windows, each contained within an arch
and topped by a plaster shield symbol. The three windows are separated by miniature plaster Solomonic
columns that match the height of the windows. Unlike most of the rest of this elevation, in which the
windows are inset in the stucco, these windows are surrounded by a thick plaster base, exactly as wide as
the windows on the third floor and as tall as the entire second floor, in which the aforementioned arches
are set. The third floor windows are slightly wider -set than the second floor ones, and they are each
surrounded by a thinner plaster border. The south and north of the three third -story windows have a
plaster wing design on the top of the plaster border, while the central window is instead topped by a
capital with a more elaborate three-dimensional version of the wing design.
The column bays are oriented with the windows and decorative elements on the second and third stories
being centered by the first -floor plaster Solomonic columns (Photo 3). The columns on both sides are
topped by a plaster decorative element, which attaches to the arched plaster ornamentation in the central
bay from both sides. Each side gives the impression of a balustrade flanked by a tall pointy capital,
surrounding the second -story window. The windows in these bays are slightly thinner than the other
windows in this part of the building. The second -story window is topped by a thin decorative plaster
element which acts as a sort of eyebrow to the window. The window on the third story is surrounded by
plaster borders, just like the windows on that floor in the central bay, but lacking the wing design on top.
Just above the third -story window of the column bays on both sides is a circular plaster decorative
element. The door bays of the far south and north of the central section are relatively undecorated. The
door on the south side is centrally located in the bay, while the north bay is flat stucco. The second -and
third story windows are each centrally located and unbordered. Above the third -story windows on both
sides are sets of three scuppers.
The south (Photo 4) and north (Photo 5) sections of the south elevation are very similar in design, but the
south section is slightly wider. On the south section of the building's southern elevation, the bottom
floor is currently covered up with a projecting wooden structure, while the north side consists of three
filled -in storefront bays followed by a door. Each storefront bay is two windows wide, while the door to
the north is lined up with the windows on the second and third floors. The windows on the second floor
of the south and north sections match the wider windows of the central section's second floor. The south
section has nine evenly -spaced windows, while the north has seven. The third floor is characterized by
decorative wrought -iron balconets fronting sets of three tall windows (Photo 6), which are surrounded by
decorative plaster elements topped by a coat of arms and wing motif. On the north side, the balconets are
located over the first and third bays, and on the south side, the first is located over the third second -floor
window, while the second is located over the fifth and sixth. One major difference between the north and
NPS Form 10-900-a OMB No. 1024-0018
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number 7 Page
3
Coconut Grove Playhouse
Name of Property
Miami -Dade County, FL
County and State
Name of multiple listing (if applicable)
south sides of the third floor is that the north side has only balconet features and single windows, while
the south side has two double windows. On both sides of the building, the third floor is characterized by
two sets of paired scuppers at the center and north side. The Coconut Grove Playhouse's sign (Photo 7)
hangs on the far south side of the north section of the building's southern elevation, extending from the
roofline to the top of the former commercial bays on the first floor.
To the north of the three -section theater entrance, there is a one-story hyphen connecting the original
theater building to a two-story addition (Photo 8). The hyphen is characterized by an arched iron gate, a
double door with a fanlight. The two-story addition is made of painted concrete masonry with recessed
bays on the first floor and three windows on the second floor.
West Elevation
The west elevation, visible from Charles Avenue, features a small one-story utility addition to the main
theater building, as well as one side of the auditorium of the playhouse (Photo 9). The utility building is
made of reinforced concrete and covered in stucco, and consists of two components. The westernmost
component is tiny and rectangular, with the western side featuring a single door to the north, a double
door in the middle, and a small fenestration with metal louvers on the right. The larger addition this
component is attached to has five sides and an uneven roofline, illustrating its two components, the
utility room to the north, and the expansion of the theater building to the south. Along the western side
of the utility addition, there is one window and two fenestrations with metal louvers. On top of this
addition is a massive air conditioning unit. From this view, one can also see some windows on the back
and side of the original theater building, with three boarded -up windows visible on the second floor and
five visible on the third floor.
The west side of the theater auditorium (Photo 10) can be seen behind the utility addition. Along the
back end of the auditorium, there are three doors and three windows, as well as an addition to the
auditorium, which is much shorter than the original roofline. Between the utility addition and the
auditorium, there is a two -flight concrete staircase with metal balustrades (Photo 11). This wall of the
auditorium building is stucco with a low parapet, with five supportive buttresses toward the front of the
building. Toward the back of the building, the parapet increases in height over an addition to the back of
the auditorium.
North Elevation
On the north elevation (Photo 12), visible from the Coconut Grove Playhouse property's parking lot to
the north, one can see the north side of the addition to the back of the auditorium, a blank rectangular
stucco wall with an air conditioning unit and a slatted fenestration.
East Elevation
NPS Form 10-900-a OMB No. 1024-0018
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number 7 Page
4
Coconut Grove Playhouse
Name of Property
Miami -Dade County, FL
County and State
Name of multiple listing (if applicable)
The east elevation, visible from the Coconut Grove Playhouse's parking lot, which surrounds the
property from all sides except the south, mirrors the west elevation in the original building, but has
different, newer additions disrupting the symmetry. The aforementioned addition to the back of the
theater auditorium is also asymmetrical (Photo 13). While it had been flush with the walls of the western
elevation, it extends outward to the north and east. The east side of this addition is characterized by two
entrances, one of which is a large loading bay with a projecting covering, as well as a small covered door
accessed by a small staircase. Much like the east side of the building, the sides of the auditorium (Photo
14) have door entrances on the first floor, as well as supportive buttresses. A three -flight metal staircase
leads up to the building's second floor on the east side of the building. On the backside of the southern
elevation, there are four surviving four -over -four sash windows on the third floor, two of which have
arches above them pressed into the stucco. One window survives on the second floor. The first floor
features a gated entrance to the building, as well as some peeling stucco. To the left of this is a two-story
addition made of concrete masonry with two windows on the back side's second floor and six windows
on the east side's second floor. The addition features one door on the east side's first floor. A two -flight
metal staircase with balustrades leads to a wooden door on the second floor on the back side of the
addition.
Interior
Lobbv
The entrance to the Coconut Grove Playhouse, at the far east end of the building, consists of four doors
(single on each side, double in the middle) topped by an arch (Photo 15). On each side of the doors is a
thin vertical picture window. Most of the wall space in the entrance room is covered with cinnamon -
colored marble. The segment of the entrance closest to the door has a lightly -arched ceiling matching the
contour of the arch over the door. The ceiling flattens to the north, where the outer lobby becomes the
inner lobby, at the site of two structural columns now covered in marble. The ceiling of the inner lobby
is flat as well. The west wall of the outer lobby has three cut-out windows that look into a small
rectangular will call ticket vestibule room (Photo 16). The inner lobby, which is square, has three exits.
There is a hallway to the east, and two sets of doors, one to the north leading into the lounge, and one to
the west leading into the Encore Room Theatre. This room, as well as most rooms in the theater, are
heavily vandalized with graffiti.
Lounge
The wall between the lobby and the lounge is slightly curved and symmetrical, with the pattern of doors
matching the front doors to the theater. The western wall of the lounge has a wide arch that leads to two
bathrooms. Each bathroom has tiled walls and floors, as well as arched features over the stalls. (Photo
17) The arches, most of which are original to the building, are supported by Solomonic columns (Photo
18), which were originally a part of the theater's auditorium decor, but the auditorium's shortening in the
1955 Alfred Browning Parker addition left some columns and arches stranded among kitchens and
bathrooms.
NPS Form 10-900-a OMB No. 1024-0018
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number 7 Page
5
Coconut Grove Playhouse
Name of Property
Miami -Dade County, FL.
County and State
Name of multiple listing (if applicable)
The northeast corner of the lounge is characterized by two wide gated arches (Photo 19), which separate
the lounge from a snack bar. The snack bar (Photo 20) has a tiled wall to the north, as well as two of the
original theater arches with two sets of double columns to the east. In the southeast corner of the room,
there is an angular arch (Photo 21) that contains a wide carpeted staircase that heads up to the second
floor mezzanine. The entrances to the auditorium are at the northwest and northeast corners of the lobby
and are each double doors.
Mezzanine
The second -floor mezzanine runs the width of the auditorium. It has a wooden floor and a lightly arched
ceiling. At the east and west ends of the room are staircases (Photo 22) that lead up to the balcony
overlooking the auditorium. Doors to the southwest lead to the second floor offices.
Auditorium
The auditorium is the tallest part of the building. The ceiling is lightly arched and the floor is carpeted.
The auditorium is symmetrical. Near the first -floor entrance on both sides, along the exterior walls of the
building to the east and west, are a set of four stenciled designs (Photo 23). Between the first two stencils
closest to the entry door on both sides are decorative dolphin fountains (Photo 24), which are lower to
the ground than they were when the building was originally constructed because Alfred Browning Parker
raised the floor for his alterations. On each side of the auditorium, there are two emergency exit doors
(Photo 25) located close to the theater stage. There are aisle lanes along both walls, and there are two
centrally -located lanes which essentially divide the around 800 seats on the bottom level into 3 equal
sections. The seats cross through the proscenium arch (Photo 26), which has been painted black. On each
side of the stage, there are brass ornate decorative figures with a shield design (Photo 27) on top fastened
to the wall extending from the top of the emergency exit doors to near the ceiling.
The mezzanine balcony has around 300 seats and a blue carpet (Photo 28). There are three aisle lanes, in
the east, west, and center of the balcony. Along the back wall of the balcony, there is a small windowed
lighting control room. Along the top of the wall on both sides, there is an original painted plaster
decorative molding (Photo 29), which originally extended further south but was cut off as part of the
Parker alterations.
Backstage
The stage has exits to its left and right. To the left side of the stage (from the audience perspective), there
are three office rooms, as well as a staircase (Photo 30) that leads up to a second -floor lighting booth.
(Photo 31). Directly behind the stage is a hallway with a row of 5 small dressing rooms (Photo 32). At
the end of this hallway is a large unadorned concrete masonry storage room with a loading dock entrance
(Photo 33). A set of concrete stairs in this room (Photo 34) leads down to a sunken storage and
workshop area.
NPS Form 10-900-a OMB No. 1024-0018
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number 7 Page
6
Coconut Grove Playhouse
-------------------------------------------------
Name of Property
Miami -Dade County, FL
County and State
Name of multiple listing (if applicable)
Former Bar
The east area of the theater's entrance building, which was converted to a bar and lounge in the course of
the Parker -era alterations, is now a storage area. In the northeast corner of the room is a wooden door
next to a metal spiral staircase (Photo 35). The room has a concrete and tile floor and drywall walls
(Photo 36. The second floor consists of a hallway with small storage rooms and offices on both sides.
Former Restaurant
The restaurant at the south end of the theater building has been converted into a black box theater, with
walls entirely painted black. A beam along the far south wall of the building is currently exposed and
being held up by metal structures. North of the black box theater is a kitchen and freezer (Photo 37),
both of which were being used for storage when the theater closed.
Second and Third Floors
The second and third floors of the building both consist of single hallways with entrances to offices and
apartments on the south side. There are staircases (Photo 38) at each end of the hallway, both of which
access all three floors, as well as an elevator (Photo 39) located toward the south, next to the ticket
vestibule on the first floor. The offices and apartments (Photo 40) are in disrepair, with windows (Photo
41) boarded up for protection, and bathrooms (Photo 42) coated in rot.
ALTERATIONS
The Coconut Grove Playhouse has seen a number of changes in its history, both in terms of its exterior
and its interior. The building's entrance facade has maintained consistent massing, but has experienced
some significant alterations. When the building was first constructed, the ground floor on both wings of
the entrance housed seven commercial bays, with four on the left side and three on the east side. In the
course of the 1955 Alfred Browning Parker alterations, the commercial space was incorporated into the
theater, creating a bar and a restaurant. The fixed storefront windows and single centralized doors, as
well as the overhead awnings and steel shutters were replaced with a flat stucco wall with a ribbon
window. By the 1980s, planters had been added to the bottoms of the ribbon windows on the left side of
the building, while the windows on the right had been filled in. When the theater first opened, a
decorative fountain graced the building's entrance, but by the 1950s, it had been removed. On the second
and third floors, casement windows were replaced at some point by fixed windows, but the overall
impression remains intact. While the original design had a door on each side of the entrance, next to the
Solomonic columns, leading into the commercial bays, the right door has now been totally removed, and
the left door has had a small archway on top of the door filled in. The left door has also been replaced by
a metal exit door which cannot be opened from the outside. Along the flat roofline, the left and right
sides of the front facade remain identical to their original construction, characterized only by red roof
tiles. The building's entrance bay, in 1927, had a good deal of ornamentation along the roofline, with a
NPS Form 10-900-a OMB No. 1024-0018
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number 7 Page
7
Coconut Grove Playhouse
Name of Property
Miami -Dade County, FL
County and State
Name of multiple listing (if applicable)
symmetrical pattern of crenulated parapets as well as a central ornate pediment. These features were
removed by the 1950s, and today the roofline is simple red tile, matching the left and right wings of the
building. Over the decades, some of the more complex ornamentation of the original Kiehnel and Elliott
design has been lost, and the removal of the storefront bays has had an overall smoothing effect on the
building's facade. While the building's first floors and roofline decoration have been altered, the overall
impression of the entrance remains the same. The decorative elements on the second and third floors
remain intact as well, including plaster elements and balconets.
The Coconut Grove Playhouse has also had multiple other additions on its back and sides, to
accommodate the necessary organizational infrastructure for a theater, restaurant, and bar. A utility
building was added and connected to the main building in the 1950s Alfred Browning Parker alterations.
In the Parker alterations, the architect had the biggest impact on the back of the theater auditorium,
converting the building from a movie theater to a playhouse, which requires a lot more space for set
design, dressing rooms, and construction. The auditorium room was expanded to include a stage, as well
as backstage dressing rooms and a staging and construction area for set building. The latest addition to
the building's exterior was built to the northeast of the entrance, a two-story building connected to the
theater by a one-story hyphen and a streetside wall and gate. While these additions have had an indelible
impact upon the building's overall design, they are not clear from the street level, which maintains a
similar impression to historic photographs from the 1920s and 1950s. The 1950s additions are only
visible from the parking lot to the back of the building, and the 1980s addition looks almost like a
separate building from the street level because of the wall and gate. The changes to the exterior of the
building, while altogether seeming like large changes, do not detract from the feeling of the historic
building, which evokes a similar sentiment as it did when it was constructed. With the period of
significance being 1955-1970, the only additions constructed since then are the small two-story addition
to the northeast and the hyphen, which are relatively minor.
Just like the exterior of the building, the interior has been altered over the decades, due to changing
needs as well as changing styles. The removal of the original streetside storefronts to create a restaurant
and a bar within the theater had an impact upon the floor plan of the building. When it was first
constructed, the theater's first floor presence was a mere entrance leading to a massive auditorium. With
the 1950s Alfred Browning Parker alterations, the theater's internal infrastructure began to fill more of
the building. Apart from additions adding new rooms and areas to the back and sides of the building, the
largest changes to the interior came from the 1955 Parker alterations, when the auditorium was made
smaller (taking it from 1500 seats to 800 seats), a new back wall was built, and the area taken out of the
auditorium turned into a lounge, snack bar, kitchen, and bathrooms. A new floor was also built over the
original floor of the building, which led to some of the decorations seeming sunk into the ground. Parker
added a fountain and a decorative dome to the lobby area, which are both now removed. Some of the
arched and columned elements from the original auditorium walls are retained in their new settings. The
corresponding arches within the auditorium have since been removed, leaving stenciled walls where rich
decorations once were. The other major alteration to the building was the addition of a mezzanine
balcony to the auditorium, which was accessed by the public through a staircase located in the lounge
area. The mezzanine balcony added 300 seats to the auditorium, which originally had plaster molding
NPS Form 10-900-a OMB No. 1024-0018
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number 7
Page 8
Coconut Grove Playhouse
Name of Property
Miami -Dade County, FL
County and State
Name of multiple listing (if applicable)
along the top of both sides, but it was cut off when the auditorium was shrunk. The interior of the
building has had extensive alterations to fit the evolving technological and logistical needs of a
twentieth-century entertainment venue. While the building has changed immensely since its initial
construction, the changes since Parker's work in the 1950s and 1960s have been, structurally, relatively
minor, and many could be reversed.
INTEGRITY
Due to the Playhouse's complex history of modifications, first in 1955, and then periodically thereafter,
the Playhouse retains differing levels of integrity of design, materials, and workmanship while retaining
a high overall level of integrity of location, setting, association and feeling.
Condition
The building has been shuttered for a decade, and as experienced significant vandalism on the interior.
However, this is primarily limited to graffiti, broken glass, and damaged furniture. While visually
unpleasant, the vandalism does not negatively impact the integrity of the building.
Architectural Integrity: Exterior
Architecturally, the building's integrity varies between the exterior of the property and the interior.
Externally, the building retains a moderate to high level of integrity of design, materials, and
workmanship associated with the 1926 Keihnel and Elliot design. The central portion of the primary
facade facing the intersection of Charles Avenue and Main Highway retains many of the original
architectural features designed by Kiehnel and Elliot, including the three level design with elaborate
pediments, arches, architraves, solomonic columns, and finnials. The only missing significant design
elements are the original castellated parapet walls along the roofline and central pediment.
The other public facades on the east and south sides of the buildings also retain a large proportion of
Kiehnel and Elliot's design, including elaborate Mediterranean style pediments over French doors with
iron balconets on the third floor of each facade. Significant changes limited only to the storefronts at
street level, which were filled in originally by Alfred Browning Parker. However, the openings for the
original 1920's storefronts are still expressed and read as part of the design of the building on the east
side facing Main Highway. The storefronts on the south facade facing Charles Avenue are gone,
replaced by a temporary wood wall which shelters a modern concrete block and steel wall supporting the
structure of the building.
Under Alfred Browning Parker, exterior changes to the building were limited primarily to the expansion
of the building to the rear with several additions to accommodate a larger backstage that was missing
from the original Keihnel and Elliot Design and the removal of Keihnel and Elliot's elaborate parapet
crenellations and pediment on the main facade. On the primary facades facing Main Highway and
NPS Form 10-900-a
OMB No, 1024-0018
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number 7 Page
9
Coconut Grove Playhouse
Name of Property
Miami -Dade County, FL
County and State
Name of multiple listing (if applicable)
Charles Ave, nothing remains of Alfred Browning Parker's limited redesign of the theater's exterior,
outside of the infilled storefronts and a new exit door on the south side of the main entrance.
The exterior retains a good level of integrity of materials and workmanship. It retains its original stucco
finish and architectural terra cotta ornament. The windows are not original to the 1920s or 1950s, but do
not detract significantly from the overall integrity of the property.
Architectural Integrity: Interior
Compared to the exterior, the interior lacks integrity for Keihnel and Elliot's original movie theater
design due to changes in the 1950s and later. It retains a moderate to low level of integrity for Alfred
Browning Parker's design. Changes made after the period of significance, concentrated in the 1980s,
negatively impacted Parker's Modernist design.
Parker's 1955 significant modifications to the original theater included the reduction in the size of the
theater space by 1/3 to accommodate an entrance lobby with a fountain, modifying the slope of the
auditorium to facilitate better sight lines to the main stage, the enclosure of the storefronts on the east
and south sides of the building to provide space for a restaurant and bar, the construction of a kitchen for
the restaurant, the addition of a second -floor reception space above the new lobby space, and the
construction of additional back stage space for changing rooms, workshops, and storage. Parker also
designed the 1965 mezzanine balcony added by Zev Buffman.
For the most part, the building retains nearly all of Parker's interior layout of spaces and his
modifications to the auditorium. However, key aesthetic features of Parker's design, such as the interior
fountain, dome, and modernist finishes, are now gone due to changes to the building after the period of
significance. The building has a low level of integrity of materials or workmanship from the Parker
period, as the materials and finishes that characterized his work are now obscured or missing, much like
how the building has a low level of integrity for design and workmanship on the interior for the Keihnel
and Elliot period due to Parker's modifications. However, as a whole, the building retains sufficient
elements of Parker's changes to the organization and layout of the building to retain a moderate level of
architectural integrity for this time period.
Integrity of Location, Setting
The Coconut Grove Playhouse retains to a very high degree its integrity of location. The building,
although altered and expanded, has not been moved. The Playhouse also retains to a very high degree its
integrity of setting. It maintains its historic placement on the border between a residential and a
commercial section of Coconut Grove. While much of Miami (and Coconut Grove specifically) has been
plagued with rampant development, the area surrounding the Playhouse has not changed very much
since the period of significance.
Integrity of Association and Feeling
NPS Form 10-900-a OMB No. 1024-0018
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number 7 Page
10
Coconut Grove Playhouse
Name of Property
Miami -Dade County, FL
County and State
Name of multiple listing (if applicable)
While the levels of architectural integrity vary depending on the portion of the building examined, the
Playhouse still retains a high of associative integrity with the events that occurred at that location. The
theater's auditorium retains a high level of integrity from the period of significance associated with
George Engles and Zev Buffman and the productions they coordinated and sponsored. The only major
change to the auditorium was Buffman's addition of a mezzanine balcony, designed by Parker, in 1965,
within the period of significance. More significant changes have occurred in other interior spaces,
including the lobby, restaurant, and bar, where historic finishes are missing and some reorganization of
interior space has occurred (primarily in the bar area on the northeast side of the building). However, the
overall spaces as redesigned by Parker are still present.
In addition, the exterior still retains a good level of integrity with this period, as it reflects the Keihnel
and Elliot design as modified by Parker in the 1950s. The only major exterior changes are the loss of
some decorative elements used by Parker to infiIl the storefronts.
The Coconut Grove Playhouse retains to a high degree its integrity of feeling. The building clearly
conveys a sense of early twentieth-century glamor, which Kiehnel and Elliott built and Parker
maintained. While the interior has been altered and degraded, it still maintains its historic feeling as
well.
Overall Integrity
The building retains sufficient integrity for listing on the National Register of Historic Places.
NPS Form 10-900-a (Rev. 812002)
OMB No. 1024-0018
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number 8 Page
1
Coconut Grove Playhouse
Name of Property
Miami -Dade County, FL
County and State
Name of multiple listing (if applicable)
Summary
The Coconut Grove Playhouse is significant at the local level under Criterion A in the area of
Entertainment and Recreation, and Criterion C in the area of Architecture for its Mediterranean Revival
facade. The period of significance consists of 1927, when the building was originally constructed, then
extends from 1955, when oilman George Engle purchased a 1927 movie theater aiming to restore and
convert it into a world -class playhouse, to 1970, when theatrical producer Zev Buffman sold the theater,
ending its golden age. The Coconut Grove Playhouse is a locally significant example of Mediterranean
Revival architecture, and it was designed and renovated by two generations of legendary architects. The
playhouse was originally designed as a movie theater by the architectural firm of Kiehnel and Elliott for
a 1927 opening, and it was converted into a playhouse by prolific Modernist architect Alfred Browning
Parker. The building is also a local landmark, a point of pride for the Coconut Grove community, as well
as having been an important economic and cultural presence in downtown Coconut Grove, as well as
Greater Miami in general.
Historic Context
History of Coconut Grove
Coconut Grove began as a frontier town rivaling early Miami, located around five miles to its southwest.
Its early residents were mainly Northeasterners drawn to the tropical climate and low population density.
Since South Florida was so remote, with no form of easy access via rail line, Coconut Grove incubated a
unique culture, characterized by some of its early residents, including a few notable artists. Ralph
Middleton Munroe, a yacht designer who was one of the Grove's earliest residents, was also known for
his photography. In addition, Kirk Munroe, a children's adventure book author and conservationist who
was not in any way related to Ralph, was very active in establishing Coconut Grove's early community
institutions. The arrival of Henry FIagler's Florida East Coast railroad in Miami in 1896 brought a
population and economic boom to the region, but the Grove's residents attempted to stand strong in the
face of rapid change, trying to maintain a frontier community character while also reaping the benefits of
economic growth.
By the 1920s, Coconut Grove had grown quite a bit, as it converted from a remote frontier community to
a sister community to a growing national powerhouse. John Irwin Bright, an architectural planner who
created an ambitious 1921 plan that would have completely altered the fabric of the Grove, described
Coconut Grove's growth from 1896 to 1920 as "slow and gradual... There always was an abundance of
land at a reasonable cost." 1 Bright paints a picture of Coconut Grove as a place that had enough business
for the residents to be comfortable, but not too much as to cause traffic congestion. While the wealthy
"Swells" lived along the shoreline, with properties averaging over six acres, Bright diagnosed an
impending land value issue in the middle of Coconut Grove, where the black community of Kebo stood,
although by the 1920s referred to as "Colored Town." He bemoaned the dip in property values
` John Irwin Bright, "Housing and Community Planning: The Plan for Coconut Grove," The Journal of the American Institute
of Architects, (Washington D.C., The Press of the American Institute of Architects, 1921), 110.
NPS Form 10-900-a (Rev. 8/2002)
OMB No. 1024-0018
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number 8
Page 2
Coconut Grove Playhouse
Name of Property
Miami -Dade County, FL
County and State
Name of multiple listing (if applicable)
surrounding Colored Town, and saw it as detrimental to the overall Grove tax base.2 Bright's plan
entailed widening Main Highway, a road that ran through the business district as well as passing by the
beachside properties of the wealthy. He also sought to limit the growth of Coconut Grove by surrounding
it entirely with a massive municipal park. Bright believed that boundless growth in a small town "is a
conception dedicated to the accumulation of riches, not for the benefit of the city itself but for a small
minority of its inhabitants."3 In essence, Bright's plan was to move the inhabitants of Colored Town to
the edge of the community, and to replace their homes with a golf course as well as a shopping district.
The plan aimed for glitz and glamor, featuring a reflecting lake for the City Hall, as well as automobile
showrooms, banks, and a luxury hotel. All new construction would be built in the Mediterranean Revival
style.4 Bright's plan, which was fundamentally segregationist, was meant to create a unified character for
a community that had always been eclectic. It was also aimed to prevent the type of rapid rampant
growth that the city of Miami experienced in the early decades of the 20th century. The plan was never
implemented, and Coconut Grove maintained its historic character.
After the First World War, Coconut Grove and Miami began to engage in border and jurisdiction
disputes. As Miami's borders began to creep toward the Grove from the northeast, Coconut Grove
incorporated as a town in 1919, a defensive action aimed at codifying the community's borders. The next
year, Grove mayor William V. Little sought to acquire more land in order to gain enough registered
voters to incorporate Coconut Grove as a city, but the effort never materialized.5 In 1923, Miami made
its first attempt to annex Coconut Grove. In January of that year, Coconut Grove was notified that Miami
aimed to annex it as well as the neighboring communities of Silver Bluff and Allapattah. Grove
leadership canvassed the Coconut Grove populace by mail, determining that 155 out of 197 respondents
were opposed to annexation. Before this, however, Miami retracted its attempt over technical concerns
about bond indebtedness.6 Despite this failure, the city of Miami, spurred by the 1920s land boom, was
desperate to expand its borders along with its taxation base. On July 7, 1925, Miami made a second
attempt to annex Coconut Grove as well as other nearby communities, and succeeded. With a
coordinated fundraising, get -out -the -vote, and advertising campaign, the annexation vote was extremely
organized. For Miami, which was on the cusp of becoming the biggest city in the state of Florida, this
effort was of the utmost importance. As civic leader A.J. Clearly said, "Every voter who has registered
must consider it his duty to vote on the question of annexation. Unless everyone in Miami eligible to
vote does this we stand in danger of seeing the annexation measure defeated.s7 The stakes were high,
2 John Irwin Bright, "Housing and Community Planning: The Plan for Coconut Grove," The Journal of the American Institute
of Architects, (Washington D.C., The Press of the American Institute of Architects, 1921), 111.
3 John Irwin Bright, "Housing and Community Planning: The Plan for Coconut Grove," The Journal of the American Institute
of Architects, (Washington D.C., The Press of the American Institute of Architects, 1921), 114.
4 John Irwin Bright, "Housing and Community Planning: The Plan for Coconut Grove," The Journal of the American Institute
of Architects, (Washington D.C., The Press of the American Institute of Architects, 1921), 119-120.
5 Grant Livingston, "The Annexation of the City of Coconut Grove," Tequesta: The Journal of the Historical Association of
Southern Florida, (Miami, Historical Association of Southern Florida, Number LX), 2000, 35.
6 Grant Livingston, "The Annexation of the City of Coconut Grove," Tequesta: The Journal of the Historical Association of
Southern Florida, (Miami, Historical Association of Southern Florida, Number LX), 2000, 36-37.
7 Grant Livingston, "The Annexation of the City of Coconut Grove," Tequesta: The Journal of the Historical Association of
Southern Florida, (Miami, Historical Association of Southern Florida, Number LX), 2000, 39-40.
NRS Form 10-900-a (Rev. 8/2002)
OMB No. 1024-0018
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number 8
Page 3
Coconut Grove Playhouse
Name of Property
Miami -Dade County, FL
County and State
Name of multiple listing (if applicable)
with Miami seeking to expand its territory and population, and Coconut Grove wishing to maintain its
independence.
Coconut Grove was taken by surprise with this new vote, and were particularly galled by its structure,
which had been determined by a Florida State law written in 1905. Under this law, for a city to annex
surrounding territory, a vote had to be held. For the annexation to go through, two-thirds of everyone
affected by the annexation had to support it (that is, in this case, two-thirds of the voters between Miami
and Coconut Grove). Since Miami's population was so much larger than the Grove's, Coconut Grove's
votes had very little value. As an advertisement posted in the Miami Herald by Coconut Grove put it,
"Coconut Grove has not more than 240 votes against possibly 25,000 in Miami ... WHAT CHANCE
DO WE HAVE?" The election was held on September 2 1925, and the results were clear: while 87
percent of voters in the Grove disapproved of the annexation, 88 percent of all voters approved. 8 Miami,
previously defined by its clear city limits, morphed into Greater Miami, absorbing Coconut Grove, Silver
bluff, Allapattah, Lemon City, Buena Vista, and Little River, all of which had been independent towns.
Coconut Grove was to be absorbed by Miami, without its consent. Despite this, the Grove attempted to
maintain its own identity. The land boom, which had drawn so many people to South Florida, suddenly
ended that year, putting to an end the feelings of perpetual growth that had defined South Florida for so
long. Nevertheless, Coconut Grove, despite being annexed, refused to become just a part of Miami, and
still built its own institutions, including the movie theater that would one day be converted into the
Coconut Grove Playhouse.
Historical Significance: Entertainment/Recreation
The Coconut Grove Playhouse is significant at the local level under Criterion A in the area of
Entertainment/Recreation. Since 1927, the building has housed various forms of entertainment,
including movies, television and radio programs, and plays. Each successive owner of the building
approached it with grand designs, intending for it to be a cultural center for the city of Miami and
perhaps the nation. In some senses, they succeeded, with the playhouse premiering numerous theatrical
productions, many of which found their way to New York City. The Coconut Grove Playhouse was, for
a time, a staging ground where kinks were worked out of productions before moving to the more
traditional venues. From 1927 to 2006, through economic booms and busts, the Coconut Grove
Playhouse served as a heart of the Coconut Grove community, its distinctive facade drawing visitors
with the promise of quality entertainment.
The Rise and Fall of a Coconut Grove Movie Theater: 1926-1954
The building that would later become the Coconut Grove Playhouse opened on January 1, 1927 as the
Coconut Grove Theater (colloquially known as "The Grove"). The two men who financed the theater
were Irving J. Thomas and Fin L. Pierce, realtors and builders who had an active guiding hand in the
early municipal development of Coconut Grove. While both men came from Cleveland, Ohio in 1910,
S Grant Livingston, "The Annexation of the City of Coconut Grove," Tequesta: The Journal of the Historical Association of
Southern Florida, (Miami, Historical Association of Southern Florida, Number LX), 2000, 43-46.
NPS Form 10-900-a (Rev. 8/2002)
OMB No. 1024-0018
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number 8
Page 4
Coconut Grove Playhouse
Name of Property
Miami -Dade County, FL
County and State
Name of multiple listing (if applicable)
they each had become fascinated by South Florida, and especially Coconut Grove, in 1910. Both planned
to move there. The rapid ascension of South Florida real estate and infrastructure after the advent of
Henry Flagler's railroad made the Miami area an attractive location for realtors and builders. Thomas
moved to Coconut Grove in 1913 and served as the town's first mayor after it was incorporated in 1919.
Pierce arrived in 1924. The partners were committed to
developing Coconut Grove both during and after the Florida
land boom of the 1920s. They converted multiple beachside
estate grounds into housing developments. When the
Southern Bell Telephone Company balked at setting up a
telephone exchange in Coconut Grove, Thomas and Pierce
led the construction of an appropriate and suitable building
for them. Seeing a hole in the entertainment offerings
available in Coconut Grove, and looking to make a
statement about Coconut Grove's cultural competitiveness
with the city of Miami, Thomas and Pierce sought to create
a world -class movie establishment, one that could be a
center of the community. While they originally wanted to
simply build a movie theater, their plans gradually expanded
until the final design included seven street -level storefronts,
offices on the second floor, and multiple apartments on the
third floor.9
Figure 1: 1946 photograph of the Kiehnel and
Elliott -designed Coconut Grove Playhouse
Auditorium. Notice the arched features along the
wall with the original Solomonic columns and the
plaster molding along the roofline. Source: Florida
Memory.
At first, Thomas and Pierce intended to operate the theater themselves, but as construction continued,
they decided to lease the theater to Paramount Enterprises, a subsidiary of Paramount Pictures which
exclusively played films by that company.10 Paramount was vigorously pursuing the Miami theater
market. When the Coconut Grove theater opened, the eleven Paramount theaters in the area had a total of
13,000 seats, allowing for over one -tenth of Greater Miami's residents to watch Paramount productions
at the same time." Of course, this meant that Paramount theaters often competed within themselves for
customers, especially since Greater Miami was not such a large geographic area at the time.
Thomas and Pierce placed their movie theater in a prominent location and had it designed in a style
which conformed to architect John Irwin Bright's unimplemented 1921 development plan. He had
advised that the Grove's "Colored Town" be moved to the outskirts of the community, and be replaced
by Mediterranean Revival civic and shopping centers, including a movie theater. While Thomas and
Pierce did not displace the Grove's black .community, they did purchase the theater land from Ebenezer
Woodbury Franklin Stirrup, a Bahamian immigrant who started as a carpenter's apprentice and
eventually accumulated enough land in Coconut Grove to build a black Bahamian community. He was
the first black millionaire in Coconut Grove, and the land used to construct the theater was built along
the borders of Coconut Grove's white and black areas on Main Highway.
9 "Former Ohio Men Own Theater Structure," The Miami Herald, January 1, 1927.
I4 "Former Ohio Men Own Theater Structure," The Miami Herald, January 1, 1927.
II "Paramount Theaters have 13,000 Seats," The Miami Herald, January 1, 1927.
NPS Form 10-900-a (Rev. 8/2002)
OMB No. 1024-0018
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number 8
Page 5
Coconut Grove Playhouse
Name of Property _ �s
Miami -Dade County, FL
County and State
Name of multiple listing (if applicable)
In an attempt to create a truly stunning structure, Thomas and Pierce hired the Kiehnel and Elliott
architectural firm. Kiehnel and Elliott had already designed a few distinctive buildings for Coconut
Grove residents, some of which were excellent examples of the Mediterranean Revival style. Albert
Peacock, grandson of Grove luminaries Charles
and Isabella Peacock, was the general contractor
for the project, bringing decades of business
and social experience in Coconut Grove to bear
on the project.12 It is clear that the goal for the
people involved was to create a public
institution that would bring glory and prestige
to Coconut Grove. The theater was not the first
in Greater Miami, but it was designed to rival or
outshine the others in luxury and amenities.
The Coconut Grove Theater was the eleventh
Paramount theater in South Florida, but a
premium was placed on size and comfort.
Thomas and Pierce invested about $500,000
into the project, and the theater was outfitted
with state-of-the-art materials throughout. The
auditorium was massive, 75 feet wide and 140
feet in depth, with a ceiling 88 feet high. The
theater had a capacity of over 1,500 (billed as
the most seats for a theater in Greater Miami), and the floor was sloped in such a way that allowed every
viewer to see the screen, even in a full house.' The interior of the theater was designed to demonstrate
class and sophistication. The building featured an interior fountain by the ticket booth, as well as a richly
carpeted foyer and lounge rooms, all leading into the auditorium. The auditorium was immense and
open; a very impressed reviewer for the Miami Herald wrote that "on looking into the auditorium the
feeling that one has is that he is gazing into a great room which opens onto a patio on either side. For,
along the side walls are a series of double arches on twisted columns opening through fine wrought iron
gates into a loggia or promenade."14 The arches were meant to give the large indoor auditorium an
expansive feeling, presenting an illusion of Old World sophistication.
Figure 2: 1946 photograph of the Kiehnel and Elliott -designed
auditorium proscenium, which remains today. The 1955 Alfred
Browning Parker alterations added depth to this original stage.
Source: Florida Memory
Much of the design of the building was suited specifically for its location and purpose. Because the
theater debuted during the silent film era, it was equipped with a Wurlitzer organ to accompany the
films, at the time the largest Wurlitzer in the country, the sounds of which were pumped in through
grilles on the sides of the auditorium." Perhaps most importantly for the hot, humid Miami tropics, the
12 "Many Firms Aided in Completing Theater," The Miami Herald, January 1, 1927.
13 "$500,000 Playhouse Eleventh in Chain," The Miami Herald! January 1, 1927
14 "Theater Structure is Artistic Triumph," The Miami Herald, January 1, 1927.
15 Carol Cohan, Broadway by the Bay: Thirty Years at the Coconut Grove Playhouse, (Miami, Pickering Press, 1987), 3.
NPS Form 10-900-a (Rev. 8/2002)
OMB No. 1024-0018
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number 8 Page 6
Coconut Grove Playhouse
Name of Property
Miami -Dade County, FL
County and State
Name of multiple listing (if applicable)
theater was installed with a state-of-the-art air conditioning system, created by the York Manufacturing
Company at a cost of more than $40,000.16 The Coconut Grove Theater was the second air-conditioned
theater in South Florida, after the Olympia Theater in downtown Miami. With Miami being sweltering
for much of the year, especially in such a packed theater environment, the availability of air conditioning
would be quite a draw for an audience.
Figure 3: 1930s photograph of the Coconut Grove Theater. Taken from across Main
Highway and Charles Avenue, the photograph demonstrates the original Kiehnel and
Elliott design, including the building's pediment, parapets, and original storefronts.
Source: Arquitectonica International Coconut Grove Playhouse Historic Report
ambitious air conditioning was more notable for being noisy than coolin
hearing the accompaniments to the silent films on the screen. The grand
trouble filling them. 17
While the theater was designed
and -built throughout 19267it
finally opened on January 1,
1927, featuring the D.W.
Griffith film The Sorrows of
Satan. The theater made a
strong first impression, stunning
visitors with its glamorous
elegance, playing a film by an
innovator of filmmaking
technique, accompanied by a
twelve -piece orchestra and the
largest Wurlitzer organ in the
country. Unfortunately, the
movie theater was not
financially successful. The
g the air, getting in the way of
theater with 1,500 seats had
The programming in the theater gradually declined in quality, first showing second -run movies and
serials, as well as amateur talent shows on the stage. During the Second World War, Kate Smith, a
singer known as the Songbird of the South, performed her radio show from the Coconut Grove Theater.
The theater was also used to train Air Force navigators. In 1953, podiatrist Sid Cassell rented the theater
to produce and direct theatric productions. He was successful for a year, but abandoned the project
because he felt the theater was unsuitable. He complained about the concrete walkways in the theater
picking up sound too easily, including that of scuttling wildlife, such as mating land crabs. In addition,
he said, "the acoustics were terrible. The only ventilation we had was that ridiculous cooling system.
When you turned the fans on, you heard nothing. The acoustics were bad enough without them." 18 The
building, despite its glamorous facade and luxurious interiors, was perhaps a victim of its own ambition.
The elements that made it so bold had not yet been refined, so they ended up causing more trouble than
they helped. On top of this, the theater opened just after the collapse of the Florida Land Boom, an event
which severely damaged the South Florida economy, meaning that people had less money to spend on
16 "Cooling System for Theater is Feature," The Miami Herald, January 1, 1927.
17 Carol Cohan, Broadway by the Bay: Thirty Years at the Coconut Grove Playhouse, (Miami, Pickering Press, 1987), 4.
18 Carol Cohan, Broadway by the Bay: Thirty Years at the Coconut Grove Playhouse, (Miami, Pickering Press, 1987), 4.
NPS Form 10-900-a (Rev. 812002)
OMB No. 1024-0018
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number 8
Page 7
Coconut Grove Playhouse
Name of Property
Miami -Dade County, FL
County and State
Name of multiple listing (if applicable)
luxuries like movies. The Great Depression, starting in 1929, compounded this effect. The theater's
original purpose, to be a high-class location to watch the newest Paramount productions, was not
achieved in the long run. The theater shuttered in May of 1954.
George Engle Creates a "Broadway by the Bay," 1955-1962
Despite the long-term failure of the Coconut Grove Theater, the building was still attractive and
imposing. Noticing this, oilman George Engle endeavored to convert it into a renowned playhouse, and
tried to solve the inefficiencies that had plagued the original movie theater.
George Engle was a Kentuckian who owned oil wells all over the United States, but he, like many before
him, became fascinated with Coconut Grove and moved there, managing his empire far away from the
oil he extracted. He ahnost immediately made his mark on the community, building and destroying
buildings and landscape elements as he saw fit. In an area that had been traditionally fields, he
constructed the Engle building, a gray -brick structure that wrapped around a comer and defied the
traditional Grove style. While met with initial resistance, his Florida Pharmacy, a one -stop shop for
everything from medicine to ice cream to crystal, became extremely popular as a place to congregate and
shop. On a whim, he purchased in 1955 the Coconut Grove Theater, looking to establish it as another
community institution by converting it into a place for plays.19
Figure 4: Early 1950s photograph of the Coconut Grove
Theater before Engle purchased and altered it. Note the
parapets along the roofline (now removed) and the
commercial bays. Source: University of Florida
Architectural Archives
The conversion would be complex, altering both the
exterior and interior of the building. To accomplish
this task, Engle hired noted South Florida architect
Alfred Browning Parker, who was extremely prolific
in the Miami area. Parker removed some ornamental
features from the front exterior of the building,
including an ornate pediment, as well as replacing
the original theater marquees with a canopy. The
alterations to the interior were much more
significant. His main project was to decrease the size
of the auditorium from 1,500 seats to 800. The
original seat count was very ambitious in the 1920s,
but was too large for a playhouse. He also installed a
new steeper floor for the auditorium over the Kiehnel
and Elliot original, sinking the original arch and
column features on the sides of the auditorium into the ground. In addition, Parker had to improve the
acoustics of the room. By changing the rear wall of the auditorium and installing sound -diffusing panels,
the portions of the auditorium that were closed off were turned into a restaurant and a lounge.20 Much
like Thomas and Pierce before him, Engle wanted the building to set the standard for Iuxuriousness, and
he opened up his wallet to achieve that goal. He used the finest materials whenever possible, including
19 Carol Cohan, Broadway by the Bay: Thirty Years at the Coconut Grove Playhouse, (Miami, Pickering Press, 1987), 2.
20 "Grove Theater Conversion Begins," The Miami Herald, July 10, 1955.
NPS Form 10-900-a (Rev. 8/2002)
OMB No. 1024-0018
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number 8 Page 8
Coconut Grove Playhouse
Name of Property
Miami -Dade County, FL
County and State
Name of multiple listing (if applicable)
silk draperies, 14-carat gold plated shower knobs, rhinestone -studded toilet seats, and Honduran wood.
Engle purchased the building for around $200,000 and spent about $700,000 refurbishing it.21 Engle and
Parker rehabilitated an old building that had fallen out of use, with relatively minor changes on the
exterior and massive ones in the interior. Their building project echoed the one from decades earlier, in
goals and style, but implemented changes and alterations that they thought would improve the overall
entertainment product.
The first performance, held on January 3,
1956, was a disastrous rendition of an all-
time great play. The Coconut Grove
Playhouse was home to the first
American performance of Samuel
Beckett's absurdist tragicomedy Waiting
for Godot. Engle, looking to make a
splash with his first production, picked
Godot because it had received critical
acclaim throughout Europe. The play,
which had received both praise and
criticism for its defiance of traditional
storytelling techniques and plot, was an
unconventional choice for a first Figure 5: AIfred Browning Parker sketch plans for his alteration of the
performance. Nevertheless, the Coconut Coconut Grove Theater building. Source: University of Florida
Architectural Archives
Grove Playhouse advertised the play as
the "laugh sensation of two continents," setting up the audience for confusion and frustration. The leads
were played by Bert Lahr (known as the Cowardly Lion from The Wizard of Oz) and Tom Ewell (The
Seven Year Itch). 22 The two leads had little to no chemistry, were stricken with professional jealousy,
and had a difficult time understanding the play, which has humorous moments, but is overall very dark
and minimalistic. Opening night was as glamorous as the original Coconut Grove Theater opening night
almost three decades earlier. Local luminaries including playwright Tennessee Williams, socialite John
Astor, and historian Marjory Stoneman Douglas showed up, and the restaurant was filled to the brim
with people ordering such delicacies as caviar, filet mignon, and pheasant.23 Engle's opening night was a
smashing success, if one does not take the play itself into account.
cat.07
The play, billed as an uproarious comedy, did not live up to the audience's expectations. They did not
laugh as much as they expected, and began to flood out of the theater. By the end of the play, three-
quarters of the audience had left the playhouse.24 Jack Anderson of the Miami Herald wrote that he
"almost felt sorry for the first night audience which attended the elegant opening of the Coconut Grove
Playhouse... You could almost hear the mink stoles in the audience howling with disappointment as the
21 Carol Cohan, Broadway by the Bay: Thirty Years at the Coconut Grove Playhouse, (Miami, Pickering Press, 1987), 4-5.
22 Carol Cohan, Broadway by the Bay: Thirty Years at the Coconut Grove Playhouse, (Miami, Pickering Press, 1987), 7.
23 Carol Cohan, Broadway by the Bay: Thirty Years at the Coconut Grove Playhouse, (Miami, Pickering Press, 1987), 7.
24 Carol Cohan, Broadway by the Bay: Thirty Years at the Coconut Grove Playhouse, (Miami, Pickering Press, 1987), 10.
NPS Form 10-900-a (Rev. 812002)
OMB No, 1024-0018
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number 8
Page 9
Coconut Grove Playhouse
Name of Property
Miami -Dade County, FL
County and State
Name of multiple listing (if applicable)
principals on stage... failed to say or do anything funny within the audience's frame of reference."
Anderson, who had experience seeing the play in London, sensed the actors' confusion as well as the
disappointment of the audience. 25 While Godot had an ignominious opening in Miami, it eventually had
more success in New York City, once audiences had been warned that it was not a traditional comedic
Figure 6: Alfred Browning Parker's original design for the Coconut
Grove Playhouse's entryway. The ticket booths are shown on the
right side of the photograph. Source: Arquitectonica International
Coconut Grove Playhouse Historic Report
play. Engle and his partners picked Godot for
the first play to draw attention to the Coconut
Grove Playhouse, and they succeeded. The
Playhouse's first show was covered
nationally, and opening night demonstrated
that the playhouse had the attention of
Miami's elites.
In the Coconut Grove Playhouse's early
years, George Engle demonstrated an ability
to present high -quality scripts with well-
known actors. Starting from Godot, where
Tom Ewell and Bert Lahr, both nationally -
famous performers played the leading roles,
Engle showed that he wanted the plays shown
in his playhouse to be audience draws. The
second show was Tennessee Williams' A
Streetcar Named Desire, led by controversial stage actress Tallulah Bankhead in the role of Blanche
DuBois. Tennessee Williams, the author of the play, a resident of Miami, had an active role in the
Coconut Grove production, though he did not direct. Williams had a decade earlier envisioned Bankhead
playing the role of Blanche, writing it with her in mind, and was excited to work with her. Bankhead's
reputation as a libertine affected the audience's interpretation of the character she portrayed, and the
insecure Blanche was imbued with an unintentional bawdy energy. Williams, who initially lamented that
Bankhead was ruining his play, worked with her to help her overcome the difficulties of her reputation,
and turn them into something productive for the stage. When Streetcar moved to New York City, this
rendition of the play received mixed reviews, but Bankhead's performance was described as a triumph.26
While plays often did not stay at the Coconut Grove Playhouse for very long, it served as a somewhat
experimental staging ground where directors and performers worked out the kinks of productions
destined for Broadway.
While hosting theatrical luminaries, the Coconut Grove Playhouse still maintained a distinctly local
character. While the leading roles in plays were always filled by stars, the bit parts would often be
portrayed by untrained locals. The Solid Gold Cadillac, starring Billie Burke (who had the role of Glinda
the Good Witch in The Wizard of Oz), also featured local news anchors Ralph Renick and Jackie Pierce,
as well as historian Marjory Stoneman Douglas. King of Hearts, starring Donald Cook, also featured
AIfred Browning Parker's eight -year -old son, as well as his dog. These untrained roles added an element
25 Jack Anderson, "Mink -Clad Audience Disappointed in `Waiting for Godot,"' The Miami Herald, January 4, 1956.
26 Carol Cohan, Broadway by the Bay: Thirty Years at the Coconut Grove Playhouse, (Miami, Pickering Press, 1987), 14-15.
NPS Form 10-900-a (Rev. 8/2002)
OMB No. 1024-0018
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number 8
Page 10
Coconut Grove Playhouse
Name of Property
Miami -Dade County, FL
County and State
Name of multiple listing (if applicable)
of chaos to the production, but were draws for the local audience.27 As polished as Engle made the
productions at the Coconut Grove Playhouse, he could not resist indulging the eccentricities of the
community.
Engle directly managed the Coconut Grove Playhouse
until March 1960. He had an active hand in everything
from casting to the managing the building. After
spending almost a million dollars purchasing and
renovating the theater, he spent over $400,000 over the
next 4 years. He continued to bring in high -profile
performers, including Jessica Tandy, Chico Marx, and Ed
Begley. The stars were paid up to $30,000 a week. Engle
also rotated the decor of the Playhouse's restaurant to
match whatever the theme of the current performance
was. Engle, like his predecessors in Coconut Grove, had
ambitious plans for community development. He briefly
considered building a separate opera house across the
street and connecting the two buildings with a raised
walkway. 28 This proposed cultural complex matches the
pattern of development in Coconut Grove. Builders and
designers almost never wanted to just make something
new; they aimed to make something transcendent.
Figure 7: George Engle, seated at the far end of the
table, entertaining high society guests in the Coconut
Grove Playhouse's dining room. Architect Alfred
Browning Parker is seated to the far left in the
photograph. Source: Arquitectonica International
Coconut Grove Playhouse Historic Report
In 1958, Engle opened up an art gallery on the second floor of the Playhouse building, converting
rehearsal space into a non-commercial gallery with rotating loaned materials on display. The gallery
displayed both works by local artists and those by national and international masters. The gallery also
could be converted into the Celebrity Room, a bar and dance floor where events could be held.
Comedian Dean Murphy hosted a live television program weekly from the Celebrity Room, interviewing
people associated with the theater's plays and art gallery. By 1960, Engle, a perfectionist, had grown
tired of the constant expense associated with creating and maintaining a cultural center for Coconut
Grove. He handed the reins to Owen Phillips, an experienced theatrical producer who had been working
at the Playhouse since 1958.29 Phillips ran the theater until it closed once more in 1962, due to declining
ticket sales. The cycle started by Thomas and Pierce had continued with Engle. Each opened up a new
entertainment venue with big dreams, only to suffer a relatively quick decline.
Zev Buffman's Tenure at the Playhouse, a New Golden Age, 1962-1970
In 1962, Israeli theatrical producer Zev Buffman purchased the Coconut Grove Playhouse for over a
million dollars. Like his predecessors, he had grand designs for the building, imagining a wealthy
27 Carol Cohan, Broadway by the Bay: Thirty Years at the Coconut Grove Playhouse, (Miami, Pickering Press, 1987), 16.
28 Carol Cohan, Broadway by the Bay: Thirty Years at the Coconut Grove Playhouse, (Miami, Pickering Press, 1987), 22-24.
29 Carol Cohan, Broadway by the Bay: Thirty Years at the Coconut Grove Playhouse, (Miami, Pickering Press, 1987), 22-24.
NPS Form 10-900-a (Rev. 8/2002)
OMB No. 1024-0018
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number 8
Page 11
Coconut Grove Playhouse
Name of Property
Miami -Dade County, FL
County and State
Name of multiple listing (if applicable)
clientele taking advantage of the building's multiple accommodations. He also expanded the
auditorium's capacity, hiring Alfred Browning Parker to add a 300-seat mezzanine balcony in 1965.
While Engle's productions had mostly been trial runs for shows destined for New York City, Buffman
had a different approach, aiming to acquire theatrical rights to Broadway hits. Theatrical rights prevented
a play from being performed professionally by potential competitors. No theater near Broadway could
perform a Broadway play. Coconut Grove, tucked into a distant corner of the country, could get the
rights to successful plays because it was so far from Broadway. Buffman targeted plays that were in the
midst of their popularity on Broadway, thinking that the Miami audience would enjoy similar things to
the New York audience.30 Buffman did not merely follow in Engle's footsteps; he innovated and
experimented, pushing the envelope and using his experience as a theatrical producer to guide him in
selecting programming for the theater and promoting the shows.
Figure 8: 1971 photograph of the Coconut Grove Playhouse's
exterior. The parapets had been removed, and the commercial
bays filled in with ribbon windows. Source: HistoryMiami
Archives and Research Center
Buffman, much like Engle, attempted to make the
plays in his playhouse relevant beyond the
auditorium. While Engle had shifted the decor of
his playhouse to match the play being performed,
Buffman brought in art for the upstairs art gallery
that matched the setting and theme of the plays. In
one case, when the musical Irma la Douce, set in
the Left Bank of Paris, was being performed,
Buffman collaborated with local store owners and
artists to turn downtown Coconut Grove into the
Left Bank. Artists hocked their wares as French
music played. The lead actress of the play even
judged a poodle competition. This event was so
successful that it inspired an annual Coconut
Grove Arts Festival, which still exists as of 2017.
Buffrnan was enormously successful in the years
he owned the Coconut Grove Playhouse,
expanding his business to New York and Hollywood. By 1970, he was ready to move on from the place
that had nourished his career, and sold the playhouse to comedian Eddie Bracken.31 The Buffman years
catalyzed the Coconut Grove Playhouse as a community institution, offering popular entertainment and
also being a vessel for continued artistic and economic development in Coconut Grove.
Decline of the Coconut Grove Playhouse
The theater went bankrupt in less than a year under Bracken's ownership. In 1971, he sold the Coconut
Grove Playhouse to Broadway producers Arthur Cantor and Robert Fishko, who both had had
experience producing at the Playhouse. They followed Buffman's example, trying to produce Broadway
hits, restoring much of the theater's prestige. In 1977, they cashed out, selling their stakes to the Player's
30 Carol Cohan, Broadway by the Bay: Thirty Years at the Coconut Grove Playhouse, (Miami, Pickering Press, 1987), 43-49.
31 Carol Cohan, Broadway by the Bay: Thirty Years at the Coconut Grove Playhouse, (Miami, Pickering Press, 1987), 43-49.
NPS Form 10-900-a (Rev. 8/2002)
OMB No. 1024-0018
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number 8
Page 12
Coconut Grove Playhouse
Name of Property
Miami -Dade County, FL
County and State
Name of multiple listing (if applicable)
Repertory Company, who renamed the theater the Player's State Theater. The theater's name was
changed back to the Coconut Grove Playhouse in 1980, when the State of Florida purchased it by
acquiring the theater's $1.5 million mortgage. In 2004, the state transferred ownership to Coconut Grove
Playhouse, Inc. under the stipulation that the building continue operation as a theater in perpetuity. The
playhouse was shuttered in 2006, during its 50th anniversary year, 79 years after the building first opened
as a movie theater.32
Architectural Context
Mediterranean Revival
Drawing inspiration from architecture in Spain, Italy, and Northern Africa, Mediterranean Revival style
architecture was very popular during the Florida Land Boom of the mid-1920s. Mediterranean Revival
buildings are characterized by stucco walls, red tiled roofs (often flat), and ornamentation surrounding
doors and windows designed to give the feeling of casual elegance. While Mediterranean Revival is
common in the parts of the country that had once been under Spanish control, including California, New
Mexico, and Florida, Floridian Mediterranean Revival is unique for its adaptation to the cultural and
physical climate of Florida in the early twentieth century. In 1925, Matlack Price wrote in the House
Beautiful magazine that "architects of the Mediterranean Revival style do not mean it to be serious.
While they do not intend it to be frivolous, they definitely intend its picturesque informality to express
the spirit of a land dedicated to long care -free vacations."33 Mediterranean Revival architecture is
designed to give the impression of wealth and class, of a breezy splendor, and manages to be
simultaneously monumental and light-hearted.
Architectural Significance
The Coconut Grove Playhouse is an excellent example of the Mediterranean Revival style. Although its
facade has been altered since the theater's opening in 1927, the overall impression remains intact. The
building maintains its stucco exterior, flat red -tile roofline, and decorative window and door surrounds.
The Coconut Grove Theater was designed to capture the elegance and luxury that Coconut Grove sought
to project, housing a movie house trying to compete with the other deluxe theaters in the Greater Miami
area. Even though the original roofline parapets and pediment have been removed, as well as the seven
original bays for streetside commercial properties, the facade maintains its Mediterranean Revival
features with its decorative columns and wrought -iron balconets. Designed originally by noted Miami
architect Richard Kiehnel, and altered by Modernist Alfred Browning Parker, the playhouse retains its
character -defining features and is an intact example of a public building intended to be a center of its
community in the Mediterranean Revival style. Even though the interior has gone through multiple
waves of alterations since its 1927 construction, with the original arches and columns within the
32 David Bulit, Lost Miami: Stories and Secrets Behind Magic City Ruins, (Charleston, The History Press, 2015), 112-116.
33 Matlack Price, "The New Mediterranean Architecture of Florida: The Keynote is Expression of the Picturesque," The
House Beautiful, (vol. IV, issue VI, 1925), 664-666.
NPS Form 10-900-a (Rev. 8/2002)
OMB No. 1024-0018
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number 8 Page 13
Coconut Grove Playhouse
Name of Property
Miami -Dade County, FL
County and State
Name of multiple listing (if applicable)
auditorium space being lost, the building's exterior maintains its Mediterranean Revival characteristics
that impressed the 1927 audience.
NPS Form 10-900-a (Rev. 8/2002)
OMB No. 1024-0018
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number 9 Page 1
Coconut Grove Playhouse
Name of Property
Miami -Dade County, FL
County and State
Name of multiple listing (if applicable)
BIBLIOGRAPHY
"$500,000 Playhouse Eleventh in Chain," The Miami Herald, January 1, 1927.
Anderson, Jack, "Mink -Clad Audience Disappointed in `Waiting for Godot,"' The Miami Herald,
January 4, 1956.
Bright, John Irwin, "Housing and Community Planning: The Plan for Coconut Grove," The Journal of
the American Institute of Architects, (Washington D.C., The Press of the American Institute of
Architects, 1921), 110-127.
Bulit, David, Lost Miami: Stories and Secrets Behind Magic City Ruins, (Charleston, The History Press,
2015).
Casines, Gisela, "Greater Miami," The Book Lover's Guide to Florida, edited by Kevin M. McCarthy,
(Sarasota, Pineapple Press, Inc., 1992).
Clark, James C., 200 Quick Looks at Florida History, (Sarasota, Pineapple Press, Inc., 2000).
"Coconut Grove," Planning your Vacation in Florida: Miami and Dade County, including Miami Beach
and Coral Gables, (The Florida State Planning Board, 1941).
Cohan, Carol, Broadway by the Bay: Thirty Years at the Coconut Grove Playhouse, (Miami, Pickering
Press, 1987).
"Cooling System for Theater is Feature," The Miami Herald, January 1, 1927.
"Former Ohio Men Own Theater Structure," The Miami Herald, January 1, 1927.
"Grove Theater Conversion Begins," The Miami Herald, July 10, 1955.
Livingston, Grant, "The Annexation of the City of Coconut Grove," Tequesta: The Journal of the
Historical Association of Southern Florida, (Miami, Historical Association of Southern Florida,
Number LX), 2000, 32-55.
"Many Firms Aided in Completing Theater," The Miami Herald, January 1, 1927.
"Paramount Theaters have 13,000 Seats," The Miami Herald, January 1, 1927.
Parks, Arva Moore and Bennett, Bo, Coconut Grove, (Charleston, Arcadia Publishing, 2010).
NPS Form 10-900-a (Rev. 8/2002)
OMB No. 1024-0018
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number 9 Page 2
Coconut Grove Playhouse
Name of Property
Miami -Dade County, FL
County and State
Name of multiple listing (if applicable)
Reilly, Benjamin, Tropical Surge: A History of Ambition and Disaster on the Florida Shore, (Sarasota:
Pineapple Press, Inc., 2005).
"Theater Structure is Artistic Triumph," The Miami Herald, January 1, 1927.
Worth, Susannah, "The Peacock Inn: South Florida's First Hotel," The Florida Historical Quarterly,
(Florida Historical Society, Vol. 91, No. 2), Fall 2012, 151-180.
NPS Form 10-900-a (Rev. 8/2002)
OMB No. 1024-0018
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number 10 Page 1
Coconut Grove Playhouse
Name of Property
Miami -Dade County, FL
County and State
Name of multiple listing (if applicable)
VERBAL BOUNDARY DESCRIPTION
N 28 DEG E 83.04FT N 45 DEG W
12.519FT N 28 DEG E 2.65FT
ELY AD 3.68FT N 45 DEG W
124.21FT S 44 DEG W 7.06FT
N 45 DEG W 101.05FT SWLY AD
17.62FT S 89 DEG W 5.20FT
S235.78FT TO POB & E14OFT OF
N117FT & E52.5FT LESS N117FT OF
BLK 29 FROW HMSTD PB B-106 &
LOTS 1 & 2 ENGLE SUB PB 64-43
Folio: 01-4121-045-0140 MUNROES PLAT DB D-253
BOUNDARY JUSTIFICATION
The above boundaries enclose all of the contributing resources associated with the historic Coconut
Grove Playhouse.
NPS Form 10-900-a (Rev. 8/2002)
OMB No. 1.0240018
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number Photos Page 1
Coconut Grove Playhouse
Name of Property
Miami -Dade County, FL
County and State
Name of multiple fisting (if applicable)
LIST OF PHOTOGRAPHS
1. Coconut Grove Playhouse
2.3500 Main Highway, Miami (Miami -Dade County), Florida
3. Ruben A. Acosta
4. November 2016
5. Ruben A. Acosta
6. South Elevation, Looking North
7. Photo 1 of 42
Numbers 1-5 are the same for the remaining photographs
6. South Elevation Solomonic Column Features, Looking North
7. Photo 2 of 42
6. South Elevation Second and Third Floor Central Bay, Looking North
7. Photo 3 of 42
6. South Elevation Left Bay, Looking North
7. Photo 4 of 42
6. South Elevation Right Bay, Looking West
7. Photo 5 of 42
6. South Elevation Balconet Feature, Looking West
7. Photo 6 of 42
6. Coconut Grove Playhouse Sign, Looking North
7. Photo 7 of 42
6. South Elevation 1980s Expansion, Looking West
7. Photo 8 of 42
6. West Elevation Utilities Building, Looking East
7. Photo 9 of 42
6. West Elevation, Looking East
7. Photo 10 of 42
6. West Elevation Stairs Entrance, Looking South
7. Photo 11 of 42
NPS Form 10-900-a (Rev. 8/2002)
OMB No. 1024-0018
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number Photos Page
2
Coconut Grove Playhouse
Name of Property
Miami -Dade County, FL
-------------------------------------------------
County and State
Name of multiple listing (if applicable)
6. North Elevation, Looking South
7. Photo 12 of 42
6. East Elevation, Looking Southwest
7. Photo 13 of 42
6. East Elevation, Looking Southwest
7. Photo 14 of 42
6. Theater Lobby Entrance
7. Photo 15 of 42
6. Theater Will Call Windows
7. Photo 16 of 42
6. Theater Lounge Bathroom Arch and Stall
7. Photo 17 of 42
6. Theater Lounge Bathroom Arch and Columns
7. Photo 18 of 42
6. Theater Snack Bar Arches
7. Photo 19 of 42
6. Theater Snack Bar Arch and Columns
7. Photo 20 of 42
6. Theater Lounge Mezzanine Stairway
7. Photo 21 of 42
6. Theater Mezzanine Staircase to Second Floor Balcony
7. Photo 22 of 42
6. Theater Auditorium Western Stencils
7. Photo 23 of 42
6. Theater Auditorium Decorative Dolphin Fountain
7. Photo 24 of 42
6. Underside of Mezzanine Balcony with Soundproof Material
7. Photo 25 of 42
NPS Form 10-900-a (Rev. 812002)
OMB No. 1024-0018
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number Photos Page 3
Coconut Grove Playhouse
Name of Property
Miami -Dade County, FL
County and State
Name of multiple listing (if applicable)
6. Base of Western End of Proscenium Arch
7. Photo 26 of 42
6. Decorative Figure Feature West of Stage
7. Photo 27 of 42
6. Eastern Wall of Second Floor Mezzanine Balcony
7. Photo 28 of 42
6. Disrupted Plaster Molding on Eastern Wall Next to Second Floor Mezzanine Balcony
7. Photo 29 of 42
6. Backstage Staircase to Second Floor Lighting Booth
7. Photo 30 of 42
6. Second Floor Lighting Booth Overlooking Stage from West
7. Photo 31 of 42
6. Backstage Dressing Room
7. Photo 32 of 42
6. Backstage Loading and Workshop Area
7. Photo 33 of 42
6. Backstage Sunken Workshop Area
7. Photo 34 of 42
6. Second Floor Metal Staircase in Northeast 1980s addition
7. Photo 35 of 42
6. Storage Area in Former Bar and Lounge
7. Photo 36 of 42
6. Converted Kitchen in Southwest of Building
7. Photo 37 of 42
6. Theater Staircase
7. Photo 38 of 42
6. Second Floor Theater Elevator
7. Photo 39 of 42
NPS Form 10-900-a (Rev. 812002)
OMB No. 1024-0018
United States Department of the Interior
National Park Service
National Register of Historic Places
Continuation Sheet
Section number Photos Page 4
Coconut Grove Playhouse
Name of Property
Miami -Dade County, FL
County and State
Name of multiple listing (if applicable)
6. Third Floor Apartment
7, Photo 40 of 42
6. Third Floor Boarded -Up Window
7. Photo 41 of 42
6. Third Floor Bathroom
7. Photo 42 of 42
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Coconut Grove
Playhouse
3500 Main Highway
Miami, Miami -Dade County
Florida
LatiLong. Coordinates:
25.726309 -80.245168
UTM:
17R 575717 2845591
Datum: WGS84
Legend
Proposed NR Boundary
Date • 618.+2017 ?*;
1.1.500
62.5 125
A
250
Feet
Meters
0 15 30 60
Basemap Source: Source: Esri.
DigitalGlobe, GeoEye. Earthstar
Geographies. CNES/Airbus DS.
USDA. USGS.AEX. Getmapping.
Aerogrid. IGN. IGP, swisstopo.
and the GIS User Community
Coconut Grove
Playhouse
3500 Main Highway
Miami, Miami -Dade County
Fforida
Lat./Long. Coordinates-
25.726309-80.245168
UTM-
17R 575717 2845591
Datum: WGS84
Legend
Proposed NR Boundary
Date:6/8J2017 N
1:10.000
0 425 850
A
1,700
Feet
Meters
0 105 210 420
Basernap Source. 2013 National
Geographic Society, i-cu bed