Saturday Morning Walking Tours
Saturday Morning Walking Tours
Join the ICAA FL Chapter on one of the Saturday Morning Walking Tours offered below. You will learn about the rich history of our City Beautiful on its Centennial, three of its historic buildings, and recent townhouse projects that are continuing the tradition of beautiful city making by AMA Recipient – de la Guardia Victoria Architects.
“Once upon a time, there was an orange grove, a plantation, and a house with a great gable built of coral stone. In time, a city would be built upon this rustic landscape. A beautiful city carved from the grove and the wilderness, where the house with the coral gable would remain as a testimony of what once was. Silent yet eloquent, the house is descriptive of a particular and peculiar relationship with an exuberant and overwhelming nature. A landscape of enigmatic and singular beauty, a garden indeed. The house, built on the earth as it is, reminds us of what we were and simultaneously proposes a future, a direction for the construction of the city.
The story of the house is the history of the city and, thus, of ourselves. Every city has a beginning, a point of departure, a moment in time and space, real or mythical, which constitutes its inauguration, its founding. The Merrick House is the initial trace of our city and a memory of what we might be. The first house is then the first monument of the city. The term monument is here understood in its classic meaning, from the Latin “monere” – to remind, to admonish. Monuments are those events of our collective memory in which we recognize our history, our culture, ourselves. Emblematic in nature, monuments are the architypes of the forms of the city, establishing points of reference in history as well as in the formal structures of places. In the inherent meaning of this form, we remember our past and recognize our future.”
An excerpt from Illustrated Biography of a House by Teofilo Victoria, ICAA FL Past President
There are 4 tours to choose from, please purchase a ticket for the specific tour you would like to attend.
Space is limited to 20 people per tour.
All tours meet in Lobby of the Biltmore Hotel for transportation to tour site, please be on time.
1. Merrick House
(2 tour times)
The Coral Gables Merrick House was the childhood home of George Merrick, the founder of the City of Coral Gables. The home, constructed between 1907 & 1910, still stands. The charming home’s exterior was constructed of limestone walls with a gabled roof ultimately inspiring the name of Coral Gables.
Originally from Duxbury, MA, the young Merrick’s family moved to Miami in 1889, to escape the New England winters. There first foray into working in FL was to run a fruit and vegetable plantation in the wilderness five miles west of the new city of Miami. Over the years, Merrick came to dream of building a planned city with a Mediterranean style, grand entrances, fountains, and plazas. Eventually, he would one day transform the family’s plantation into the City of Coral Gables.
Merrick House Tour #1 – 8:40 am – 10:30 am
- Meet in Biltmore Lobby @ 8:40am for transport to Merrick House for 9:00am tour start by Merrick House Docent
- ICAA FL Tour Lead: Carolyn Roy
Merrick House Tour #2 – 8:50 am – 10:30 am
- Meet in Biltmore Lobby @ 8:50am for transport to Merrick House for 9:10am tour start by Merrick House Docent
- ICAA FL Tour Lead: Haile Pueges
2. The Townhouses at Biltmore Square
In the heart of Coral Gables, Biltmore Square is a neighborhood of Townhouses that redefine luxury living inspired by George Merrick’s original vision. Developed by MG Developer and designed by De La Guardia Victoria Architects, this neighborhood features 4 sets of Row Houses comprised of 34 exquisitely crafted townhouses. Blending American Northeastern, English and Spanish-Colonial charm with contemporary functionality, these homes act as a transition from the Urban Core to the Single-Family Residences and set a new standard for high-end living in South Florida.
The three-story townhouses offer a second floor Piano Nobile in the tree canopy, four bedrooms, family rooms, and up to four and a half bathrooms, connected by private elevators for effortless access across spacious layouts.
Townhouses Tour – 10:45 am – 12:30 pm
- Meet at Balboa Plaza Bench (corner of Anderson Rd & Biltmore Way) @ 10:45am for transport to Townhouses for 11am tour start by Maria de la Guardia & Philip Rhea
- ICAA FL Tour Lead: Philip Rhea
3. The Biltmore
Recognizing the importance of having a luxury resort hotel in the city, George Merrick turned to John McEntee Bowman, President of the Biltmore Hotel chain. The New York firm of Leonard Schultz and S. Fullerton Weaver was selected by Bowman to design the hotel and ground was broken in 1925. At cost of $10 million, The Miami-Biltmore Hotel and Country Club, boasting a golf course and 350 rooms, officially opened on January 15, 1926. At the time, the hotel’s pool was the largest hotel pool in the United States. The magnificent tower is modeled after the Giralda Tower from the Cathedral of Seville in Spain. In November of 1942, The Miami-Biltmore Hotel and Country Club was turned over to the United States of America for use as a hospital that opened in March of 1943. In 1946 the hotel became an Army general hospital, and the Veterans Administration (VA) took over in July of 1947. The VA Hospital was closed in 1968 with ownership eventually being transferred to the City of Coral Gables in 1973. A grand re-opening of The Biltmore took place in December 31, 1987, 61 years after it first opened.
Biltmore Hotel Tour #1 – 10:30 am – Noon
- Meet in Biltmore Lobby @ 10:30am for 10:45am tour start by Dade Heritage Tours
- ICAA FL Tour Lead: Breda Kellner
Biltmore Hotel Tour #2 – 12:30 pm – 2:45 pm
- Meet in Biltmore Lobby @ 12:30pm for 12:45pm tour start by Dade Heritage Tours
- ICAA FL Tour Lead: Haile Pueges
4. The Coral Gables Congregational Church Sketch Tour
Is a historic Congregational church in Coral Gables, Florida, United States. The church was designed by the architect Richard Kiehnel of Kiehnel and Elliott in 1923 and is regarded as a fine example of Spanish Colonial Revival architecture. It is located at 3010 DeSoto Boulevard.
Congregational Church Sketch Tour – 1:15pm – 3:00 pm
- Meet in Biltmore Lobby @ 1:15pm for 1:30pm sketch tour start
- ICAA FL Tour Lead: Ricardo Lopez
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