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 – 9:30 AM

• Meet in Biltmore Lobby @ 9:15 am for transport to Merrick House

Merrick House Tour #2 – 9:45 AM

• Meet in Biltmore Lobby @ 9:30 am for transport to Merrick House

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2. The Biltmore to The Venetian Pool

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.

Then, Jorge Hernandez will guide the tour to The Venetian Pool. The Venetian pool was opened in 1924 as the Venetian Casino. The pool was a creation that was a result of the Grand Plan that George Merrick had for a City that would embody true hometown living.

As George Merrick went about creating a City with Mediterranean features such as grand entrances, plazas and Mediterranean-style homes, the limestone being used to create the buildings was taken from a quarry pit. This quarry became Venetian Pool through the efforts of Merrick, artist Denman Fink, and architect Phineas Paist.

The pool was transformed into a paradise that is included in the National Register of Historic Places, one of a select few swimming pools to have such a designation.

Venetian Pool & Biltmore Hotel Tour #2 – 12:00 PM 

• Meet in Biltmore Lobby @ 11:45 am for transportation to Venetian Pool
• ICAA FL Tour Lead: Jorge Hernandez