Overview
Coconut
Grove, originally spelled Cocoanut Grove, is a neighborhood located in
the City of Miami, Florida in Miami-Dade County, United States. The area
is defined as southeast of US 1, from N. Prospect Ave as the southern
border to the intersection of US 1 and Brickell Ave as the northern
border. The western border is Le Jeune Road and the eastern border is
Biscayne Bay. Technically, all of Coconut Grove has a zip code of 33133,
which actually extends the area north of US 1 into what is called
"Silver Bluffs". The region is often referred to simply as "The Grove".
Several waves of immigration established Coconut Grove, the first in
1825, when the Cape Florida lighthouse went into operation and was
manned by John Dubose. The post office was established in 1873, around
the same time that the area saw an influx of Americans from the
Northeastern US, as well as British immigrants. Coconut Grove's first
black settlement, in the 1880s, was established by Bahamian craftsmen
and sailors and their families. The first hotel on the south Florida
mainland was located in Coconut Grove. Called the Bay View Inn (later
known as the Peacock Inn), it was built in 1882, on the site of
present-day Peacock Park, by English immigrants Isabella and Charles
Peacock, who had been the owner of a wholesale meat business in London.
World-renowned for its annual art festival, Coconut Grove's other events
include the King Mango Strut, which began as a parody of the Orange Bowl
Parade. The Goombay Festival For a week in mid-June, Grand Avenue in
Coconut Grove is transformed into a Caribbean Carnival. It celebrates
Bahamian residents historic festival with Bahamian dancing, Bahamian
food, Caribbean music (Junkanoo) and Bahamian culture.
Once an independent city, Coconut Grove was annexed by the city of
Miami. The Grove is sometimes known as Miami's Food Court, for its many
and varied restaurants. Open air cafes are quite popular as well. Some
local favorites include Green Street Cafe, Monty's Raw Bar, Tuscany, Mr.
Moes, and Le Bouchon, a French cafe. There are plenty of chain
franchises as well, such as The Cheesecake Factory and Johnny Rockets.
Shopping is also abundant in the Grove, with two large open-air malls,
CocoWalk, Streets of Mayfair, and many other street shops and boutiques.
The Coconut Grove Playhouse is a very popular destination, and has
launched a number of popular plays and musicals. By night, the Grove
becomes a center of nightlife frequented by young professionals and
students from the University of Miami.
The southern border of Coconut Grove is Biscayne Bay, which lends itself
to a boating community. The area features a sailing club (Coconut Grove
Sailing Club), a yacht club (Coral Reef Yacht Club) and a marina (Dinner
Key Marina). Pan Am's seaplane operations were based in Dinner Key, and
the Miami City Hall is based in the old Pan Am terminal building.
Coconut Grove is also home to The Kampong, an 8 acre (32,000 sq m)
tropical garden that forms part of the National Tropical Botanical
Garden.
Coconut Grove is also the location of The Barnacle Historic State Park.
Built in the late 1800s, the former home of Ralph Middleton Munroe is
one of the oldest homes in Dade County and is situated on the shore of
Biscayne Bay. The forest surrounding the home is hardwood hammock and is
the last of its kind in the area. The unique architecture includes
period furniture and wide porches that afford magnificent views.