Overview
Coral
Gables was one of the first planned communities, and prefigured the
development of the gated community and the homeowners association. It is
notorious for its aesthetic regulations. The city was developed by
George Edgar Merrick during the Florida land boom of the 1920s. The
city's architecture is almost entirely Mediterranean. By 1926, the city
covered 10,000 acres, had netted $150 million in sales with over $100
million spent on development.
Merrick designed the downtown commercial district to be only four blocks
wide and more than two miles long. The area is now serviced by a free
trolley system that runs down Ponce de Leon Boulevard, the main artery
disecting the business district. Merrick could boast that every business
in Coral Gables was less than a two block walk. The old trolley system
was replaced by the popularity of modern automobiles until a new free
trolley system was initiated in November, 2003. Now, Coral Gables is
known as a pedestrian-friendly destination. Located only four miles from
Miami International Airport, the "City Beautiful" boasts more than 140
dining establishments and gourmet shops, plus many notable international
retailers. Among the beautiful and distinctive landmarks in Coral Gables
are the Venetian Pool, Douglas Entrance, the Biltmore Hotel, and many
fine residences.
In 1925, roughly simultaneous to the founding of Coral Gables, the city
was selected as the home to the University of Miami, which was
constructed that year on 240 acres of land just west of U.S. Route 1,
approximately two miles south of downtown Coral Gables.
Coral Gables is best known as home to the University of Miami, a
recognized university that ranks academically among the top tier of
U.S.-based colleges and universities, with particular national status in
the fields of business, medicine, law, and music, in which the
university is considered among the best in the nation.
The University of Miami also maintains one of the nation's most
successful collegiate athletic programs. It has won repeated national
championships in both Division I football (1983, 1987, 1989, 1991 and
2001) and baseball (1982, 1985, 1999 and 2001). Over the past 25 years,
the University of Miami has been amongst the most successful Division I
college football program in the nation, as its five national
championships since 1983 are the most of any Division I university of
the past quarter century).
The University of Miami also has graduated two Heisman Trophy winners,
Vinny Testaverde (in 1986) and Gino Torretta (in 1992), and three of its
former football players--Ted Hendricks, Michael Irvin, Jim Kelly and Jim
Otto--went on, following highly successful National Football League
careers, to be elected into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, the highest
honor awarded a former NFL player. Currently, the University of Miami
has more of its graduates playing in the NFL than any other U.S. college
or university. For this reason, the "U" as its known to locals, will
always be more recognized for its athletics instead of academics. The
university's current president, Dr. Shalala, has the responsibility of
changing this reality.