“The reader is left breathless by the whirlwind achievements of master suburban planner and visionary George Merrick, so excellently written and documented. George Merrick, Son of the South Wind takes us on Merrick’s journey through pastoral grapefruit groves to a meticulous and innovative Coral Gables and its melancholy conclusion.”—Howard Kleinberg, former editor of the Miami News “At once an epic and sweeping story of the making of a place and a profoundly intimate story of a man and his dreams.”—Beth Dunlop, editor of Modern Magazine “Parks brings George Merrick to life—his resources and passions, his colleagues and his adversaries. She guides us through the earliest guava groves to the City of Coral Gables we see today, providing insight into its creation and provoking reflection on our responsibility for stewardship.”—Joanna Lombard, coauthor of Historic Landscapes of Florida “Parks has written a passionate, compelling biography of George Merrick, one of America’s earliest developers of a carefully planned, Mediterranean-styled community.”—Paul S. George, author of Along the Miami River and Little Havana The story of developers selling off the Sunshine State is as old as the first railroad tracks laid across the peninsula. But seldom do we hear about the men who actually built a better Florida. In George Merrick, Son of the South Wind, South Florida historian Arva Moore Parks recounts George Merrick’s quest to distinguish himself from the legions of developers who sought only profit. Helping to create the land boom of the 1920s, Merrick transformed his family’s citrus grove just outside of Miami into one of the finest planned communities: the “master suburb” of Coral Gables. With a team of architects and city planners, he built homes for the growing middle class in the Mediterranean Style using local stone, while investing in public infrastructure by designing and building parks and pools, trolley lines and waterways. He pledged land for a library and the university that would become the University of Miami. Hailed in national publications as a visionary, Merrick was green before green, a New Urbanist before the movement even had a name. As Coral Gables and Merrick prospered, he reinvested in education, affordable housing, and other progressive causes. But the Great Depression ravaged Miami, and Merrick’s idealism cost him his fortune. He died with an estate worth less than $400. Ralph Waldo Emerson, whose essays and poems inspired Merrick, wrote, “An institution is the lengthened shadow of one man,” and Merrick’s legacy is imbued in every stone and every tree of Coral Gables. With unprecedented access to the Merrick family, and mining a treasure trove of Merrick’s personal letters, documents, speeches, and manuscripts, Parks presents the remarkable story of George Merrick and the development of one of the nation’s most iconic planned cities.

George Merrick, Son of the South Wind: Visionary Creator of Coral Gables

Biographies & Memoirs

Parks, Arva Moore

Historical

University Press of Florida

The forgotten frontier: Florida through the lens of Ralph Middleton Munroe

History

Americas

Banyan Books

Miami, the magic city (American portrait series)

Continental Heritage Press

A look at the history of Miami, with stunning contemporary and historic photography and captions describing the development of this famous city. Part of the highly successful Then and Now series, this book looks at the changes in this exciting city.

Miami then & now

Centennial Press

Miami: The Magic City

Centennial Pr

Guided by a visionary widow named Julia Tuttle, the city of Miami truly came into being in 1896 and has not stopped growing. Halfway through the last century, the apparent domination of land, population, and business by whites and―for decades―repressed African Americans became tested and balanced by the victims of the 1959 Cuban Revolution. Beyond that, hundreds of thousands of others from Spanish-speaking lands came to create what truly is an international metropolis. The chapters of Miami’s existence are delineated by those legendary locals who came earliest; those who were the pioneers; those who established businesses that endured; those who were the builders and visionaries; those who served in politics; those who came from other places; those who created, built, and extended educational and arts opportunities; and those who embraced the placid environment and natural beauty of the “Magic City.”

Legendary Locals of Greater Miami

Arts & Photography

KLEINBERG, Howard

Photography & Video

Arcadia Publishing

By the time the City of Miami was born in 1896, Coconut Grove was already a well-defined community with a variety of interesting residents who liked what they found and were willing to fight to keep it that way. Images of America: Coconut Grove tells their story, from the native people who called it home to the Bahamians and sophisticated settlers who together shaped its special character. Despite hurricanes, booms, busts, and those who would change it, Coconut Grove remains uniquely itself.

Coconut Grove

Bennett, Bo

Arcadia Publishing Library Editions

Miami, "the Magic City," really began in 1891 when a widow from Cleveland, Julia Tuttle, moved to South Florida and convinced Standard Oil cofounder Henry Flagler to help her develop the area. Flagler built a railroad to Miami and the tourists began to arrive, entranced by the orange blossoms and fine weather. During World War II, the city grew as the military moved in to build major training centers that brought thousands of new people into the region.Sites include: Cape Florida, Royal Palm Hotel, Halcyon Hotel, Point View, Burlingame Island, Jackson Memorial Hospital, Flagler Street, Scottish Rite Temple, Freedom Tower, Biscayne Boulevard, Riverside, Tamiami Trail, Miami River, Coconut Grove, Vizcaya, El Jardin, Pan Am terminal, Coral Gables, Biltmore Hotel, Douglas Entrance, Miracle Mile, Hialeah Race Course, Opa-Locka, Miami Beach, Collins Canal, Fisher Island, Espanola Way, Deauville Hotel, Normandy Isle and Old City Hall.

Miami Then and Now®

Carolyn, A01

Pavilion Books

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Books by Parks, Arva Moore