George Merrick's Coral Gables 'Where Your 'Castles in Spain' are Made Real!' [Florida Development / Architecture]

Miami, Florida: Centennial Press, 2006. First Edition, First Printing. Fine Hardcover in a Fine Dust Jacket. Fine Hardcover in a Fine Dust Jacket. Giftable..

One of the first planned communities in the United States

No Flaws or Blemishes; Gift Quality. Dust Jacket with price is in a new clear protective Mylar sleeve. First Edition, First Printing. Oblong; 12.5 by 9.5 inches; 68 pages with index and bibliography.. Background Information:
George Edgar Merrick (1886-1942) was a real estate developer who is best known as the planner and builder of the city of Coral Gables, Florida in the 1920s, one of the first planned communities in the United States.

Beginning in 1922, In three years, Merrick spent over $20 million to build a thousand Mediterranean style houses, which complemented the Biltmore Hotel, the country clubs, and the other community buildings that Merrick had also designed and overseen construction.

Once he was done building the core of Coral Gables, Merrick decided to branch out creatively. Many people who did not like the Mediterranean Revival Style rejected Coral Gables because its lack of variety. So, Merrick decided that he would design small communities, or villages, within Coral Gables with different international influences.

Merrick is credited with the establishment of the University of Miami in Coral Gables in 1925 with a donation of 600 acres of land and a pledge of US$5 million. The following year, just weeks before the start of the inaugural school year, a devastating hurricane on September 17-18, 1926, followed by the Great Depression, ended Merrick's dreams of further developing Coral Gables. [wiki]