From the CEO
The Latest Chapter in a Never-Ending Story Twelve years ago, on December 13, 1999, Dade Heritage Trust held a press conference to announce our first annual "Most Endangered Historic Sites List." On that list-and printed in our Preservation Today magazine-- were the Freedom Tower, the Miami Circle, the Curtiss Mansion, Gusman Center, South Florida Bungalows, Lummus Park Neighborhood, the Barnacle Addition, the Redland, Miami Modern (MiMo) hotels on Miami Beach--and Virginia Key and the Marine Stadium. Dade Heritage Trust has played a major role in saving many of these. Thanks in good part to DHT's advocacy and media outreach, the Freedom Tower, once threatened with neglect and then overdevelopment, is now in the good hands of Miami Dade College and is listed as a National Register Landmark. In Lummus Park. DHT persuaded a developer to redesign his low-income highrise project to save seven historic houses, which resulted in an award-winning success story for his company.
The Miami Circle, the 2000-year-old archeological site at the mouth of the Miami River, was saved after DHT spearheaded a campaign and media blitz to prevent its destruction. It is now owned by the State of Florida and being run as a park by HistoryMiami. Glenn Curtiss Mansion in Miami Springs, once vandalized and in danger of demolition, is now being restored, thanks to funding that DHT succeeded in placing on the Miami-Dade County General Obligation Bond. Gusman Center, though still underfunded, has undergone major restoration, which DHT supported through publicity, events and advocacy. South Florida Bungalows-well, we couldn't save them all, but DHT restored the wood frame 1917 Dice House-and the 1905 Old Miami High--and purchased and restored the finest example of a belvedere bungalow in Miami, saving it from demolition and returning it to "award winning" community use. Virginia Key Beach is now a historically designated city park that has undergone major restoration and is run by the Virginia Key Beach Park Trust, on which DHT Trustee Enid Pinkney has played a leading role. The Miami Marine Stadium was saved from planned demolition when DHT nominated and secured its historic designation and waged an advocacy and PR campaign for its restoration and reuse. Three million dollars has been allocated for its renovation from a GOB Preservation Fund that DHT initiated. MiMo Hotels on Miami Beach-some have been lost, some unappreciated, some beautifully restored. By publicizing the architecture of Miami Modern, and holding the MiMo Conference at the Eden Roc March 11, 2011, DHT hopes to generate even more interest in their preservation and rejuvenation.
From the Miami Circle to the Marine Stadium and "MiMo." Dade Heritage Trust continues to work on the next chapter in Miami's ongoing. never-ending story.
Becky Roper Matkov
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