Coconut Grove history tour saves Grove Day

Yesterday's Grove Day left a lot to be desired. The promised Straw Market ended up being a few booths on the sidewalk, near the 24 Hour Fitness Gym. Straw items and cookies were sold, but there wasn't much else. There was African art, but not much Bahamian art. People were asking for food like conch fritters or conch salad. Even one of the Junkanoo guys asked me why there wasn't food. Maybe next year it will be a bit more organized.

The people that did have tents set up were very well organized and they had some very nice items. That's the Council General of the Bahamas Gladys Johnson-Sands, in black and white, at one of the straw booths.


Lincoln Pettaway, Assistant to the Dean at Barry University, had a booth set up. Many Bahamians come from the islands to study at Barry. Michal, Beth and Edna, from Beth's Kitchen had delicious sesame items, cookies and candy for sale.

We missed the one quick photo opp of Bahamian police decked out in their red uniforms, directing traffic in the center of town. It would have been a cool thing to go on all day, not just for a few quick pictures, which most of us missed. The Junkanoo band was great at the end of the day along with a fashion show at CocoWalk.


The best part of the day was the Coconut Grove history walking tour conducted by Dr. Paul George, Miami Historian. About 35 people or so started out at the Woman's Club and as the tour progressed, it ended up picking up dozens more, there were over 100 people at the end. That's Dr. George in the center of the photo, with the hat on, pointing toward the coral building, which is the Woman's Club of Coconut Grove. This particular building was built in 1921, but the Club started at the same location in 1891, founded by Flora McFarlane
.

Across the street in Peacock Park, Dr. George showed us the location of the original Peacock Inn, the first and only hotel in Coconut Grove at the time, built in 1882. The inn was back behind the little house you see there now, toward the wall separating the park from The Cloisters townhouse development. Back in the day, that was all open field, where you could walk from the Peacock Inn, right to The Barnacle. At the Barnacle, there is a photo on site of the Peacock Inn and the view of the inn from the Barnacle way back when.


The tour walked up McFarlane Road (named after Flora's family) and more people joined in.


The tour wound around onto Main Highway where the architecture was discussed. Check out the HH Jewels building some time, it was the original bank in Coconut Grove and has a bell tower on top. And the Florentine Plaza across Fuller Street was pointed out as having
Mediterranean architecture. As does most of Main Highway from Florentine Plaza down to the triangle area in the center of town. Above is La Brisa, original Florida home to the Sempa family of Pittsburgh. It's right on Main Highway across from Calamari restaurant, probably overlooked by most who pass by.


Of course the 1882 grave of Eva Amelia Munroe was pointed out. The grave is right next to the library, next to the Sonesta Hotel on McFarlane Road. Many pass by daily without realizing it. And we attempted to see the old buildings at Ransom Everglades on Main Highway, but the unfriendly guard in the guardhouse would not have it.


The final stop was The Barnacle, a cool oasis on a very hot day. Some Barnacle Society members greeted us with refreshments as we entered the beautiful grounds. Some stayed for a tour of the house and others ended the tour then.

Dr. Paul George gives much longer tours of Coconut Grove and many other areas of Florida, including the Florida Keys. For more info, check out the Historical Museum site here. Dave Collins, director of the BID suggests that we should have more of these Coconut Grove history tours by Dr. George or have trained tour guides take over from him and do it on a regular basis. There surely was a great interest yesterday, over 100 people braved the heat and humidity to enjoy a delightful Coconut Grove history tour.