Talking about Grove history with Ken Treister

Ken Treister

I had a conversion with Ken Treister, famous architect around these parts, who designed so many well-known structures in Coconut Grove from the Shoppes at Mayfair to Yacht Harbour condo to the Office in the Grove, now on the chopping block on South Bayshore Drive. He also designed the Holocaust Memorial on Miami Beach.

Office in the Grove was the second office building built in Coconut Grove. The Coconut Grove Bank was the first. 

Mr. Treister lives in central Florida now and has not been here in the Grove for awhile. I told him what the Coconut Grove Bank property is now - massive out of scale high rises. He was shocked. I told him how I was in Coral Gables the other day and I literally could see the massive buildings from there at street level!  Scale is important to him when it comes to architecture. 

Regarding the Office in the Grove, as a kid, I remember when the office building was new, there was a sign up on the berm that said, "If you lived here, you would be home by now." Funny how things like that stick in your head. 

Mr. Treister told me that he was part of a group that planted many trees you see on Main Highway and Grand Avenue now (well, most are being destroyed on Grand Avenue now), but many were his doing with partners like Lester Pancoast, son of Russell Pancoast, one of the key architects in the early days of Miami Beach. He says trees are the most important part of a streetscape and a building. 

"The secret of a city is trees. Trees hide ugly architecture, they give shade and cool the city, they give the neighborhood a sense of scale," says Mr. Treister. He still refers to Coconut Grove as a village. So do I.

We were talking about the original Mayfair which was an incredible space - an elegant indoor/outdoor mall, "with a lot of greenery," says Mr. Treister. The Mayfair Hotel still has so many of the same elements left, their atrium looks pretty much as the mall looked when it was enclosed.

He doesn't mind the offices taking over retail, as he says that is a sign of the times, but I think he does wonder about the fact that they tore down so much of his structure to open it up to the street, which obviously failed to bring in retail customers, as it is offices now.

Docomomo US / Florida, the local chapter of Docomomo International, applied to the City of Miami Historic and Environmental Preservation Board requesting them to designate Mr. Treister's Office in the Grove a historic, architectural resource. Mr. Treister is proud of this building. He described to me the purpose of the grass berm, the fact that parking is hidden and he explained the style - having the three bottom floors open and airy.

There is a petition to stop the demolition of this building here.

Office in the Grove. Photo by Dan Forer.