Comparing Coral Gables and Miami wooden homes

In response to the post, "Let the upheaval continue": 

Another difference between Coral Gables and Miami, is that the photo posted with the letter, shows the historic shotgun homes being preserved in Coral Gables. In Miami, (see photo here above and below of 3859 Washington Avenue and 3603 Charles Avenue in Village West; these are new  "historic resources" of the City of Miami under their experimental highly acclaimed (by their staff, at least) "thematic" "Wood Frame Vernacular Residences of Coconut Grove Village West Multiple Property Designation.

I also provide two additional images from the Historic Preservation staff report recommending designation of buildings for historic resource designation. Both deal with 3447 William Avenue.

The community referred to the two-story residence as the "Bullard House." A review of City Directories, US Federal Census records and Deeds, indicates the Bullard Family lived in the home for multiple decades and owned it since its construction. This is the current house.

The first is from the beginning of the report that focuses on the 3447 William Avenue property as an example of the important “Wood Frame Vernacular Residences” that should be designated. Do read the caption. The other attachment is the page in the report that showed the current photo and the photo that the staff and the Historic and Environmental Preservation Board used to determine if there were significant changes in the structure that disqualified it from designation as an historic resource. Take a careful look at both photos.

Tax Card photo of 3447 William Avenue house.

Guess what? 3447 William Avenue was excluded from historic resource designation, because the Preservation Officer Warren Adams recommended "...removal of the property as the original building had either been extensively altered or the original building had been demolished and replaced with the existing building.”  That is right, after supposedly detailed research to place the building on the List, and using it as a poster child of what needed to be preserved, it was excluded because at the point of final consideration, it was not known if the “...original building had been either extensively altered or the original building had been demolished and replaced with the existing building.” More than a slight lack of due diligence and failure to exercise due care, it would seem. 

(Note that this first 3347 William Avenue, page 13 in the official report in the records of the City of Miami, disappeared in the final report—deleted, and the report (but not the table of contents) re-paginated.

Frank Schnidman
Miami 

(Note; Frank is an attorney representing 16 of the appellants regarding the Wood Houses in Village West)