Is it all over now?
A guy wrote this on one of those "old Miami" Facebook pages. I found it interesting, seeing the Grove from someone who moved away but passed through recently:
You can stay in touch with the old Grove at a couple of Facebook pages.
Old Coconut Grove Houses is here
You Know You Grove up in Old Coconut Grove If ... is here
We were in the Keys for a few days this week....Key Largo and Key West. Yesterday we drove back to Miami to fly back to Houston. We had some extra time and drove thru the Grove, What a disappointment. I'm all for change and progress, but what made the Grove special was its proliferation of individually owned shops and restaurants as well as the classic Grove houses.
What exists now could be anywhere in Florida. Our former home on Palmetto Avenue is now a mini-mansion. Not opposed to mini-mansions (or mansions), but the architecture has no relevance to the Grove. It's too bad that standards and guidelines relevant to the community were never put into place.
It's all over now.
You can stay in touch with the old Grove at a couple of Facebook pages.
Old Coconut Grove Houses is here
You Know You Grove up in Old Coconut Grove If ... is here
posted by Tom Falco at 9:00 AM
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9 Comments:
I don't understand all this resentment. There used to be a Planet Hollywood smack in the middle of the grove almost 30 years ago. You can't get any more commercial than that. The grove hasn't been a "small town" in a very very long time.
We really should secede. Coconut Grove is very different than Miami.
I think those people that brag about moving away are really jealous of those of us that stayed. We still have the Grove people and a sense of community. I still walk past Plymouth Church and down my street and get the same feeling as I did when I first walked it 40 years ago. I ride my bike to Matheson in the early morning through the south Grove's tiny streets and still sometimes get lost in all the greenery and the scented pathways. Downtown Grove is a disaster, but, so far, we are still blessed with peacocks, old mansions, Biscayne Bay, and the people. Yes, it's the people that really make the Grove what it is. I can only hope that all those people on that site that whine and complain and claim to be happy that they left have been able to find the sense of community that we have here in the Grove.
Blame all the boomers who took the money and ran to the villages.
The past is a good place to reminisce of special times spent in special places like Coconut Grove. Progress is good to keep communities vibrant. Progress is why we don't live in caves or hunt our daily food just to survive. There will always be good and bad in every equation. But the good news is that we as the human race have tremendous potential as long as we welcome change rather than become stagnant. This is why we don't have eyes in the back of our head or a rear view mirror mounted to our forehead. We are forward looking visionaries. God made us this way on purpose. Look to the future and embrace Coconut Grove for what it is becoming. The truth is we are only on this Earth for a short time... enjoy your time here. Nothing stays the same.
We tried several years ago but it must be approved by the rest of the City and that’s not going to happen. They don’t want to give up the “Cash Cow”, Coconut Grove
I can assure you that someone who lived in the grove 20 years before the author would say the exact same thing, "it is all over now" if they drove through the grove when the author still lived here. I'm not saying that all the changes are good because that would be ridiculous, I am saying that nothing can ever remain the same. Just look at the Quakers, Mennonites , etc. and you will see people desperately trying to cling to a specific snapshot in time and in my opinion, that is not only arbitrary but selfish.
There are still many individually owned restaurants and shops throughout grove, and many not mini mansions. Not sure what this person is talking about or seeing. I guess this person is sad and saying "it's all over" because the Fat Tuesdays is gone??
The Grove is STILL an amazing place. Stop whining, buy a house here, plant a tree, grab a drink and make a friend (or adopt a dog) but by all means GET OVER IT.
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