HomeMy WebLinkAbout2005-3481 Ordinance
ORDINANCE NO.
2005-3481
AN ORDINANCE OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF
MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA, AMENDING THE LAND DEVELOPMENT
REGULATIONS OF THE MIAMI BEACH CITY CODE; AMENDING SECTION
118-593, "HISTORIC PRESERVATION DESIGNATION"; AMENDING
SECTION 118-593(E), "DElINEATION ON ZONING MAP"; AMENDING
SECTION 118-593(E)(2), "HISTORIC PRESERVATION DISTRICTS (HPD)" BY
DESIGNATING THE FLAMINGO WATERWAY HISTORIC DISTRICT,
CONSISTING OF A CERTAIN AREA WHICH IS GENERALLY BOUNDED BY
THE CENTER LINE OF WEST 47TH STREET TO THE SOUTH, THE EASTERN
RIGHT-OF-WAY LINE OF PINETREE DRIVE TO THE EAST, THE NORTHERN
LOT LINE OF 4816 PINETREE DRIVE TO THE NORTH, THE WESTERN LOT
LINE OF 353 WEST 47TH STREET TO THE WEST, AND THE EASTERN
BULKHEAD LINES OF THE FLAMINGO WATERWAY AND LAKE SURPRISE
TO THE NORTHWEST, AS MORE PARTICULARLY DESCRIBED HEREIN;
PROVIDING THAT THE CITY'S ZONING MAP SHALL BE AMENDED TO
INCLUDE THE FLAMINGO WATERWAY HISTORIC DISTRICT; ADOPTING
THE DESIGNATION REPORT ATTACHED HERETO AS APPENDIX "A";
PROVIDING FOR INCLUSION IN THE LAND DEVELOPMENT REGULATIONS
OF THE CITY CODE, REPEALER, SEVERABILITY, AND AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
WHEREAS, on December 14, 2004, the City of Miami Beach Historic Preservation
Board held a public hearing and voted unanimously (7 to 0) in favor of recommending that
the Mayor and City Commission designate the Flamingo Waterway Historic District; and
WHEREAS, on January 25, 2005, the City of Miami Beach Planning Board held a
public hearing and voted unanimously (5 to 0; 2 absences) in favor of the proposed
designation of said historic district; and
WHEREAS, the City of Miami Beach Planning Department has recommended this
amendment to the Land Development Regulations of the City Code; and
WHEREAS, these recommendations of approval for the designation of the Flamingo
Waterway Historic District were based upon the information documented in the
Designation Report prepared by the City of Miami Beach Planning Department attached
hereto as Appendix "A".
NOW THEREFORE, BE IT DULY ORDAINED BY THE MAYOR AND CITY
COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA:
SECTION 1. DESIGNATION OF THE FLAMINGO WATERWAY HISTORIC DISTRICT.
Those certain areas which are generally bounded by the center line of West 47th
Street to the south, the eastern right-of-way line of Pinetree Drive to the east, the northern
lot line of 4816 Pinetree Drive to the north, the western lot line of 353 West 47th Street to
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the west, and the eastern bulkhead lines of the Flamingo Waterway and Lake Surprise to
the northwest; and having the legal description as described herein, are hereby designated
as an Historic District of the City of Miami Beach and shall be known as the "Flamingo
Waterway Historic District." That the Designation Report attached hereto as Appendix "A"
is hereby adopted.
SECTION 2. AMENDMENT OF SECTION 118-593 OF THE CITY CODE.
That Chapter 118, Section 118-593 entitled "Historic Preservation Designation" of
the Land Development Regulations of the City Code of Miami Beach, Florida, is hereby
amended to read as follows:
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(e) Delineation on zoning map. All sites and districts designated as historic sites and
districts shall be delineated on the city's zoning map, pursuant to section 142-71,
as an overlay district. Such sites and districts include:
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(2) Historic preservation districts (HPD).
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~ RM-1, CD-1, GU/HPD-11: The boundaries of the FlaminQo Waterway Historic
District commence at the point of intersection of the center line of West 47th Street
and the eastern riQht-of-way line of Pinetree Drive, as shown in the LAKE VIEW
SUBDIVISION, recorded in Plat Book 14, at PaQe 42, Public Records of Miami-Dade
County, Florida. Said point beinQ the POINT OF BEGINNING of the tract of land
herein described; thence run northerlv, alonQ the eastern riQht-of-wav line of said
Pinetree Drive to the point of intersection with the easterlv extension of the north
line of Lot 20, Block 32, of the above mentioned LAKE VIEW SUBDIVISION; thence
run westerlv, alonQ the north line of said Lot 20 to the point of intersection with the
eastern bulkhead line of the FlaminQo Waterway; thence run southwesterlv, alonQ
the eastern bulkhead lines of the FlaminQo Waterway and Lake Surprise to a point.
Said point beinQ located 35.07 feet west (measured at a riQht anQle) of the east line
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of Lot 11, Block 32. of the above mentioned lAKE VIEW SUBDIVISION; thence run
southerly, along a line parallel and 35.07 feet west (measured at a right angle) of
the east line of said Lot 11. and its southerly extension to the point of intersection
with the center line of West 47th Street; thence run easterly, along the center line of
said West 47th Street to the POINT OF BEGINNING. Said lands located, lying and
being in the City of Miami Beach, Miami-Dade County, Florida.
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SECTION 3. INCLUSION IN THE LAND DEVELOPMENT REGULATIONS OF THE CITY
CODE.
It is the intention of the Mayor and City Commission, and it is hereby ordained that
the provisions of this Ordinance shall become and be made part of the Land Development
Regulations of the City Code of Miami Beach, Florida. The sections of this Ordinance may
be renumbered or relettered to accomplish such intention, and the word "Ordinance" may
be changed to "section," "article," or other appropriate word.
SECTION 4. AMENDMENT OF ZONING MAP.
That the Mayor and City Commission hereby amend the Zoning Map of the City of
Miami Beach as contained in the Land Development Regulations of the City Code by
identifying the area described herein as HPD-11, Historic Preservation District Eleven.
SECTION 5. REPEALER.
All ordinances or parts of ordinances in conflict herewith be and the same are
hereby repealed.
SECTION 6. SEVERABILITY.
If any section, subsection, clause or provision of this Ordinance is held invalid, the
remainder shall not be affected by such invalidity.
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SECTION 7. EFFECTIVE DATE.
This Ordinance shall take effect ten days following adoption.
PASSED and ADOPTED this 20th
day of April
,2005.
ATTEST:
fuwK f~
CITY CLERK
David Dermer
Robert E. Parcher
APPROVED AS TO FORM & LANGUAGE
& FOR EXECUTION:
&III~
C ATTORNEY ~
1.(-'-1"05
DATE
Underscore denotes new language.
Striko through denotes deleted language.
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CITY OF MIAMI BEACH
COMMISSION ITEM SUMMARY
m
Condensed Title:
First and Only Reading Public Hearing - Proposed Designation of the Flamingo Waterway Historic District
Issue:
The Administration is requesting that the Mayor and City Commission consider the proposed designation of
the Flamingo Waterway Historic District.
Item Summary/Recommendation:
Adopt the proposed ordinance on first and only reading public hearing by designating the Flamingo
Waterway Historic District.
.
Advisorv Board Recommendation:
On December 14, 2004, the Historic Preservation Board unanimously approved a motion (7 to 0) to
recommend approval of the designation of the Flamingo Waterway Historic District.
On January 25, 2005, the Planning Board unanimously approved a motion (5 to 0; 2 absences) to
recommend approval of the designation of said historic district.
Financial Information:
Source of Amount Account Approved
Funds: 1
D 2
3
4
Finance Dept. Total
Cit Clerk's Office Le islative Trackin :
William H. Cary, Assistant Planning Director; Shannon M. Anderton, Senior Planner.
City Manager
aterway\CC-1 strdg-sum ,doc
Regular\Flamingo Waterway-1 strdg-sum.doc
AGENDA ITEM
DATE
1iSC-
f~tJ-o~
CITY OF MIAMI BEACH
CITY HALL 1700 CONVENTION CENTER DRIVE MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA 33139
www.miamibeachfl.gov
COMMISSION MEMORANDUM
From:
Mayor David Dermer and
Members of the City Commission
Jorge M. Gonzalez t V---r--
City Manager () (.J
FIRST AND ONLY READING PUBLIC HEARING - HISTORIC DESIGNATION
Date: April 20, 2005
To:
Subject:
AN ORDINANCE OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF
MIAMI BEACH, FLORIDA, AMENDING THE LAND DEVELOPMENT
REGULATIONS OF THE MIAMI BEACH CITY CODE; AMENDING SECTION 118-
593, "HISTORIC PRESERVATION DESIGNATION"; AMENDING SECTION 118-
593(E), "DELINEATION ON ZONING MAP"; AMENDING SECTION 118-593(E)(2),
"HISTORIC PRESERVATION DISTRICTS (HPD)" BY DESIGNATING THE
FLAMINGO WATERWAY HISTORIC DISTRICT, CONSISTING OF A CERTAIN
AREA WHICH IS GENERALLY BOUNDED BY THE CENTER LINE OF WEST 47TH
STREET TO THE SOUTH, THE EASTERN RIGHT-OF-WAY LINE OF PINETREE
DRIVE TO THE EAST, THE NORTHERN LOT LINE OF 4816 PINETREE DRIVE
TO THE NORTH, THE WESTERN lOT LINE OF 353 WEST 47TH STREET TO THE
WEST, AND THE EASTERN BULKHEAD LINES OF THE FLAMINGO
WATERWAY AND lAKE SURPRISE TO THE NORTHWEST, AS MORE
PARTICULARLY DESCRIBED HEREIN; PROVIDING THAT THE CITY'S ZONING
MAP SHALL BE AMENDED TO INCLUDE THE FLAMINGO WATERWAY
HISTORIC DISTRICT; ADOPTING THE DESIGNATION REPORT ATTACHED
HERETO AS APPENDIX "A"; PROVIDING FOR INCLUSION IN THE lAND
DEVELOPMENT REGULATIONS OF THE CITY CODE, REPEALER,
SEVERABILITY, AND AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
RECOMMENDATION
The Administration is requesting that the Mayor and City Commission adopt the proposed
ordinance on first and only reading public hearing by designating the Flamingo Waterway Historic
District.
BACKGROUND
In September of 2003, the Planning Department received a request by local area residents to place
an item on the agenda of the Historic Preservation Board at their next available meeting. This item
of request was for the Historic Preservation Board to consider directing the Planning Department to
proceed with the historic designation process for an area of the City generally located on the west
side of Pinetree Drive between West 47th Street and 4816 Pinetree Drive as a possible historic
district.
On September 9, 2003, the Historic Preservation Board unanimously approved a motion (7 to 0) to
direct staff to schedule a special meeting of the Board in October of 2003, at which time the Board
would consider directing staff to commence with the historic designation process for a possible local
historic district in the multi-family residential area at West 47th Street and Pinetree Drive.
Commission Memorandum of April 20, 2005
First and Only Reading Public Hearing - Historic Designation
Proposed Flamingo Waterway Historic District
Page 2 of 8
On October 22, 2003, the Historic Preservation Board unanimously approved a motion (6 to 0; 1
absence) to direct the Planning Department to proceed with research and prepare a preliminary
evaluation and recommendation report for a possible historic district that is generally bounded by
the center line of West 4ih Street to the south, the eastern right-of-way line of Pinetree Drive to the
east, the northern lot line of 4816 Pinetree Drive to the north, the western lot line of 353 West 4ih
Street to the West, and the eastern bulkhead lines of the Flamingo Waterway and Lake Surprise to
the northwest (see attached Map 1).
On January 13, 2004, the Historic Preservation Board reviewed the preliminary evaluation report
with recommendations prepared by the Planning Department relative to the designation of the
proposed Flamingo Waterway Historic District. The Historic Preservation Board unanimously
approved a motion (5 to 0; 2 absences) to direct staff to prepare a designation report and schedule
a public hearing relative to the designation of this proposed historic district.
On December 9, 2004, the Planning Department hosted a courtesy public workshop in St. John's
Methodist Church at 4760 Pinetree Drive within the proposed historic district. The focus of the
community workshop was to discuss the possible historic designation of the Flamingo Waterway
Historic District. About a dozen persons were in attendance at the meeting. There was a
consensus of support for the designation of the proposed historic district; however, two attendees
expressed a concern that historic designation may preclude the future ability to demolish their
residential complex and construct a new structure above parking.
On December 14, 2004, the Historic Preservation Board reviewed the designation report and
unanimously approved a motion (7 to 0) to recommend approval of the designation of the proposed
Flamingo Waterway Historic District. At the same meeting, the Board approved a motion to
reclassify the status of the Regency House apartments at 353 West 4 ih Street from "contributing"
to "non-contributing."
On January 25, 2005, the Planning Board reviewed the designation report and unanimously
approved a motion (5 to 0; 2 absences) to recommend approval of the designation ofthe proposed
Flamingo Waterway Historic District.
DESIGNATION PROCESS
The designation report for a proposed historic district is required to be presented to the Historic
Preservation Board and the Planning Board at separate public hearings. Following public input, the
Historic Preservation Board votes on whether or not the proposed historic district meets the criteria
listed in the Land Development Regulations of the City Code and transmits a recommendation on
historic designation to the Planning Board and City Commission. If the Historic Preservation Board
votes against the designation, no further action is required. If the Historic Preservation Board votes
in favor of designation, the Planning Board reviews the designation report and formulates its own
recommendation. The recommendations of both Boards, along with the designation report, are
presented to the City Commission. Because in this instance the proposed ordinance involves an
area of less than ten (10) contiguous acres, the City Commission must hold one (1) public hearing
on the designation. Upon conclusion of the hearing, the City Commission can immediately adopt
the ordinance with a 5/7 majority vote.
Commission Memorandum of April 20, 2005
First and Only Reading Public Hearing - Historic Designation
Proposed Flamingo Waterway Historic District
Page 3 of 8
RELATION TO ORDINANCE CRITERIA
1. In accordance with Section 118-592 in the Land Development Regulations of the City Code,
eligibility for historic designation is determined on the basis of compliance with the listed criteria
set forth below.
(a) The Historic Preservation Board shall have the authority to recommend that properties
be designated as historic buildings, historic structures, historic improvements, historic
landscape features, historic interiors (architecturally significant public portions only),
historic sites or historic districts if they are significant in the historical, architectural,
cultural, aesthetic or archeological heritage of the city, the county, state or nation. Such
properties shall possess an integrity of location, design, setting, materials,
workmanship, feeling or association and meet at least one (1) of the following criteria:
(1) Association with events that have made a significant contribution to the history
of the city, the county, state or nation;
(2) Association with the lives of persons significant in the city's past history;
(3) Embody the distinctive characteristics of an historical period, architectural or
design style or method of construction;
(4) Possesses high artistic values;
(5) Represent the work of a master, serve as an outstanding or representative work
of a master designer, architect or builder who contributed to our historical,
aesthetic or architectural heritage;
(6) Have yielded, or are likely to yield information important in pre-history or history;
(7) Be listed in the National Register of Historic Places;
(8) Consist of a geographically definable area that possesses a significant
concentration of sites, buildings or structures united by historically significant
past events or aesthetically by plan or physical development, whose
components may lack individual distinction.
(b) A building, structure (including the public portions of the interior), improvement or
landscape feature may be designated historic even if it has been altered if the alteration
is reversible and the most significant architectural elements are intact and repairable.
2. The proposed Flamingo Waterway Historic District is eligible for historic designation as it
complies with the criteria as specified in Section 118-592 in the Land Development Regulations
of the City Code outlined above.
(a) Staff finds the proposed historic district to be eligible for historic designation and in
conformance with the designation criteria for the following reasons:
(1) Association with events that have made a sianificant contribution to the
history of the city. the county. state or nation:
Commission Memorandum of April 20, 2005
First and Only Reading Public Hearing - Historic Designation
Proposed Flamingo Waterway Historic District
Page 4 of 8
Several structures in the proposed historic district provide a tangible link to the
19205 Florida Boom, which nearly rivaled the California gold rush in its
speculative frenzy. The Flamingo Waterway itself is a remnant of the dredging
and land fill processes that literally created much of Miami Beach's land mass in
its early history. Two 1926 apartment buildings are testimonials to the days of
financial boom and investment when this neighborhood was newly annexed into
the City of Miami Beach. The post-Word War II apartment buildings reflect the
increased demand for affordable housing in that era largely due to the benefits
of the G.1. Bill and a once again booming economy.
(2) Association with the lives of persons sianificant in the city's past history:
This area is most closely connected to Carl G. Fisher, the prime developer of
Miami Beach in the 19205, whose Miami Beach Bay Shore Company dredged
Lake Surprise and its waterways in 1923 and then platted this land for
development in 1925. There is also an important connection with nationally-
known business man and "dime-store" magnate Sebastian S. Kresge, who
provided the property here for St. John's Methodist Church and its parsonage at
4760 and 4764 Pinetree Drive, respectively.
(3) Embody the distinctive characteristics of an historical period. architectural
or desian style or method of construction:
This assemblage of eight contributing properties includes two Mediterranean
Revival style apartment buildings that are typical of Florida architecture in the
19205, and one example of a Mediterranean Revival-Art Deco Transitional
residence from the 1930s. A majority of the buildings in the proposed historic
district are prime examples of Post War Modern style apartment houses that
were popularized here and elsewhere in Miami Beach with the societal and
economic changes following World War II. Not only did building materials and
forms undergo changes at this time, but the City also wrestled with zoning
variances and later zoning district changes as the era of private estates gave
way to multi-family housing for the middle-class.
(4) Possess hiah artistic values:
By definition, these neighborhood buildings are not grandiose, but they
admirably reflect the artistic values and design influences of their times and
accomplish their aim of providing comfortable and affordable housing with skill
and charm. Detailed workmanship is found in all of these structures.
(5) Represent the work of a master. serve as an outstandinQ or representative
work of a master desianer. architect or builder who contributed to our
historical. aesthetic or architectural heritaae:
The post-World War II era inarchitecture is now coming to be appreciated in
South Florida and elsewhere in the nation. Its masters have not yet become
household names, but Norman Giller, Gilbert Fein, Donald Reiff, and M. Tony
Commission Memorandum of April 20, 2005
First and Only Reading Public Hearing - Historic Designation
Proposed Flamingo Waterway Historic District
Page 5 of 8
Sherman are among the best known locally and are well-represented by
excellent works in the proposed historic district and elsewhere in Miami Beach.
In addition, the district has buildings designed by Russell Pancoast, one of the
City's best known architects from the 1930s; by Charles Inscho of Ohio; and by
A. Hensel Fink, national architect for the Methodist Church in the 1950s.
(6) Have yielded. or are likely to yield information imoortant in ore-history or
history:
The proposed Flamingo Waterway Historic District is significant for its built
environment and its association with the architectural and cultural history of
Miami Beach. It possesses an array of architectural styles that collectively trace
the historical progression of architectural design in Middle Beach from the mid
19205 to the early 19505, from one land development boom to another. It
includes both single and multi-family residences as well as a commercial
building and religious facilities. These buildings were designed in the
Mediterranean Revival, Med-Deco Transitional, and Post War Modern styles of
architecture by some of the best-known local architects of the time. Besides the
architecture, the Flamingo Waterway and Lake Surprise themselves date back
to the literal construction of the Miami Beach landscape in the 19208, and the
buildings here chronicle the City's development as a desirable tropical resort
and residential community over three decades.
(7) Be listed in the National Reaister of Historic Places:
Although this area is not presently listed in the National Register of Historic
Places, it appears to have clear potential to be determined to be eligible for
national historic designation.
(8) Consist of a aeoaraohically definable area that oossesses a sianificant
concentration of sites. buildinas or structures united by historically
sionificant oast events or aesthetically byolan or ohysical develooment.
whose comoonents may lack individual distinction:
This area is a geographically distinct concentration of mostly apartment
buildings that are located between two landmark features in Miami Beach:
Pinetree Drive and the Flamingo Waterway. The eight contributing properties,
built within only 27 years, provide an important concentration of historic
architectural styles united by and addressing their waterfront locations in a
unique way.
(b) A buildina. structure Uncludina the oublic oortions of the interior}. imorovement
or landscaoe feature may be desianated historic even if it has been altered if the
alteration is reversible and the most siQnificant architectural elements are intact
and reoairable.
Although a few of the buildings within the proposed Flamingo Waterway Historic District
have been altered to various extents over the years, these structures retain a major
amount of their original architectural design integrity and contribute to the special
Commission Memorandum of April 20, 2005
First and Only Reading Public Hearing - Historic Designation
Proposed Flamingo Waterway Historic District
Page 6 of 8
character of the neighborhood. Exterior restoration could be successfully completed by
following original architectural plans and available historical photographs and/or
documentation. Despite existing alterations to these structures, they continue to be
highly representative of the rich architectural and cultural history of Miami Beach.
ANALYSIS OF THE AMENDING ORDINANCE
In reviewing a request for an amendment to the Land Development Regulations ofthe City Code or
a change in land use, the Planning Board shall consider the following:
1. Whether the proposed change is consistent and compatible with the comprehensive plan and
any applicable neighborhood or redevelopment plans.
Consistent - The proposed historic designation is consistent with the Comprehensive Plan,
specifically with the Historic Preservation Element of the Comprehensive Plan's Objective No.1,
which states: "...increase the total number of structures designated as historically significant
from that number of structures designated in 1988, either individually or as a contributing
structure within a National Register Historic Preservation District or a local Historic Preservation
District."
2. Whether the proposed change would create an isolated district unrelated to adjacent or nearby
districts.
Consistent - The amendment would not change the underlying zoning district for any areas
within the City.
3. Whether the change suggested is out of scale with the needs of the neighborhood or the city.
Consistent - The designation of the area as a local historic district would help to encourage
redevelopment and rehabilitation that is compatible with the scale, characteristics, and needs of
the surrounding residential neighborhood and help to preserve the special architectural
character of the historic built environment.
4. Whether the proposed change would tax the existing load on public facilities and infrastructure.
Consistent - The LOS for the area public facilities and infrastructure should not be negatively
affected, if at all, by the proposed amending ordinance.
5. Whether existing district boundaries are illogically drawn in relation to existing conditions on the
property proposed for change.
Consistent - The proposed Flamingo Waterway Historic District is a clearly delineated
geographic entity that is united by its concentration of low-scale multi-family residences set
within a predominately single-family neighborhood. The boundaries of the proposed historic
district coincide with the RM-1, CD-1, and GU zoning districts in this area. The eastern and
southern borders of the proposed historic district are defined by Pinetree Drive and West 47th
Street, respectively. The Flamingo Waterway and Lake Surprise reinforce the natural
northwestern border of the proposed historic district. A detailed description of the proposed
boundaries is delineated within the attached Designation Report and amending Ordinance.
Commission Memorandum of April 20, 2005
First and Only Reading Public Hearing - Historic Designation
Proposed Flamingo Waterway Historic District
Page 7 of 8
6. Whether changed or changing conditions make the passage of the proposed change necessary.
Consistent - The success of historic preservation in the ongoing revitalization of Miami Beach
supports the protection of the proposed historic district. Past demolition of historic structures
demonstrates the necessity of this amendment to maintain the historical integrity of the area.
7. Whether the proposed change will adversely influence living conditions in the neighborhood.
Consistent - The proposed amendment should not adversely influence living conditions or the
quality of life for the surrounding properties. Indeed, the quality of living conditions in
designated historic areas has significantly improved since the City started designating historic
sites and districts. The thousands of Design Review approvals (both substantial rehabilitation
and minor improvements) within the existing historic districts demonstrate this principle.
8. Whether the proposed change will create or excessively increase traffic congestion beyond the
levels of service as set forth in the comprehensive plan or otherwise affect public safety.
Consistent - As historic designation does not change the permitted land uses, the levels of
service set forth in the Comprehensive Plan will not be affected. Likewise, public safety will not
be affected by historic designation.
9. Whether the proposed change will seriously reduce light and air to adjacent areas.
Consistent - If historic designation results in the retention of existing structures, there should be
no reduction in light and air either on site or to adjacent properties.
10. Whether the proposed change will adversely affect property values in the adjacent area.
Consistent - As property values and value of construction have historically increased in the
existing historic sites and districts, there is no evidence to suggest that designation would
adversely affect property values in the area surrounding the proposed historic designation. To
the contrary, the designation of the historic district should help to reinforce and promote
continuous quality enhancement of the area.
11. Whether the proposed change will be a deterrent to the improvement or development of
adjacent property in accordance with existing regulations.
Consistent - The proposed amendment will not change the development regulations for
adjacent properties, which must comply with their own site specific development regulations.
Furthermore, the proposed ordinance should not affect the ability for an adjacent property to be
developed in accordance with said regulations.
12. Whether there are substantial reasons why the property cannot be used in accordance with
existing zoning.
Consistent - The permitted land uses are not affected since the proposed amendment does not
change the underlying zoning district for any property.
Commission Memorandum of April 20, 2005
First and Only Reading Public Hearing - Historic Designation
Proposed Flamingo Waterway Historic District
Page 8 of 8
13. Whether it is impossible to find other adequate sites in the city for the proposed use in a district
already permitting such use.
Not Applicable
FISCAL IMPACT
The proposed amending ordinance has no associated negative fiscal impact upon enactment.
STAFF ANALYSIS
The proposed designation of the Flamingo Waterway Historic District is appropriate to protect the
aesthetic, architectural, and historical importance of the residential neighborhood. The positive
social and economic impact that preservation has had on the revitalization of Miami Beach is well
known. Local residents, as well as visitors from around the world, are seeking the very special
urban character of Miami Beach that the Planning Department seeks to preserve. Further,
alterations are permitted to historic structures provided that the changes are found to be appropriate
by the Historic Preservation Board.
Therefore, the Administration recommends that the Mayor and City Commission adopt the
proposed ordinance on first and only reading public hearing by designating the Flamingo Waterway
Historic District.
JMG:TH:JGG:WHC:SMA
F:\PLAN\$HPB\Flamingo Waterway\CC-1 strdg-memo.doc
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MAP 1: PROPOSED FLAMINGO WATERWAY HISTORIC DISTRICT
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FLAMINGO WATERWAY
HISTORIC DISTRICT
DESIGNATION REPORT
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Architect Charles L. Inscho's rendering of the Anglers Apartments, built in 1926 at 4812
Pine tree Drive, shows the Flamingo Waterway right outside the back door.
PREPARED BY
CITY OF MIAMI BEACH PLANNING DEPARTMENT
DECEMBER 14, 2004
Revised January 25, 2005
Revised April 20, 2005
CITY OF MIAMI BEACH
HISTORIC DISTRICT DESIGNATION REPORT
FLAMINGO WATERWAY HISTORIC DISTRICT
PREPARED BY
CITY OF MIAMI BEACH PLANNING DEPARTMENT
MIAMI BEACH CITY COMMISSION
David Dermer, Mayor
Luis R. Garcia, Jr., Vice Mayor
Commissioners:
Matti Herrera Bower
Simon Cruz
Saul Gross
Jose Smith
Richard L. Steinberg
Jorge M. Gonzalez, City Manager
2
CITY OF MIAMI BEACH HISTORIC PRESERVATION BOARD
Mitch Novick, Chair
Beth Dunlop, Vice Chair
Judith Berson-Levinson, Ed.D.
Allan Hall
Carie Penabad
Randall Robinson, Jr.
William Taylor
CITY OF MIAMI BEACH PLANNING BOARD
Victor Diaz, Chair
Joy Malakoff, Vice Chair
Theodore Berman
Marlo Courtney
Cathy Leff
Jean-Francois Lejeune
Jerry Libbin
CITY OF MIAMI BEACH PLANNING DEPARTMENT
Jorge G. Gomez, AICP, Director, Planning Department
William H. Cary, Assistant Planning Director
Thomas R. Mooney, AICP, Design and Preservation Manager
AUTHORS
Carolyn Klepser, Historical Research Consultant
Shannon M. Anderton, Senior Planner
EDITOR
William H. Cary, Assistant Planning Director
RESEARCHERS
Carolyn Klepser, Historical Research Consultant
Shannon M. Anderton, Senior Planner
MAP PRODUCTION
Juan Diaz, Planning Technician
Susana Alonso, Planner
3
FLAMINGO WATERWAY HISTORIC DISTRICT
CITY OF MIAMI BEACH
HISTORIC DISTRICT DESIGNATION REPORT
TABLE OF CONTENTS
I. REQUEST............................................................................................ 5
II. DESIGNATION PROCESS...... ........ .................... ........... ................... ...... 6
III. RELATION TO ORDINANCE CRITERIA.................................................... 7
IV. DESCRIPTION OF BOUNDARIES............................................................. 11
V. PRESENT OWNERS............................................................................... 11
VI. PRESENT USE...................................................................................... 12
VII. PRESENT ZONING................................................................................. 1 2
VIII. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND.................................................................. 1 3
IX. ARCHITECTURAL STylES...................................................................... 31
X. PLANNING DEPARTMENT RECOMMENDATIONS...................................... 41
XI. FIGURE INDEX..................................................................:................... 42
APPENDIX 1- PROPERTIES LIST....................................................................... 44
4
I. REQUEST
In September of 2003, the Planning Department received a request by local area
residents to place an item on the agenda of the Historic Preservation Board at their
next available meeting. This item of request was for the Historic Preservation Board to
consider directing the Planning Department to proceed with the historic designation
process for an area of the City generally located on the west side of Pinetree Drive
between West 47th Street and 4816 Pinetree Drive as a possible historic district.
On September 9, 2003, the Historic Preservation Board unanimously approved a
motion (7 to 0) to direct staff to schedule a special meeting of the Board in October of
2003, at which time the Board would consider directing staff to commence with the
historic designation process for a possible local historic district in the multi-family
residential area at West 47th Street and Pinetree Drive.
On October 22, 2003, the Historic Preservation Board unanimously approved a motion
(6 to 0; 1 absence) to direct the Planning Department to proceed with research and
prepare a preliminary evaluation and recommendation report for a possible historic
district that is generally bounded by the center line of West 47th Street to the south,
the eastern right-of-way line of Pinetree Drive to the east, the northern lot line of 4816
Pinetree Drive to the north, the western lot line of 353 West 4]lh Street to the West,
and the eastern bulkhead lines of the Flamingo Waterway and Lake Surprise to the
northwest (see Map 1).
On January 13, 2004, the Historic Preservation Board reviewed the preliminary
evaluation report with recommendations prepared by the Planning Department relative
to the designation of the proposed Flamingo Waterway Historic District. The Historic
Preservation Board unanimously approved a motion (5 to 0; 2 absences) to direct staff
to prepare a designation report and schedule a public hearing relative to the
designation of this proposed historic district.
On December 9, 2004, the Planning Department hosted a courtesy public workshop in
St. John's Methodist Church at 4760 Pinetree Drive within the proposed historic
district. The focus of the community workshop was to discuss the possible historic
designation of the Flamingo Waterway Historic District. About a dozen persons were
in attendance at the meeting. There was a consensus of support for the designation
of the proposed historic district; however, two attendees expressed a concern that
historic designation may preclude the future ability to demolish their residential
complex and construct a new structure above parking.
On December 14, 2004, the Historic Preservation Board reviewed the designation
report and unanimously approved a motion (7 to 0) to recommend approval of the
designation of the proposed Flamingo Waterway Historic District. At the same
meeting, the Board approved a motion to reclassify the status of the Regency House
apartments at 353 West 47th Street from "contributing" to "non-contributing."
5
On January 25, 2005, the Planning Board reviewed the designation report and
unanimously approved a motion (5 to 0; 2 absences) to recommend approval of the
designation of the proposed Flamingo Waterway Historic District.
II. DESIGNATION PROCESS
The process of historic designation is delineated in Sections 118-591 through 118-593
in Subpart B of the Land Development Regulations of the City Code (Chapter 118,
Article X, Division 4). An outline of this process is delineated below.
Step One: A request for designation is made either by the City Commission, the
Historic Preservation Board, other agencies and organizations as listed in
the Land Development Regulations of the City Code, or the property
owners involved. Proposals for designation shall include a completed
application form available from the Planning Department.
Step Two: The Planning Department prepares a preliminary evaluation report with
recommendations for consideration by the Board.
Step Three: The Historic Preservation Board considers the preliminary evaluation to
determine if proceeding with a designation report is warranted.
The designation report is an historical and architectural analysis of the
proposed district or site. The report:
1) describes the historic, architectural and/or archeological
significance of the property or subject area proposed for Historical
Site or District designation;
2) recommends Evaluation Guidelines to be used by the Board to
evaluate the appropriateness and compatibility of proposed
Developments affecting the designated Site or District; and
3) will serve as an attachment to the Land Development Regulations
of the City Code.
Step Four: The designation report is presented to the Board at a public hearing. If
the Board determines that the proposed site or district satisfies the
requirements for designation as set forth in the Land Development
Regulations of the City Code, the Board transmits a recommendation in
favor of designation to the Planning Board and City Commission.
Step Five: The Planning Board will hold a public hearing on the proposed
designation, and shall consider the proposed historic designation as an
6
amendment to the Land Development Regulations of the City Code and,
subsequently, transmit its recommendation to the City Commission.
Step Six:
The City Commission may adopt an amendment to the Land
Development Regulations of the City Code which thereby designates the
Historic Preservation Site or Historic District after one (1) public hearing
for a parcel of land less than ten (10) contiguous acres or after two (2)
public hearings for a parcel of land which is more than ten (10)
contiguous acres.
III. RELATION TO ORDINANCE CRITERIA
1. In accordance with Section 118-592 in the Land Development Regulations of
the City Code, eligibility for designation is determined on the basis of
compliance with the listed criteria set forth below.
(a) The Historic Preservation Board shall have the authority to recommend
that properties be designated as historic buildings, historic structures,
historic improvements, historic landscape features, historic interiors
(architecturally significant public portions only), historic sites or historic
districts if they are significant in the historical, architectural, cultural,
aesthetic or archeological heritage of the city, the county, state or
nation. Such properties shall possess an integrity of location, design,
setting, materials, workmanship, feeling or association and meet at least
one (1) of the following criteria:
(1) Association with events that have made a significant contribution
to the history of the city, the county, state or nation;
(2) Association with the lives of persons significant in the city's past
history;
(3) Embody the distinctive characteristics of an historical period,
architectural or design style or method of construction;
(4) Possesses high artistic values;
(5) Represent the work of a master, serve as an outstanding or
representative work of a master designer, architect or builder who
contributed to our historical, aesthetic or architectural heritage;
(6) Have yielded, or are likely to yield information important in pre-
history or history;
(7) Be listed in the National Register of Historic Places;
7
(8) Consist of a geographically definable area that possesses a
significant concentration of sites, buildings or structures united by
historically significant past events or aesthetically by plan or
physical development, whose components may lack individual
distinction.
(b) A building, structure (including the public portions of the interior),
improvement or landscape feature may be designated historic even if it
has been altered if the alteration is reversible and the most significant
architectural elements are intact and repairable.
2. The proposed Flamingo Waterway Historic District is eligible for historic
designation as it complies with the criteria as specified in Section 118-592 in
the Land Development Regulations of the City Code outlined above.
(a) Staff finds the proposed historic district to be eligible for historic
designation and in conformance with the designation criteria for the
following reasons:
( 1 ) Association with events that have made a siQnificant contribution
to the history of the city, the county, state or nation;
Several structures in the proposed historic district provide a
tangible link to the 1920s Florida Boom, which nearly rivaled the
California gold rush in its speculative frenzy. The Flamingo
Waterway itself is a remnant of the dredging and land fill
processes that literally created much of Miami Beach's land mass
in its early history. Two 1926 apartment buildings are testimonials
to the days of financial boom and investment when this
neighborhood was newly annexed into the City of Miami Beach.
The post-Word War II apartment buildings reflect the increased
demand for affordable housing in that era largely due to the
benefits of the G.I. Bill and a once again booming economy.
(2) Association with the lives of persons siQnificant in the city's past
history;
This area is most closely connected to Carl G. Fisher, the prime
developer of Miami Beach in the 1 920s, whose Miami Beach Bay
Shore Company dredged Lake Surprise and its waterways in 1923
and then platted this land for development in 1925. There is also
an important connection with nationally-known business man and
"dime-store" magnate Sebastian S. Kresge, who provided the
property here for St. John's Methodist Church and its parsonage
at 4760 and 4764 Pinetree Drive, respectively.
8
(3) Embody the distinctive characteristics of an historical period,
architectural or desiQn style or method of construction;
This assemblage of eight contributing properties includes two
Mediterranean Revival style apartment buildings that are typical of
Florida architecture in the 1920s, and one example of a
Mediterranean Revival-Art Deco Transitional residence from the
1930s. A majority of the buildings in the proposed historic district
are prime examples of Post War Modern style apartment houses
that were popularized here and elsewhere in Miami Beach with the
societal and economic changes following World War II. Not only
did building materials and forms undergo changes at this time, but
the City also wrestled with zoning variances and later zoning
district changes as the era of private estates gave way to multi-
family housing for the middle-class.
(4) Possess hiQh artistic values;
By definition, these neighborhood buildings are not grandiose, but
they admirably reflect the artistic values and design influences of
their times and accomplish their aim of providing comfortable and
affordable housing with skill and charm. Detailed workmanship is
found in all of these structures.
(5) Represent the work of a master, serve as an outstandinQ or
representative work of a master desiQner, architect or builder who
contributed to our historical, aesthetic or architectural heritaQe;
The post-World War II era in architecture is now coming to be
appreciated in South Florida and elsewhere in the nation. Its
masters have not yet become household names, but Norman
Giller, Gilbert Fein, Donald Reiff, and M. Tony Sherman are among
the best known locally and are well-represented by excellent
works in the proposed historic district and elsewhere in Miami
Beach. In addition, the district has buildings designed by Russell
Pancoast, one of the City's best known architects from the
1930s; by Charles Inscho of Ohio; and by A. Hensel Fink, national
architect for the Methodist Church in the 1950s.
(6) Have yielded, or are likely to yield information important in pre-
history or history;
The proposed Flamingo Waterway Historic District is significant for
its built environment and its association with the architectural and
cultural history of Miami Beach. It possesses an array of
9
architectural styles that collectively trace the historical progression
of architectural design in Middle Beach from the mid 1920s to the
early 1950s, from one land development boom to another. It
includes both single and multi-family residences as well as a
commercial building and religious facilities. These buildings were
designed in the Mediterranean Revival, Med-Deco Transitional, and
Post War Modern styles of architecture by some of the best-
known local architects of the time. Besides the architecture, the
Flamingo Waterway and Lake Surprise themselves date back to
the literal construction of the Mi~mi Beach landscape in the
1920s, and the buildings here chronicle the City's development as
a desirable tropical resort and residential community over three
decades.
(7) Be listed in the National ReQister of Historic Places;
Although this area is not presently listed in the National Register of
Historic Places, it appears to have clear potential to be determined
to be eligible for national historic designation.
(8) Consist of a QeoQraphically definable area that possesses a
siQnificant concentration of sites, buildinQs or structures united by
historically siQnificant past events or aesthetically by plan or
physical development, whose components may lack individual
distinction;
This area is a geographically distinct concentration of mostly
apartment buildings that are located between two landmark
features in Miami Beach: Pinetree Drive and the Flamingo
Waterway. The eight contributing properties, built within only 27
years, provide an important concentration of historic architectural
styles united by and addressing their waterfront locations in a
unique way.
(b) A buildinQ, structure (includinQ the public portions of the interior),
improvement or landscape feature may be desiQnated historic even if it
has been altered if the alteration is reversible and the most siQnificant
architectural elements are intact and repairable.
Although a few of the buildings within the proposed Flamingo Waterway
Historic District have been altered to various extents over the years,
these structures retain a major amount of their original architectural
design integrity and contribute to the special character of the
neighborhood. Exterior restoration could be successfully completed by
following original architectural plans and available historical photographs
10
and/or documentation. Despite existing alterations to these structures,
they continue to be highly representative of the rich architectural and
cultural history of Miami Beach.
IV. DESCRIPTION OF BOUNDARIES
The proposed Flamingo Waterway Historic District is generally bounded by the center
line of West 47th Street to the south, the eastern right-of-way line of Pinetree Drive to
the east, the northern lot line of 4816 Pinetree Drive to the north, the western lot line
of 353 West 47th Street to the West, and the eastern bulkhead lines of the Flamingo
Waterway and Lake Surprise to the northwest (see Map 1). A detailed legal
description of the boundaries for the proposed historic district is provided below.
The boundaries of the Flamingo Waterway Historic District commence at
the point of intersection of the center line of West 47th Street and the
eastern right-of-way line of Pinetree Drive, as shown in the LAKE VIEW
SUBDIVISION, recorded in Plat Book 14, at Page 42, Public Records of
Miami-Dade County, Florida. Said point being the POINT OF BEGINNING
of the tract of land herein described; thence run northerly, along the
eastern right-of-way line of said Pinetree Drive to the point of intersection
with the easterly extension of the north line of Lot 20, Block 32, of the
above mentioned LAKE VIEW SUBDIVISION; thence run westerly, along
the north line of said lot 20 to the point of intersection with the eastern
bulkhead line of the Flamingo Waterway; thence run southwesterly, along
the eastern bulkhead lines of the Flamingo Waterway and Lake Surprise
to a point. Said point being located 35.07 feet west (measured at a right
angle) of the east line of Lot 11, Block 32, of the above mentioned LAKE
VIEW SUBDIVISION; thence run southerly, along a line parallel and 35.07
feet west (measured at a right angle) of the east line of said Lot 11, and
its southerly extension to the point of intersection with the center line of
West 47th Street; thence run easterly, along the center line of said West
47th Street to the POINT OF BEGINNING. Said lands located, lying and
being in the City of Miami Beach, Miami-Dade County, Florida.
The location of these boundaries has been determined through careful investigation
and research of building records and historical documentation. They define a
geographic area which possesses a significant concentration of historic buildings.
V. PRESENT OWNERS
The property located within the boundaries of the proposed Flamingo Waterway
Historic District is held by multiple owners.
1 1
VI. PRESENT USE
The current use within the boundaries of the proposed historic district is predominately
multi-family with apartment buildings, condominiums, and co-operatives. Other
current uses represented in the district include a religious facility, a mixed-use building,
two private parking lots, and a municipal parking lot.
VII. PRESENT ZONING
The established zoning districts within the boundaries of the proposed Flamingo
Waterway Historic District are as follows:
RM-1 Multi-Family, Low Intensity
CD-1 Commercial, Low Intensity
GU Government Use
These zoning districts coincide with the boundaries of the proposed historic district.
Please refer to the zoning map for more detailed information (Map 2).
12
MAP 1: PROPOSED FLAMINGO WATERWAY HISTORIC DISTRICT
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VIII. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
The proposed Flamingo Waterway Historic District consists of eight contributing
properties along Pinetree Drive and West 47th Street in the Lake View Subdivision.
They line the eastern bank of the Flamingo Waterway, which leads from Lake
Surprise to Indian Creek. The lake, waterway, and Pinetree Drive itself are all
intimately tied into Miami Beach's early history. In addition, this small collection of
buildings, constructed between 1926 and 1953, provides a sample of residential,
commercial and institutional architecture in Miami Beach in the prime years of its
development.
Earlv Development. Even before Miami
Beach was incorporated as a town in
1 91 5, most of the arable land west of
Indian Creek and north of present-day
23rd Street was cultivated by Miami
Beach pioneer and horticulturist John S.
Collins of Moorestown, New Jersey.
Pinetree Drive was originally Collins' farm
road and was named for the Australian
Pine trees he planted as a windbreak to
protect his plantings. (A portion of the
Pinetree Drive roadway between 30th i!
Street and 46th Street was designated as
a local historic site in 2001.)
In addition to agriculture, Collins and his
family, who had joined him in Florida,
founded the Miami Beach Improvement
Company in 1912 to venture into real
estate development. Although interrupted
by World War I, the Collins/Pancoast
family's vision of Miami Beach as a
seaside resort began to take shape in the
1920s as part of the great "Florida
Boom." During that decade, the
population of Miami Beach increased
tenfold,' the County and Venetian
Causeways were built across Biscayne
Bay, grand hotels and luxurious winter
estates sprang up along the shorelines,
and the real estate market was in a frenzy. John Collins' first love, agriculture,
finally gave way to the development trend. By 1926, as he neared the age of 90,
Figure 1 This 1921 Sanborn map shows the
original city limits of Miami Beach near 46th
Street. Here the Biscayne Waterway is identified,
but lake Surprise and its other two waterways
are not yet named. The proposed historic district
is situated north of West 47th Street on the west
side of Pinetree Drive. John Collins' farmland, the
Miami Beach Orchards, is seen to the south.
1 Keith Root, Miami Beach Art Deco Guide, Miami Design Preservation league, 1987, pp. 20 and 26.
13
Collins platted his former farmland between 30th and 45th Streets as the four
"Orchard" subdivisions.
At the time of Miami Beach's incorporation in 1915, the northern city limits were set
along the midline of State-surveyed Sections 22 and 23 near present-day 46th Street
(see Figure 1). The area encompassed by the proposed historic district did not
become a part of Miami Beach until July 1, 1924, when the city limits were
extended to their present location at 87th Terrace. This action immediately doubled
the City's territory.
Another important part of Miami
Beach's early growth was the literal
creation of new real estate by
dredging and bulkheading the
shallows of Biscayne Bay and the
inland waterways. Carl Fisher and
the Lummus brothers began filling
in the bayfront in South Beach in
1913. Besides digging the Collins
Canal, the Collins/Pancoast family
dredged Lake Pancoast, a natural
marshland, at about the same time.
A swampy Bull's Island was filled
in with dredged material in 1913
and was renamed Belle Isle a year
later. Star Island was created
around 1918, followed by
Monument, Palm and Hibiscus Islands, the remaining Venetian Isles, LaGorce,
Allison, and the four Sunset Islands. Normandy Isle was a natural landmass that
was filled in by dredges about 1924.
Figure 2 This 1923 photograph by Claude Matlack is
labeled, "The 'Norman Davis' suction dredge in the canal
leading into Surprise Lake." It is not known which of the
lake's three waterways is seen here.
As part of these efforts, Lake Surprise and its three waterways (Surprise, Biscayne,
and Flamingo) were dredged in the summer of 1923 (see Figure 2). A letter to Carl
Fisher from the Clark Dredging Company of Galveston, Texas, dated August 9,
1923, gives the following progress report:
All of Surprise Waterway and Biscayne Waterway are completed. Both
of these jobs were considered the slowest part of the work. The
dredge "Davis" should complete Lake Surprise this month and
Flamingo Waterway during September. 2
Carl Fisher's Miami Beach Bay Shore Company platted the Beach View Subdivision,
just north of the Flamingo Waterway, in 1924 and the Lake View Subdivision,
2 Historical Museum of Southern Florida, Carl Fisher Papers, Dredging File, 9 August 1923.
14
flanking the Flamingo Waterway, in 1925.3 The plat of the Lake View Subdivision
was signed on March 3, 1925, by W.A. Kohlhepp, company vice-president, and
C.W. Chase, Jr., secretary.4 Just four days later, the Allison Island drawbridge
was dedicated; it connected both Pinetree Drive and Alton Road to the oceanfront
at 63rd Street. This event had an important effect on the development of the Lake
Surprise area. It provided increased accessibility to the beach, since the bridge
over Indian Creek at 41 st Street had not yet been built. On March 6, 1925, the
Miami Daily News proclaimed:
The Allison Island bridge is probably one of the most important
developments of Miami Beach. It will not only serve the vast area of
residential property north of [the] Collins canal, including the new
Fisher sub-divisions north of Surprise Lake, but will furnish a direct
route from the causeway to the north ocean front via Alton Road and
63rd Street. It is the only connection with the ocean from the
mainland, north of 23rd Street, where a small bridge crosses the
Collins canal. 5
There are several indications that the area around Lake Surprise was originally
envisioned for hotel development. Carl Fisher built his King Cole Hotel on the
lake's western shore in 1925 (now the site of the Miami Heart Institute). In
addition, minutes of the Zoning Board of Adjustment from 1944 state that a large
lot in Block 31 of the Lake View Subdivision, at the northeastern corner of Lake
Surprise, was "originally plotted to be used for a hotel site, but under the original
zoning of the city in 1930 it was classified in a single-family estate district.,16 This
change in intention from hotel to residential use may have been due to the collapse
of the Florida Boom following the great hurricane of 1926.
The properties in the proposed Flamingo Waterway Historic District are situated on
Lots 11 through 20 of Block 32 in the Lake View Subdivision. This block originally
had 29 lots that wrapped around the southeastern corner of Lake Surprise. At the
time the subdivision was filed for record on April 14, 1925, Lot 13 of Block 32
encompassed a large area at the northwestern corner of Pinetree Drive and West
47th Street.7 (West 47th Court did not exist at that time.) It is possible that this
site, like the other large lot across the waterway, may have been considered for the
development of a hotel. However, on February 9, 1926, the Miami Beach Bay
Shore Company filed for record a new plat which subdivided Lot 13 into 13 smaller
lots. In the following month, a building permit was issued for the Community
Center Apartments (now the Berwick Building) to be constructed on five of these
3 Atlas of Miami Beach to Golden Beach, Florida (Ft. Lauderdale, Florida: Frank B. Dolph, 1944), plate 12.
4 City of Miami Beach, Public Works Department, plat 47 A, "Lake View Subdivision," Miami Beach Bay Shore
Company, filed for record 14 April 1925. Plat Book 14, Page 42, in Dade County, Florida.
5 "Allison Island Span is Ready for Dedication," Miami Dailv News, 6 March 1925, p. 23.
6 City of Miami Beach, Planning Department, Zoning Board of Adjustment, Minutes, 18 December 1944.
7 City of Miami Beach, Public Works Department, plat 47 A, "Lake View Subdivision," Miami Beach Bay Shore
Company, filed for record 14 April 1925, Plat Book 14, Page 42, in Dade County, Florida.
15
smaller lots. The replatting of Lot 13 also created West 47th Court as a through-
street that extended north to Lot 14 and opened onto both West 47th Street and
Pinetree Drive.8 There is evidence in a 1941 aerial photograph that West 47th
Court did in fact originally have this configuration, although it was not paved.s
The eight other subdivided lots from the original Lot 13 were again replatted on
November 25, 1947, by Gebhard Jaeger and his wife Rose, to form "Tract A" and
"Tract B." Esquire House and the Lighthouse Apartments now stand on these
tracts. This 1947 plat amendment also truncated 47th Court to form a cul-de-sac.lO
(See Figures 3 and 4.)
Figures 3 and 4 These City atlas maps from 1935 (Figure 3, left) and 1952 (Figure 4, right) show the
evolution of the area at the northwestern corner of West 47th Street and Pinetree Drive. The properties in
the proposed historic district are situated on Lots 11 through 20 of Block 32 in the Lake View Subdivision
(platted in 1925). Notice the change in West 47th Court from a winding lane to a cul-de-sac. The very large
Lot 13 in this block was first parceled into 13 smaller lots in 1926 (see 1935 map, left), and some of these
lots were later reconfigured as Tracts A and Bin 1947 (see 1952 map, right). Also, the 1935 map shows
only three buildings in the area of the proposed historic district: the Community Center Apartments, the
house at 4764 Pinetree Drive, and the Pinetree Drive Apartments (originally the Anglers). In comparison,
most of the structures in the district area are visible in the 1952 map. with the exception of the apartment
houses at 4800 Pinetree and 353 West 47th Street (later built in 1953 and 1962, respectively).
B City of Miami Beach, Public Works Department. plat 47C, "Plat of Lot 13, Block 32, Lake View Subdivision,"
Miami Beach Bay Shore Co., filed for record 9 February 1926, Plat Book 27, Page 17, in Dade County, Florida.
9 City of Miami Beach, Public Works Department, Aerial Survey of Miami Beach, Florida (Lansing, Michigan:
Abrams Aerial Survey Corporation, June 1941), sheet 138.
10 City of Miami Beach, Public Works Department, plat 47B, "Amended Plat of Lot 13, Block 32, Lake View
Subdivision," filed for record 25 November 1947, Plat Book 47, Page 105, in Dade County, Florida.
16
Zonina. When the City adopted
its first zoning ordinance in
1930, the area within the
proposed historic district was
classified as R-C or single-family
estate. In fact, nearly all of the
waterfront lots in Carl Fisher's
properties between 4Th Street
and 60th Street were zoned for
single-family estate, with a
minimum lot area that ranged
from 40,000 square feet in R-
AA to 10,000 square feet in R-
C. The inland lots were zoned
for more modest single-family
homes with a minimum lot area
of 6,000 square feet in H-D (see
Figure 5).
~
~
Figure 5 This map shows the zoning districts around Lake
Surprise as they were first codified in 1930. The R-AA, R-A,
R-B, and R-C districts lining the waterfronts were for single-
family estates. The landlocked R-D districts were for single-
family homes on smaller lots. Note the two R-E districts for
multi-family residences and hotels: the one on the western
shore of Lake Surprise (left) was the site of Carl Fisher's King
Cole Hotel; and the one on the southeastern shore of the lake
was where the Community Center Apartments had been built
in 1926.
Two exceptions to the estate
classification for waterfront lots
in this area were the site of the
King Cole Hotel on Lake Surprise
(previously mentioned) and the
site of the Community Center
Apartments at 311-335 West
47th Street (including Lot 12 and
the original Lot 13 in this block, all within the proposed historic district). These
areas were zoned R-E or multi-family. (Hotels were also a permitted use in this
zoning district.) 11
Fulfilling the intention of the single-family estate zoning, many wealthy
industrialists built luxurious winter homes along Collins Avenue and Pinetree Drive
in the 1920s and 1930s. Directly across Pinetree Drive from the Community
Center Apartments was "Casa del Robador" belonging to Commodore Robert Law,
#noted financier, sportsman, and world traveler# from New York12 (see Figure 6).
Other estates on the east side of Pinetree Drive in this area, on large lots facing
onto Indian Creek, were those of Dr. L.O. Bricker; John Porter of Hartford,
Connecticut; George H. Phelps, in advertising, from Detroit; and John H.
Strongman, retired.13
11 City of Miami Beach, Planning Department, Zoning Ordinance No. 289, approved by City Council on 3
December 1930.
12 Historical Museum of Southern Florida, F.F. Stearns, "Along Greater Miami's Sun-Sea-Ara," (booklet) 1932,
p. 19.
13 Ibid.
17
The BuildinQs. The two oldest
structures in the proposed Flamingo
Waterway Historic District were
permitted for construction in the
spring of 1926. The first one was
the Community Center Apartments
at 311-335 West 47th Street. It
was originally designed in the
Mediterranean Revival style by Ohio
architect Charles L. Inscho. The
two-story building has 10
storefronts and a small lobby on
the first floor; the lobby has a
stairway that connects to the
apartments on the second floor. It
appears that the south and west
elevations of the structure were
modified by architects John and
Coulton Skinner into a modest Streamline Moderne design in 1940. However,
some architectural elements still survive from the original 1926 Mediterranean.
Revival design on the interior and exterior of the building, particularly on the north
elevation fronting West 47th Court. The Community Center Apartments was
renamed the Berwick Building sometime in the 1940s,14 which it is still called
today.
Figure 6 This 1930 photo was taken looking westward
from the Robert Law mansion at 4701 Pinetree Drive (now
demolished). It shows the Community Center Apartments
across from the entry gate and a view down West 47th
Street.
Figure 7 The Anglers Apartments was built at 4812
Pinetree Drive in 1926. This photo was taken of its east
elevation facing the street two years later. Note the sign
at left advertising that this building is a co-operative.
.i/11
The second structure to be built in
the proposed historic district was
the Anqlers Apartments at 4812
Pinetree Drive (see Figures 7 and
8). It was also designed in the
Mediterranean Revival style by the
same architect, Charles L. Inscho,
in 1926. The three-story apartment
house has a central courtyard and a
three-story high veranda on the rear
elevation overlooking the
waterway. It was probably named
for the fishing prospects right
outside the back door. The
structure was renamed Pinetree
Drive Apartments sometime in the
mid 1 930s.
14 Historical Museum of Southern Florida, City Directories, 1944 to 1977.
18
An advertisement from 1928 gives summer rates for apartment rentals in these
two buildings. Accommodations for four people cost $45 to $75 a month at the
Community Centre (sic) Apartments, and $75 to $150 a month at the Anglers
Apartments in that year.15
Figure 8 The Community Center Apartments (center left) and Anglers Apartments (center right) are
all that stand on the eastern shore of Lake Surprise in this 1927 aerial photo. A third building by
architect Charles L. Inscho, the Bay Shore Apartments, is seen at West 51st Street and Cherokee
Avenue (upper right). Notice also Carl Fisher's polo fields for the Nautilus Hotel north of West 41st
Street (upper left) as well as the Australian pines that line Pinetree Drive (middle left).
15 Historical Museum of Southern Florida, Pamphlets - Miami Beach File, "The Lure of Miami Beach," (pamphlet)
1928.
19
,. J""';Ii'
The next structure to appear in the proposed historic district was a single-family
residence for owner Joseph H. Assel at 4764 Pinetree Drive (see Figures 9 and
11). Built in 1934, the two-story residence was designed in the Mediterranean
Revival-Art Deco Transitional style by architect Russell T. Pancoast, who was the
grandson of John'S. Collins. This home now serves as the parsonage for St.
John's Methodist Church.
Nothing else was built on these lots until after World War II. The six other
properties in the proposed historic district were constructed within a fourteen-year
span (1948-1962) during the post-war building boom, when a debate about land
use in this area took place. It began with the proposal for a church at 4760
Pinetree Drive. Playing an integral role in its creation was dime-store magnate
Sebastian S. Kresge (see Figure 10).
Figure 9 This 1935 aerial photo was taken above Indian Creek looking towards the west. A portion
of the Anglers Apartments is seen at 4812 Pinetree Drive (middle far right). The J.H. Assel
residence, which was designed by Russell Pancoast a year earlier, is visible just to its south; it now
serves as the parsonage for St. John's Methodist Church. Across the Flamingo Waterway, to the
west of this residence, is the point of land that was originally envisioned as a hotel site. Carl Fisher's
King Cole Hotel is' present on the western shore of Lake Surprise (top right). Note the large single-
family estates built on the east side of Pinetree Drive along the Indian Creek waterfront, including the
U-shaped Robert Law property at the end of West 47th Street across from the Community Center
Apartments.
20
Kresge was one of the many northern
millionaires who became winter residents
of Miami Beach in the 1920s and 1930s.
He had started as a Pennsylvania farm
boy, teacher, bookkeeper, and salesman
who invested in two dime-stores in
Memphis and Detroit in 1897. Two years
later he formed the S.S. Kresge Company
in Detroit, and its red-fronted dime-stores
became an American institution. Kresge
Department Stores, headquartered in
Newark, New Jersey, was started in
1923. Mindful of his own rags-to-riches
story, Kresge established the philanthropic
Kresge Foundation of Detroit in 1924. By
1937, Kresge owned 739 stores in 26
states, Washington, D.C., and Canada.16
Figure 10 Sebastian S. Kresge, of dime-store
fame, was a major benefactor to the Methodist
congregation who built their new church at 4760
Pinetree Drive in 1949.
In 1930, Kresge bought a house for himself and his wife Clara at 5625 Pinetree
Drive in Miami Beach.17 He also dealt in land development here:
Wishing to have a part in the development of Miami Beach, he is
engaging in real estate by selling beautiful tropical homes located in
the choicest sections of the beach. 18
In 1936, the Kresges platted five lots on the east side of Pinetree Drive at the
mouth of the Flamingo Waterway as the Kresge Subdivision.19
Previously, in 1924, the First United Methodist congregation had organized in
Ocean Beach20 and built a church at 550 Jefferson Avenue. By the end of World
War II, the City's residential population was moving northward into Middle Beach,
so the congregation looked for a new location to better serve its members. In
1946, the Kresge Foundation donated the land at 4760 Pinetree Drive as the site
for a new church building,21 but it did not come easily.
As mentioned earlier, the land north of the original Lot 13 in this block had been
zoned single-family estate in 1930. Therefore, the First United Methodist
congregation had to seek approval for a special use variance from the Zoning Board
of Adjustment and City Council in order to construct their new church on Lot 1 5.
In addition, this site was located immediately south of the single-family residence
16 Society Pictorial, 20 February 1937, p. 19.
17 Ibid., p. 30.
18 Ibid., p. 19.
19 City of Miami Beach, Public Works Department, plat 48C, "Kresge Subdivision," 5.5. Kresge and his wife
Clara, approved by Dade County Commission on 3 June 1936, Plat Book 39, Page 30.
20 Paul N. Jewett, Window and Witness, St. John's on the Lake First United Methodist Church, Miami Beach,
1985, p. 12.
21 "Beach Methodists to Begin Building," Miami News, 19 February 1949.
21
at 4764 Pinetree Drive. When the
owner of this house strongly
objected to having a church next
door, Kresge himself purchased the
house for the church to use as a
parsonage, which it remains today
(see Figure 11).
~~
'r-il
~
''\;j
"W
In 1946, when the Zoning Board of
Adjustment debated the
construction of a church in an area
zoned for single-family estates, the
argument was made that this site
was situated between two non-
conforming apartment buildings:
the Anglers Apartments to the
north and the Community Center
Apartments to the south. It was
felt that the lot was no longer suitable for a private residence and that a church
should be permitted. In April of 1946, a special use variance for the new church
was approved by the Zoning Board of Adjustment and City Council with two
conditions: that the single-family residence located immediately to the north of the
proposed church site be acquired to serve as a buffer to the surrounding residentiaL
neighborhood, and that off-street parking be provided on the lot to the south.22
Figure 11 The site for St. John's Methodist Church at
4760 Pinetree Drive was dedicated on May 12, 1946.
The single-family home at 4764 Pinetree Drive is seen in
the background of this photo. It now serves as the
parsonage for the church. Both the land and the house
were given to the congregation by Sebastian Kresge.
Figure 12 This rendering shows architect A. Hensel Fink's
proposal for the new Methodist church on Pinetree Drive.
The parsonage is seen at right; it was designed by Russell
Pancoast as a residence in 1934. The wing at left.
housing a chapel and church school, was never built.
St. John's on the Lake First United
Methodist Church, as the new
church was named, was built in
1949. It was designed in the Post
War Modern style by A. Hensel
Fink, a nationally-known architect
for the Methodist Church, with
Robert M. Little as local associate
(see Figure 12). The first service of
worship was held in the new
sanctuary on November 27, 1949.
A rear addition for a social hall and
chapel was built in 1958; it was
designed by Alexander Lewis.23
This addition did not meet the rear
setback requirement, but again a
22 City of Miami Beach, Planning Department, Zoning Board of Adjustment, Minutes, 25 March 1946 and 8
April 1946; and City Clerk's Office, City Council Records, Minutes, 17 April 1946.
23 Paul N. Jewett, Window and Witness, St. John's on the Lake First United Methodist Church, Miami Beach,
1985, pp. 19-25 and 30.
22
Two more multi-family residential
properties were built in the proposed
historic district in 1950. One was the
Lake View Apartments (now Pine Tree
Palms condominium) at 4780 Pinetree
Drive. A special use variance was
granted to build an apartment house on this site within a single-family estate zoning
district in 1947 (amended 1950). The owners, Dave and Mary Alper, contended
that the property was unsuitable for single-family use because it was located
between a church to the south (St. John's) and a non-conforming apartment house
to the north (the Anglers). 25 The 10-unit, two-story apartment house was designed
by Gilbert Fein in the Post War Modern style.
variance was granted by the Zoning Board
of Adjustment with the condition that the
church maintain the adjoining lot to the
south as a parking lot.24
While the church was being debated, the
Pinetree Apartments was built at 4730-
4740 Pinetree Drive in 1948. The site
was located in the new Tract A of the
original Lot 13 in this block, which was
already zoned for multi-family residences.
The two-story building was designed by
noted architect Norman GilleT as a garden
apartment in the Post War Modern style.
It has a pair of bar-shaped building wings
that flank a central courtyard and are
connected by a grand "proscenium" on
the east elevation facing Pinetree Drive.
The structure is now a co-operative
apartment house called Lighthouse
Apartments.
. .
'\DS"Q"'U" 'I"R'E' MHC..O'....O.'liL!,'.
~ ' ~ ".,..: ; l~'.':'"
4710 ''In.. Tr.. Drl.... . Mlafl'll .,lth' ".JEfftrlO~ '.~'31'
"ltf,lctllll"":""Y""pl.-.lIc.olt~l. .
"SUCCESSFULLYO~ERATlNG WITH HAPPY OWNERS!"
Figure 13 Two of the four buildings that comprise
the Esquire House apartments are seen in this
1963 ad. They were originally called Surprise
Lake Apartments when they were built in 1950.
The other residential property built here in 1950 was the Surprise Lake Apartments
(now Esquire House co-op), an ensemble of four two-story buildings at 4710-4720
Pinetree Drive (see Figure 13). The site was located in Tract B of the original Lot
13 in this block, and it was within the multi-family zoning district. The buildings
were designed by M. Tony Sherman in the Post War Modern style. An
advertisement and newspaper article from 1963 quotes prices for a one-bedroom
24 City of Miami Beach, Planning Department, Zoning Board of Adjustment, Minutes, 28 June 1957 and 25
July 1957; and ZBA File #Z-10, amendment to variance, approved 31 March 1958.
25 City of Miami Beach, Planning Department, Zoning Board of Adjustment, Minutes, 13 May 1947 and 9 May
1950.
23
apartment here at $9,500 and a two-bedroom at $15,250; amenities included a
private entrance to each apartment, an Olympic-sized pool, and a private dock on
Lake Surprise. At that time it was already called Esquire House, and it had been a
non-profit co-op for two years. The community spirit here was remarkable, with
the residents holding frequent communal cook-outs on the patio:
The whole atmosphere was inspiring, the beautiful view of the sun
setting over the wide span of water, the colorful landscaping with all
manner of tropical plantings, and the tremendous dock
accommodating a half a dozen boats at one time. ... There is but one
way to term a co-op a true success...by incorporating a congenial
group of people to live co-operatively in the true sense of the word,
bound together with ties of friendship. 26
In 1953, a new residential property was added to the proposed historic district
called 4800 Pinetree Drive. Like its neighbor to the south (Lake View Apartments),
a special use variance was required in order to build an apartment house on this
site within a single-family estate zoning district. The owner, Max Goldhoff, argued
through his attorney that "the property could not be given away" for single-family
use because it was situated between two apartment buildings.27 The special use
variance was granted for the ten-unit, two-story apartment house at 4800 Pinetree
Drive in October of 1953.28 The building was designed by Donald Reiff in the Post
War Modern style.
In August of 1959, the City acquired by eminent domain a portion of Tract B in this
block at 4700 Pinetree Drive. It was an effort to provide off-street parking in the
area. This site remains a municipal parking lot today.29
The last building to appear in the proposed historic district was the Reqency House,
a nine-story apartment building at 353 West 47th Street. This site was located
within the multi-family zoning district. Completed in 1963, the apartment house
was designed by MacKay & Gibbs in the Post War Modern style, completing this
assemblage of mid-century residential structures.
It was not until 1972 that the City approved a zoning district change for this area
from single-family estate to multi-family. The existing multi-family zoning district at
the northwestern corner of West 47th Street and Pinetree Drive was expanded
northward to 4816 Pinetree Drive. (The boundaries of the proposed historic district
coincide with the expanded boundaries of the multi-family zoning district.) This
change in zoning classification from single-family estate to multi-family may have
26 Dale S. Renault, "Life Has Meaning at Esquire Apts.," Miami Beach Dailv Sun, 2 June 1963, pp. 17-18 B.
27 City of Miami Beach, Planning Department, Zoning Board of Adjustment, Minutes, 18 September 1953.
28 City of Miami Beach, Planning Department, Zoning Board of Adjustment, Minutes, 18 September 1953, 19
October 1953, and 29 October 1953.
29 City of Miami Beach, City Clerk's Office, Archives, 4700 Pinetree Drive, Warranty Deed 161, 6 August
1959; Resolution No. 9789, adopted 18 June 1958; and Resolution No.1 0142, adopted 1 June 1959.
24
been made to better reflect the as-built conditions and multi-family residential use
of the northern lots in the district. It also brought the three non-conforming
apartment houses at 4780, 4800, and 4812 Pinetree Drive into conformance with
the new underlying multi-family zoning district. Two other zoning changes
occurred later within the boundaries of the proposed historic district. In 1983, the
municipal parking lot at 4700 Pinetree Drive was reclassified from multi-family
residential to municipal or government use. About six years later, the site of the
Community Center Apartments (now the Berwick Building) at 311-335 West 4]lh
Street was reclassified from multi-family residential to commercial, low intensity. 30
The Architects.
Gilbert M. Fein (1919-2003) was born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1919, and he
graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Architecture from New York University in
1942. He served in the Army Corps of Engineers during World War II and settled in
Miami Beach after honeymooning here in 1947. He was first employed as a
draftsman for Norman M. Giller and later opened his own firm, Gilbert M. Fein, in
1949. He designed hundreds of residential and commercial buildings in South
Florida in the new Post War Modern style, becoming "one of the masters of
Modernism. "31 He was a consulting architect to the Congress Inn Motel Group and
the Ramada Inn Corporation. He designed the major north addition to the Miami
Beach Exhibition Hall (now the Miami Beach Convention Center) in 1967. A great
number of his apartment buildings are in Normandy Isle and elsewhere in North
Beach. In his honor, the Miami Beach City Commission recognized his lifetime
achievement in modern design and declared "Gilbert Fein Day" on February 5,
2003, just a month before his death.
In the proposed Flamingo Waterway Historic District, Fein designed the Lake View
Apartments (now the Pinetree Palms) at 4780 Pinetree Drive in 1950. Elsewhere
in Miami Beach his works include:
Tuxedo Park at 1900 Liberty Avenue in 1951,
Starlite Hotel at 750 Ocean Drive in 1952,
Helen Mar Annex at 2445 Lake Pancoast Drive in 1956,
Park Isle Club at 780-73rd Street in 1957, and
Sun Haven (now the News Cafe) at 800 Ocean Drive in 1958.
Alpha Hensel Fink (1903-1999) was from West Virginia, and he received a
Bachelor's degree in Architecture from the Carnegie Institute of Technology in
1926. He worked in Philadelphia and headed the Department of Architecture at
Drexel University beginning in 1928. He became a partner in Sundt, Wenner and
Fink in 1934. He started his own firm, A. Hensel Fink and Associates, in 1947.32
30 City of Miami Beach, Planning Department, Zoning Ordinances and Maps, 1930 to Present.
31 "Gilbert M. Fein:' Miami Herald. Obituaries, 11 March 2003, p.4-B.
32 Philadelphia Architects and Buildings Project website.
25
In the post-war years, he was the denominational architect in charge of approving
Methodist Board of Missions projects. Mount Zion Methodist Church in Lancaster,
Pennsylvania, built in 1950, was inspired by an earlier church design by Fink in the
state of Washington.33 Fink was also the associate architect of Goodrich Chapel in
Albion, Michigan, in 1958,34 and he contributed to the design of Wesley
Theological Seminary in Washington, D.C. He is also credited with the circular
design of the Abraham S. Kay Spiritual Life Center at American University, built in
1965. In the proposed Flamingo Waterway Historic District, Fink worked with local
architect Robert M. Little in designing St. John's Methodist Church at 4760
Pinetree Drive in 1949.
Norman M. Giller was born in Jacksonville, Florida, in 1918, and he earned a
degree in architecture from the University of Florida in 1945. He apprenticed with
Henry Hohauser and Albert Anis during the early 1940s in Miami Beach. After
World War II, he became one of South Florida's most influential and inventive
architects of the Post War Modern style.35 He still maintains a practice today
together with his son, Ira Giller. His contribution to the proposed Flamingo
Waterway Historic District was the Pinetree Apartments (now Lighthouse) at 4730-
4740 Pinetree Drive in 1948. Some of his best-known works include:
Bombay Hotel (now the Golden Sands) at 6901 Collins Avenue in 1951,
Giller Building at 975 4 pt Street in 1957,
Carillon Hotel at 6801 Collins Avenue in 1957,
Diplomat Hotel (now demolished) at 3555 South Ocean Drive, Hollywood, in
1957,
North Shore Park Band Shell at 7251 Collins Avenue in 1 961, and
Miami Beach Chamber of Commerce at 1920 Meridian Avenue in 2001 with
his son Ira Giller.
Charles Leroy Inscho (1875-1959) was born in Delaware, Ohio, and graduated from
Ohio Wesleyan University after an interruption to serve in the Spanish American
War. He was a war correspondent who documented actions on the battlefields
through his sketches and watercolors. He also served for five years as an
"artificer" with the Ohio National Guard and was honorably discharged in 1900.
Inscho became an associate member of the American Institute of Architects in
1909 and later served as president of their Ohio chapter in 1933 to 1934. He and
his son Charles Curtiss Inscho (1912-1997) were principals in the firm Inscho,
Brand and Inscho in Columbus, Ohio. C.L. Inscho's work included Indianola
Presbyterian Church and at least 45 residences, many of them summer homes, in
the Columbus area. At least three bungalows that he designed in the early 1900s
are located in the luka Ravine National Register Historic District in Columbus. In
33 Southern Lancaster County (Pennsylvania) Historical Society website.
34 Albionvision.com.
35 Eric P. Nash and Randall C. Robinson, Jr., MiMo: Miami Modern Revealed (San Francisco, California:
Chronicle Books, 2004), pp. 92-93.
26
addition to architecture, he was also a prolific artist and master craftsman in
woodcarving.
Mr. Inscho wintered in Captiva, Florida, for 30 years, but it is not clear how he
came to Miami Beach. He designed two buildings here in 1925: the Ocean Breeze
Apartments at 4349 Sheridan Avenue and a two-story residence at 4309 Sheridan
Avenue. In 1926, besides the Community Center and Anglers apartment buildings
in the proposed Flamingo Waterway Historic District, he also designed the Fisher
Apartments (now demolished) at 4220 Prairie Avenue and the Bay Shore
Apartments, a two-story building with six stores and eight apartments, at 700-708
West 51st Street.36
Alexander Lewis was born in Kentucky in 1899, and he obtained a Bachelor's
degree in Architecture from the University of Kentucky in 1924. He practiced in
Miami Beach both before and after World War II where he designed a number of
single-family residences. In 1928, he designed the original Sterling Building at 919
Lincoln Road, which was later remodeled in the Streamline Moderne style by V.H.
Nellenbogen in 1941. Lewis' surviving apartment buildings include: the Adelphia
Apartments at 6055 Indian Creek Drive in 1940, the Malabo Apartment Hotel at
3865 Indian Creek Drive in 1947, and the London House at 1965 Washington
Avenue in 1948. In the proposed Flamingo Waterway Historic District, he designed
the major rear addition to St. John's Methodist Church at 4760 Pinetree Drive in
1958.
Robert M. Little was born in Pennsylvania in 1903 and studied at the Beaux Arts
School in Philadelphia. He came to Miami Beach at the height of the Florida Boom
in 1925. Here he worked with Robert A. Taylor, and later opened his own practice
in 1934. He designed commercial, residential, and institutional buildings in the
Greater Miami area and Fort Lauderdale, including several buildings at the
University of Miami (the Merrick Building,37 Lowe Art Gallery, Ring Theater, Eaton
Hall, Meyer Law School Building, and Volpe Music Building). In Miami Beach, he
designed a two-story addition to Washington Storage (now the Wolfsonian/FIU) at
1001 Washington Avenue in 1936, the Casablanca Apartments at 6839 Abbott
Avenue in 1937, and many fine single-family residences. In the proposed Flamingo
Waterway Historic District, Little collaborated with A. Hensel Fink in designing St.
John's Methodist Church at 4760 Pinetree Drive in 1949. Little was made a Fellow
of the American Institute of Architects in 1960. "The perforated pre-cast concrete
panel is often a signature of his work. ,,38
MacKay & Gibbs was an association formed by Frederick Alton Gibbs and Edward
A. MacKay in 1946, with an office at 927 41st Street in Miami Beach. Gibbs was
36 Correspondence with Molly Inscho, Granddaughter of Charles L. Inscho, Worthington, Ohio, 2003.
37 Tracy Hollingsworth, History of Dade County, Florida (Coral Gables, Florida: Glade House, 1949), p. 192.
38 uThree Miamians Get High Honor," Miami Herald, 28 February 1960.
27
born in Miami in 1910, and he studied at the Carnegie Institute of Technology in
Pittsburgh. He returned to Miami and worked in association with Henry Hohauser
from 1934 to 1941.39 MacKay was born in Flint, Michigan, in 1908, and he
graduated from the University of Minnesota in 1934.40
In the proposed Flamingo Waterway Historic District, MacKay & Gibbs designed the
Regency House at 353 West 47th Street in 1962. Other fine examples of their
work in Miami Beach include:41
Sherbrooke Apartments at 901 Collins Avenue in 1947,
Museum Walk Apartments at 2315-2335 Pinetree Drive in 1947,
Amberlee Apartments at 1520 Euclid Avenue in 1947,
Surfcomber Hotel at 1717 Collins Avenue in 1948,
Seacomber Hotel at 1737 Collins Avenue in 1948,
Carol Lee Apartments at 7610-7620 Harding Avenue in 1952, and
Carriage Club North at 5005 Collins Avenue in 1965.
Russell T. Pancoast (1899-1972) was born in Moorestown, New Jersey, in 1899,
but grew up in Miami Beach as the grandson of pioneer John S. Collins and the son
of Thomas J. Pancoast, early Miami Beach mayor and founder of the local Chamber
of Commerce. Russell Pancoast studied architecture at Cornell, and then returned
to Miami Beach where he worked from 1925 to about 1955. His contribution to
the proposed Flamingo Waterway Historic District was the 1934 single-family
residence at 4764 Pinetree Drive, which now serves as the parsonage for St.
John's Methodist Church. He is also credited for designing such notable buildings
as:
Surf Club at 9011 Collins Avenue, Surfside, in 1929,
Collins Memorial Library (now the east wing of the Bass Museum) at 2121
Park Avenue in 1930,
Miami Beach Woman's Club at 2401 Pinetree Drive in 1933, and
Peter Miller Hotel at 1900 Collins Avenue in 1936.
Donald Reiff (1924-1982) was born in the Bronx, New York, in 1924. After
graduating in architecture from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York,
in 1948, he came to Miami and worked as a draftsman for Wahl Snyder, Robert
Fitch Smith, and the firm of Rufus Nims, L. Murray Dixon and Edwin T. Reeder.
During his 30-year career, his own projects in the Greater Miami area included the
Towers of Key Biscayne, Midway Mall Shopping Center, Dadeland Medical Building,
and Kendall Lakes Mall. In the proposed Flamingo Waterway Historic District, he
designed the 4800 Pinetree Drive apartment house in 1953. Elsewhere in Miami
Beach, his architectural works include:
39 American Institute of Architects Membership Application, uGibbs, Frederick A.,u American Institute of
Architects, Florida South Chapter, Coral Gables, Florida.
40 American Institute of Architects Membership Application, UMacKay, Edward A.,u American Institute of
Architects, Florida South Chapter, Coral Gables, Florida.
41 City of Miami Beach, Building Department, Building Permit Records.
28
Sun Ray Apartments at 728 Ocean Drive in 1953,
Ankara Motel (formerly the Banana Bungalow and now the Creek) at 2360
Collins Avenue in 1954, and
the garden apartment house at 1446 Ocean Drive in 1958.
M. Tony Sherman's contribution to the proposed Flamingo Waterway Historic
District is the Surprise Lake Apartments (now Esquire House), an ensemble of four
buildings at 4710-4720 Pinetree Drive in 1950. His other buildings in Miami Beach
include the Catalina Hotel at 1732 Collins Avenue in 1948 and the Waves Hotel at
1052 Ocean Drive in 1950. Elsewhere he designed the Yankee Clipper Hotel in
Fort Lauderdale, the Tropicana Hotel in Las Vegas, and the Sunniland Shopping
Center in Kendall. He also contributed to the design of Lauderdale Isles, a project
of 700 single-family homes.42
John & Coulton Skinner were brothers from Cleveland, Ohio, and both studied
architecture at the University of Toronto. William Coulton (1891-1963) continued
working in Toronto and Detroit; John (1893-1967) went on to Harvard, traveled to
Europe on a fellowship, and then was named head of the architecture department
at the University of Georgia. The brothers both came to Miami in 1925, where
they contributed to the design of the residential "villages" of George Merrick's
planned community in Coral Gables. John also headed the department of
architecture at the new University of Miami in 1927. The Skinners designed
residences and hotels in Miami and Miami Beach in the pre-war years and later
partnered with Harold Steward in 1941. After World War II, their designs included
the Miami Seaquarium, the Miami Public Library (now demolished), Dade-County
Auditorium, Mercy Hospital, an addition to Jackson Memorial Hospital, and several
buildings at the University of Miami.43 In the proposed Flamingo Waterway Historic
District, they remodeled the Community Center Apartments (now the Berwick
Building) at 311-335 West 47th Street into a modest Streamline Modern design in
1940. Elsewhere in Miami Beach they are credited for designing the Barbizon Hotel
at 530 Ocean Drive in 1937 and the Bentley Hotel at 500 Ocean Drive in 1939.
42 "Work of Architect No Soft Snap Today:' Miami News, 23 October 1955.
43 University of Miami School of Architecture, Coral Gables: An American Garden City (Paris, France: Editions
Norma, 1997), p. 205.
29
Figure 14 This current photo was taken from the southeastern shore of Lake Surprise looking
northward up the Flamingo Waterway. The properties in the proposed Flamingo Waterway Historic
District are situated on the eastern bank of the waterway (right), the namesake for the district.
Conclusion. In this unique waterside enclave, the City has a fine collection of
historic architecture which spans from the mid 1920s to the early 1950s, from one
land development boom to another. It includes both single and multi-family
residences, as well as commercial and religious facilities. The architectural styles
featured in this district are Mediterranean Revival, Med-Deco Transitional, and Post
War Modern. This group of buildings was designed by some of the best-known
local architects of the time. Besides the architecture, the Flamingo Waterway and
Lake Surprise themselves date back to the literal construction of the Miami Beach
landscape in the 1920s, and the buildings here chronicle the City's development as
a desirable tropical resort and residential community over three decades.
30
IX. ARCHITECTURAL STYLES
Exemplary buildings of three (3) distinct Miami Beach architectural movements
have been identified in the proposed Flamingo Waterway Historic District. The
architectural styles represented in this area include Mediterranean Revival,
Mediterranean Revival/Art Deco Transitional, and Post War Modern or Miami
Modern (MiMo).
Mediterranean Revival (circa mid-191 Os to early 1930s)
Mediterranean Revival architecture was the "style of choice" for the first major land
development period in Miami Beach. Its connotation of Mediterranean resort
architecture, combining expressions of Italian, Moorish, North African, and
Southern Spanish themes, was found to be an appropriate and commercially
appealing image for the new Floridian seaside resort; it was a style that was
simultaneously being used expansively in California and other areas of similar
climate.
During the mid-1 91 Os through the early 1930s, the style was frequently applied to
hotels, apartment buildings, commercial structures, and single-family residences.
Its architectural vocabulary was characterized by stucco walls, low-pitched terra
cotta and historic Cuban tile roofs, arches, scrolled or tile capped parapet walls,
and articulated door surrounds, sometimes utilizing Spanish Baroque decorative
motifs and Classical elements. Feature detailing was occasionally executed in
keystone or patterned ceramic tile.
Application of the architectural vocabulary in Miami Beach ranged from sparing to
modestly exuberant, and building massing varied from a simple rectangular form to
stepped massing with recessed wall planes and tower-like corner features.
Wooden casement or double-hung windows of several configurations provided
additional detail to the facades.
An example of a Contributing Structure designed in the Mediterranean Revival style
in the proposed Flamingo Waterway Historic District is the Anglers Apartments at
481 2 Pinetree Drive (see Figures 15 and 16). The Community Center Apartments
(now the Berwick Building) at 311-335 West 47th Street was also designed in the
Mediterranean Revival style in 1926 (see Figure 17); however, the building's south
and west elevations were later modified into a modest Streamline Moderne design
in 1 940 (see Figure 18).
31
Figure 15 This current photo shows the east or front elevation of the
Anglers Apartments facing Pinetree Drive. Built in 1926, it was designed
by Charles L. Inscho in the Mediterranean Revival style. Typical of this
architectural style, the building features stepped massing with tower-like
elements, multiple clay barrel tile roofs, carved rafter tails, delicate
chimneys with clay barrel tile coping, a rough stucco finish, arched
openings, and decorative quoins.
Figure 16 The Anglers Apartments has a central courtyard and a three-
story high veranda on the west or rear elevation overlooking the Flamingo
Waterway. This current photo shows the southwestern corner of the
structure on the bank of the waterway.
32
Figure 17 Built in 1926, the Community Center Apartments (now the Berwick Building) at 311-335
West 47th Street was originally designed by Charles L. Inscho in the Mediterranean Revival style. This
current photo was taken of the structure's north elevation facing the alley on West 47th Court. It
shows some of the surviving architectural elements from the original 1926 Mediterranean Revival
design, including some original storefronts on the first floor; a focal window on the second floor that is
highlighted by engaged pilasters, a scrolled window surround, and a cartouche; as well as a stepped
roofline that alternates between a scrolled parapet wall and carved rafter tails.
Figure 18 According to the building permit records, it appears that the
south and west elevations of the Community Center Apartments were
modified by architects John and Coulton Skinner into a modest Streamline
Moderne design in 1940. This current photo shows the southwestern
corner of the structure facing West 47th Street.
33
Mediterranean Revival/Art Deco Transitional (circa late 1920s to mid-1930s)
"Med/Deco" in Miami Beach
was a synthesis of
Mediterranean Revival form
and Art Deco decorative
detail or vice versa. This
unique hybrid style became a
fascinating bridge between
the "familiar" and the "new"
as the allure of Art Deco
found its way into the City's
architectural vocabulary.
Clean stepped roof lines and
crisp geometric detailing
replaced scrolled parapets,
bracketed cornices, and
Classical features on
structures of clear
Mediterranean Revival form.
Likewise, sloped barrel tile
roofs rested gracefully on
edifices with spectacular Art
Deco entrances and facade
treatments.
Figure 19 Built in 1934, the residence at 4764 Pinetree Drive
was designed by Russell Pancoast in the Mediterranean
Revival/Art Deco Transitional style. It now serves as the
parsonage for St. John's Methodist Church. The L-shaped
structure is two-stories in height with a one-story wing, breeze
way, and garage at its north end. The residence represents a
unique bridge between two architectural movements,
Mediterranean Revival and Art Deco. Typical of the
Mediterranean Revival style, the structure has multiple gabled
roofs with Cuban barrel tiles and rafter tails, a rough stucco
finish, a wooden front entrance door set within a curved wall
recess, a projecting window bay with a corbelled arch base, full
window shutters with wood-panels, a decorative latticed vent,
and a circular masonry opening with a wooden grille. The
residence also has architectural elements that are reflective of
the Art Deco style, including multiple racing stripes, a porthole
window, and a broad sculptural chimney. On the east side of the
property, there is a brick landscape wall with a wood-paneled
gate that is flanked by niches with multiple shelves.
Some of the most celebrated
architects in Miami Beach
designed structures in this
brief-lived but very significant
style, including V.H.
Nellenbogen, Henry
Hohauser, Russell Pancoast,
and T. Hunter Henderson. The predominant exterior material of Med/Deco
Transitional was smooth stucco with raised or incised details. Featured stucco
areas were often patterned or scored. Keystone, either natural or filled and
colored, was frequently used to define special elements. Windows ranged from
wooden and steel casement to wooden double-hung, and even large single
windows in gracefully curved masonry openings.
An example of a Contributing Structure designed in the Mediterranean Revival/Art
Deco Transitional style in the proposed Flamingo Waterway Historic District is the
parsonage of St. John's on the Lake First United Methodist Church at 4764
Pinetree Drive (see Figure 19).
I
I
I
34
Post War Modern or Miami Modern (MiMo) (circa 1945 to 1965)
Historical Context. In order to better understand the Post War Modern style of
architecture, it is important to view this architectural movement in the context of
the social, economic, and technological changes that were taking place during this
period.
The United States emerged as a world power following World War II. After years of
deprivation during the Great Depression and wartime, everyone dreamed of a
carefree, better world for themselves and their children. The Baby Boom was the
result of the eagerness to get this new generation underway, while the legislation
of the G.1. Bill helped to provide education and prosperity for war veterans.
Miami Beach played a significant role as a training site and redistribution center for
the U.S. Army-Air Forces during World War II. The immediate availability of the
City as a training center in 1942 is credited with reducing the length of the war
effort by six to eight months and saving the government $6 million in building
costS.44 After the war, many veterans who had trained as recruits in Miami Beach
returned here to vacation or to make their home, often with their brides.
America redirected its enormous industrial capacity back to the domestic economy
following the war. There was no longer a perceived need for rationing, conserving,
and recycling. It was the age of exuberance and abundance. The economy was
thriving and gave rise to the growing middle class. Miami Beach became more
popular as a seaside resort and later a retirement community with its warm, tropical
climate and beautiful beaches. The need increased for new multi-family residential
housing.
Architectural Description. After a hiatus in construction due to World War II, the
Post War Modern style picked up where Art Deco and Streamline Moderne left off
with the added influences of a booming post war economy, new technologies, and
a feeling of national optimism. The local expression of this style has recently been
dubbed Miami Modern or MiMo by the Greater Metropolitan Miami area's Urban
Arts Committee (much as the term Art Deco was first applied about 1965 when
the style actually first appeared in the 1920s).
The Post War Modern style in Miami Beach established a path of its own in terms
of modern functional simplicity with a new vocabulary of pizzazz. Essentially the
strong design personality of Art Deco and Streamline Moderne, as it evolved over
two decades in Miami Beach, significantly gave way to the changing dictates of
use and function in the era of post war seaside resort and residential architecture.
It was a newly invented style, as architect Robert M. Little observed:
44 "Army Life on Beach in Second Year," Miami Herald, 19 February 1943.
35
l
A good many of our modern designs must be developed without a
precedent to go on. We are in fact making precedent with some of
our building now, particularly in South Florida where new techniques
are more readily accepted because they are so well suited to a sunny
climate. 45
From about 1945 to 1965, the widely popular Post War Modern style was
frequently applied to hotels, commercial buildings, apartment houses, and single
family homes throughout Miami Beach. Post War Modern style buildings generally
made an extensive use of glass and poured concrete. They often mixed two or
more textured surfaces together (i.e. stucco with stone, brick, or mosaic tile as
well as contrasting smooth and fluted stucco surfaces). The style featured such
dramatic elements as accordion-like folded plate walls, acute angles, dynamic
parabolas, delta wings, sweeping curved walls, and soaring pylons. Other
commonly occurring design elements and materials that were added to the
architectural vocabulary of the Post War Modern style structures included: brise
soleil, architectural accents with exotic themes, brick or stone faced feature areas,
and cast concrete decorative panels with geometric patterns. Architect Morris
Lapidus further expanded the architectural language of this style when he made
popular cheese holes, woggles, and beanpoles.
The low-scale apartment houses in the Post War Modern style commonly featured
floor plans that were reorganized from interior double-loaded corridors (a central
corridor with rooms on each side) to open air corridors or catwalks on one side or
more. Single-block massing remained a dominant characteristic, but new functional
exterior elements profoundly impacted on the design. Overhanging roof plates and
projecting floor slabs became typical of the new style along with paired or clustered
pipe columns. Roofs were generally flat; however, low-pitched roofs with flat tile or
barrel tile also were utilized. Rounded or "soft" eaves were often incorporated into
both roof types. Varied roof angles and delta wings often added visual interest to
the apartment buildings in this style.
Low-scale apartment houses in the Post War Modern style typically featured
casement, jalousie, or awning windows. Drama was added to the fenestration with
flush or projecting boxed windows as well as with windows and eyebrows that
wrap the corners of the building. Jalousie doors were commonly installed along the
open air corridors to enter individual apartment units. Symmetrical open staircases
with decorative railings became significant exterior design features. The railings
served as the ornamentation or "jewelry" of the building; they highlighted the open
air corridors, balconies, and staircases. Wrought iron railing designs commonly used
in this style included ribbon, diamond, geometric, floral, and swag patterns. Other
typical railing materials were metal mesh panels and cast concrete breeze block in
elaborate patterns. Additional design elements of the Post War Modern style
45 "Architect Says U.S.A. Produced 'Modern:" Miami Herald, 12 July 1948.
36
frequently incorporated into low-scale apartment houses included: brick or stone
faced wall panels and landscape planters as well as applied masonry sculptural
elements denoting marine and nautical themes.
The Post War Modern style has come of age as a contributing historical style in
Miami Beach. It is now enjoying a greatly expanded appreciation as an architectural
movement of historical importance both here as well as in other cities across the
nation, including New York, Los Angeles, and Miami. Strong evidence of this
phenomenon was the exhibit in New York City (March 13 - May 8, 2002) entitled,
"Beyond the Box: Mid-Century Modern Architecture in Miami and New York." It
was co-presented by the Urban Arts Committee of Miami Beach and the Municipal
Arts Society of New York City (the latter is credited with saving New York's Grand
Central Terminal from demolition in the 1960s as well as dozens of other historic
structures since 1897). This fabulous exhibit attracted much publicity and helped
to raise awareness of the special qualities of Post War Modern architecture in
South Florida, in particular Miami Beach, and in New York City. More recently, the
first book devoted solely to the Post War Modern architectural movement in South
Florida was published in 2004. Written by Eric Nash and Randall Robinson, Jr.,
MiMo: Miami Modern Revealed has been well received as a significant body of
emerging historic architecture.
South Florida's Post War Modern architecture has been compared to the Doo Wop
style of resort hotels in several Atlantic coastal towns in New Jersey as well as the
Googie style reflected in coffee shops, drive-ins, and motels in Southern California
and the American Southwest. Unfortunately, these fabulous Post War Modern style
buildings are being demolished at an alarmingly rapid rate in South Florida and
elsewhere in the country. Whatever spirited label the style may be given (Post War
Modern, MiMo, Doo Wop, Googie, or simply Mid-Century Modern Architecture), the
architecture of this unique period must be afforded protection in Miami Beach.
There was indeed much to be celebrated in the years following the victory in World
War II. These mid-century structures represent the physical memory of the spirit of
optimism and sense of fun and joy, which played such a major role in our City's
spectacular recovery after the war.
Examples of Contributing Structures designed in the Post War Modern or MiMo
style in the proposed Flamingo Waterway Historic District include the following:
Surprise Lake Apartments (now Esquire House) at 4710-4720 Pinetree Drive;
Pinetree Apartments (now Lighthouse) 4730-4740 Pinetree Drive;
St. John's on the Lake First United Methodist Church at 4760 Pinetree Drive;
Lake View Apartments (now Pinetree Palms) at 4780 Pinetree Drive; and
4800 Pinetree Drive.
(Refer to Figures 20 through 24 for current photos of these structures.)
37
Figure 20 Built in 1948, the Pinetree Apartments (now Lighthouse) at
4730-4740 Pinetree Drive was designed by Norman M. Giller in the Post
War Modern style. Notice that the pair of bar-shaped building wings is
connected by a grand "proscenium" with vertical fins, panels of
fieldstone, and continuous eyebrows.
Figure 21 Built in 1949, St. John's Methodist Church at 4760 Pinetree Drive was
designed by A. Hensel Fink and Robert M. Little in the Post War Modern style. It
features a smooth stucco surface, simple design lines, and strong vertical fins in
the steeple. St. John's was recognized for its layout and design by the Church
Architectural Guild of America at their annual meeting in 1953.
38
Figure 22 Built in 1950, the Surprise Lake Apartments (now Esquire
House) at 4710-4720 Pinetree Drive is an ensemble of four, two-story
buildings that were designed by M. Tony Sherman in the Post War
Modern style. These buildings feature multiple two-story high porticos
supported by pipe columns, jalousie and awning style windows, jalousie
doors, pipe railings, and flat roofs with boxed eaves. Although not visible
in this photo, the two northern buildings (shown above from the opposite
side) are connected on the east or front elevation facing Pinetree Drive by
a catwalk with a two-story angular pylon in the center.
Figure 23 Built in 1950, the Lake View Apartments (now Pine Tree
Palms) at 4780 Pinetree Drive was designed by Gilbert M. Fein in the
Post War Modern style. As seen in the current photo above, the
building's front elevation displays a shallow eyebrow and a vertical panel
of checkerboard-scored stucco.
39
Figure 24 Built in 1953, the apartment house called 4800 Pinetree Drive
was designed by Donald Reiff in the Post War Modern style. Notice that
the building's front elevation features a dramatic contrast between a
pylon with vertical ribs of stucco and a sweeping concave wall with a
row of projecting bricks on their narrow ends.
Figure 25 This current photo shows the Regency House at 353 West
47th Street (left). Completed in 1963, the nine-story apartment building
was designed by MacKay & Gibbs as a late example of Post War
Modern architecture. Due to its scale and late construction date, it has
been identified by the Historic Preservation Board as a "non-
contributing" property in the proposed historic district. Also seen in this
photo is the westernmost structure of the four Surprise Lake Apartment
buildings (now Esquire House) at 4710-4720 Pinetree Drive (right).
40
X. PLANNING DEPARTMENT RECOMMENDATIONS
1 . Criteria for Desianation: The Planning Department finds the proposed Flamingo
Waterway Historic District to be in compliance with the Criteria for Designation
listed in Section 118-592 in the Land Development Regulations of the City
Code.
2. Site Boundaries: On December 14, 2004, the Historic Preservation Board
reviewed the designation report and adopted the boundaries as recommended
by the Planning Department for the proposed Flamingo Waterway Historic
District.
On January 25, 2005, the Planning Board reviewed the designation report and
adopted the boundaries as recommended by the Historic Preservation Board and
Planning Department for the proposed historic district. (Refer to Section IV,
Description of Boundaries, for more information.)
3. Areas Subiect to Review: The Planning Department recommends that the areas
subject to review shall include all exterior building elevations and public interior
spaces, site and landscape features, public open spaces and public rights-of-
way, and all vacant or parking lots included within the boundaries of the
proposed Flamingo Waterway Historic District. Regular maintenance of public
utilities, drainage, and mechanical systems, sidewalks, and roadways shall not
require a Certificate of Appropriateness.
4. Review Guidelines: The Planning Department recommends that a decision on an
application for a Certificate of Appropriateness shall be based upon compatibility
of the physical alteration or improvement with surrounding properties and where
deemed applicable in substantial compliance with the following:
a. The Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation and Guidelines
for Rehabilitatinq Historic Buildinqs, as revised from time to time;
b. Other guidelines/policies/plans adopted or approved by resolution or
ordinance by the City Commission;
c. All additional criteria as listed under Sections 118-564(b) and 118-564(c)
in the Land Development Regulations of the City Code;
d. City of Miami Beach Design Guidelines as adopted by the Joint Design
ReviewlHistoric Preservation Board on October 12, 1993, amended June
7, 1994, as may be revised from time to time.
41
XI. FIGURE INDEX
Figure 0:
Figure 1:
Figure 2:
Figure 3:
Figure 4:
Figure 5:
Figure 6:
Figure 7:
Figure 8:
Figure 9:
Figure 10:
Figure 11:
Figure 12:
Figure 13:
Figure 14:
Figure 15:
Figure 16:
Figure 17:
(Cover) Molly Inscho, Personal Archives of Architect Charles L. Inscho,
Worthington, Ohio; Architectural Rendering of the Anglers Apartments,
4812 Pinetree Drive, circa 1926.
Miami Public Library, Florida Room; Sanborn Map Company, New York
City, 1 921 .
Historical Museum of Southern Florida, Claude Matlack Photo Collection,
"Norman Davis," photo no. 117-13, 1923.
City of Miami Beach, Planning Department; Atlas of Miami Beach to
Golden Beach, Florida (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Franklin Survey
Company, 1935), plate 10.
City of Miami Beach, Planning Department; Plat Book of Miami Beach to
Golden Beach, Florida (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: G.M. Hopkins
Company, 1952), plate 17.
City of Miami Beach, Planning Department, Zoning Ordinance No. 289,
approved by City Council on 3 December 1930, Use District Map, plate
3.
Historical Museum of Southern Florida, Claude Matlack Photo Collection,
"Robert Law Estate," photo no. 469-2, January 1930.
Historical Museum of Southern Florida, Claude Matlack Photo Collection,
"Anglers Apartments," photo no. 71-5, 27 April 1928.
City of Miami Beach, Public Works Department; Richard B. Hoit, Aerial
Survey of Miami Beach, Florida (Miami, Florida: Richard B. Hoit, 12
February 1927), sheet 86A.
Historical Museum of Southern Florida, Miami Beach-Aerial Photos File,
Richard B. Hoit, "Robert Law Estate Area," photo AT-908, March 1935.
Paul N. Jewett, Window and Witness, St. John's on the Lake First United
Methodist Church, Miami Beach, 1985, p. 22.
Paul N. Jewett, Window and Witness, St. John's on the Lake First United
Methodist Church, Miami Beach, 1985, p. 22.
Paul N. Jewett, Window and Witness, St. John's on the Lake First United
Methodist Church, Miami Beach, 1985, p. 24.
Esquire House Ad, Miami Beach Dailv Sun, 2 June 1963, p. 17-B.
City of Miami Beach, Planning Department, Flamingo Waterway, photo,
30 December 2003.
City of Miami Beach, Planning Department, Anglers Apartments, 4812
Pinetree Drive, photo, 30 December 2003.
City of Miami Beach, Planning Department, Anglers Apartments, 4812
Pinetree Drive, photo, 30 December 2003.
City of Miami Beach, Planning Department, Community Center
Apartments (now the Berwick Building), 311-335 West 47th Street,
photo, 30 December 2003.
42
Figure 18: City of Miami Beach, Planning Department, Community Center
Apartments (now the Berwick Building), 311-335 West 47th Street,
photo, 30 December 2003.
Figure 19: City of Miami Beach, Planning Department, Joseph H. Assel Residence
(now the Parsonage of St. John's Methodist Church), 4764 Pinetree
Drive, photo, 30 December 2003.
Figure 20: City of Miami Beach, Planning Department, Pinetree Apartments (now
Lighthouse), 4730-4740 Pinetree Drive, photo, 30 December 2003.
Figure 21: (Photo) City of Miami Beach, Planning Department, St. John's on the
Lake First United Methodist Church, 4760 Pinetree Drive, photo, 30
December 2003.
(Text) Paul N. Jewett, Window and Witness, St. John's on the Lake First
United Methodist Church, Miami Beach, 1985, p. 20.
Figure 22: City of Miami Beach, Planning Department, Surprise Lake Apartments
(now Esquire House), 4710-4720 Pinetree Drive, photo, 30 December
2003.
Figure 23: City of Miami Beach, Planning Department, Lake View Apartments (now
Pine Tree Palms), 4780 Pinetree Drive, photo, 30 December 2003.
Figure 24: City of Miami Beach, Planning Department, 4800 Pinetree Drive, photo,
30 December 2003.
Figure 25: City of Miami Beach, Planning Department, Regency House, 353 West
47th Street, photo, 30 December 2003.
43
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CITY OF MIAMI BEACH
NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING
NOTICE OF ZONING MAP CHANGE
~
-
.
The City of Miami Beach proposes to adopt the following
Ordinance:
An Ordinance of the Mayor and City Commission of the
City of Miami Beach, Florida, Amending the Land
Development Regulations of the Miami Beach City
Code; Amending Section 118-593 "Historic
Preservation Designation"; Amending Section 118-
593(e), "Delineation on Zoning Map"; Amending.Section
118-593{e)(2), "Historic Preservation Districts (HPD)" by
Designating the FlaminQo Waterway Historic District,
Consisting of a Certam Area Which Is Generally
Bounded by the Center Line of West 47th Street to the
South, the Eastern Right-of-Way Line of Pinetree Drive
to the East, the Northern Lot Line of 4816 Pinetree Drive
to the North, the Western Lot Line of 353 West 47th
Street to the West, and the Eastern Bulkhead Lines of
the Flamingo Waterway and Lake Surp'rise to the
Northwest, as More Particularly Described Herein;
Providing that the City's Zoning Map Shall Be Amended
to Include the Flamin~o Waterway Historic District;
Adoptin9 the Designation Report Attached Hereto as
Appendix "A"; Providing for Inclusion in the Land
Development Regulations of the City Code, Repealer,
Severability, and an Effective Date.
PUBLIC NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that a first and only reading public hearing on the Ordinance will
be held by the City Commission on Wednesday'. Agril 20. 2005. at 5:05 D.m.. or as soon thereafter
as Dossible. in the City Commission Chambers. Third Floor, City Hall, 1700 Convention Center
Drive, Miami Beach, Flonda.
The historic district proposed for designation is shown on the Map within this Zoning Map Change.
All persons are invited to appear at this meeting or be represented by an agent, or to express their
views in writing addressed to the Miami Beach City Commission c/o the City Clerk, 1700 Convention
Center Drive, First Floor, City Hall, Miami Beach, Florida 33139.
The Ordinance and other related materials regarding the proposed historic district are available for
public inspection during normal business hours in the City Clerk's Office. Inquiries may be directed
to the Planning Department at (305) 673-7550. The heanng on this Ordinance may be continued at
I this meeting and, under suoh circumstances, additional legal notice would not be provided, Any.
! person may contact the City Clerk's Office at (305) 673-7411 for information as to the status of the
Ordinance as a result of the meeting.
Pursuant to Section 286.0105, Fla, Stat., the City hereby advises the public that: If a person decides
to appeal any decision made by the City Commission with respect to any matter considered at its
meeting or its hearing, such person must insure that a verbatim record of the proceedings is made,
which record includes the testimony and evidence upon which the appeal is to be based, This notice
i does not constitute consent by the City of the introduction or admiSSion of otherwise inadmissible or
. irrelevant evidence, nor does it authorize challenges or appeals not otherwise allowed by law.
To request this material in accessible format, sign language interpreters, information on access for
persons with disabilities, and/or any accommocfation to review any document or participate in any
city-sponsored proceeding, please contact 305-604-2489 (voice) or 305-673-7218 (lTY) five days in
advance to initiate your request. TTY users may also call 711 (Florida Relay Service).
Ad #0303
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