Online Newsroom

Welcome to the Online Newsroom of the Coral Gables Museum.

We have created this Museum online newsroom for you so that you can obtain detailed information, downloadable high- and low-res photos and logos for your media needs, and always be able to get in touch with someone who can speak for the Coral Gables Museum.  We hope you will sign on frequently, as we will be adding useful new items and news releases to the online newsroom. We welcome your comments and feedback.

CORAL GABLES MUSEUM
BOARD OF DIRECTORS MEMBER
RECEIVES CHAMBER MERRICK AWARD

Coral Gables Museum Board of Directors member, author and historian Arva Moore Parks won the Coral Gables Chamber of Commerce inaugural George E. Merrick Award of Excellence Saturday evening at a ceremony at the Biltmore Hotel. Well know for her tireless community-wide work in preservation and historical research, Ms. Parks is the authoritative source when it comes to Gables’ history. She has dedicated and donated countless hours to the Museum project and acted as guest curator for the Museum’s “Celebrate” exhibit – a lovely historical timeline exhibit showcasing the early development of the City Beautiful which is housed in the City’s original Art and Architecture Center at 2901 Ponce de Leon Boulevard, now the Old Spanish Village Sales Gallery.

Ms. Parks was chosen from a field of ten finalists who, per the qualifications of the award sponsored by the Allen Morris Companies, exemplifies the spirit of Coral Gables’ founder and developer, George Merrick and works for the betterment of the cultural, historical and financial aspects of the community. The Coral Gables Museum Chairman George Kakouris was also one of the finalists.

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CORAL GABLES MUSEUM
RECEIVES FLORIDA HUMANITES COUNCIL GRANT
FOR ORAL HISTORY PROJECT

The Coral Gables Museum was recently awarded a grant by the Florida Humanities Council to continue the Oral History Project. The Museum project, which features video-taped interviews of longtime Gables’ residents is spear-headed by Museum Board members Arva Moore Parks and Susan Wills Amat.

The next Oral History Project interviews will be held on Saturday, August 9 and on Saturday, September 13 from 10:00am until 4:00pm at the Coral Gables Merrick House at 907 Coral Way. Students from the University of Miami’s School of Communications are providing production services. The interviews will be integrated into the Museum’s Coral Gables History exhibit and stored in the Museum’s archival library for research purposes.

The Florida Humanities Council is an independent, non-profit organization and is the state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Each year, FHC funds hundreds of public programs throughout the state that explore Florida's history, folklore, environment, literature, music, and art. The Coral Gables Museum was among numerous community organizations throughout the state to receive a grant that funds humanities programs.

If you have a Coral Gables story, memories or memorabilia to share, or can refer someone to be interviewed, please contact Christine Rupp, Director of Operations, Coral Gables Museum. She may be reached at 305-910-3996 or by clicking here. For more information about FHC grants, contact Susan Lockwood, Grants Director at (727) 873-2011 or email slockwood@flahum.org.

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CORAL GABLES MUSEUM RECEIVES SUPPORT
FROM GENERATIONS OF FIREFIGHTERS

The Coral Gables Museum, which will be housed in Coral Gables’ original Police and Fire Station, received a donation and a pledge of on-going support from a group of Coral Gables firefighters representing the Coral Gables Firefighters Benevolent Association, the Coral Gables Professional Firefighters Association and the South Florida Council of Fire Fighters Charities. Meeting at the 285 Aragon Avenue site, Museum Chairman George Kakouris accepted donations totaling $1500 from Batallion Commander Dan Thornhill, Secretary/Treasurer Coral Gables Professional Firefighters Association Local 1210.

The firefighters’ contributions, however, are not only monetary. On a recent tour of the old station, a group of retired firefighters, including Batallion Commander Dick Gossett, Bo Bennett, one of the first paramedics in the State of Florida; and Captain Charlie McGarey, spoke to the history of the building and its use as Fire Station #1 from 1939 to 1975, when the station was moved to its current location at 2815 Salzedo Street. “Call boxes used to be located at intersections and addresses came in on an old ticker-tape machine”, recalled Dick Bennett. “The system rang the bells throughout the station. The number of rings corresponded to the location in the city, and the bells would continue to ring in the station until the crew arrived at the scene of the call box, turned a key and disengaged the alarm”. Walking through the old station, the three fondly remembered the location of equipment, Chief Matheson’s office, the old kitchen and their duty to feed the prisoners at the jail. Firefighters were enlisted to feed federal prisoners housed at the jail during World War II and the tradition continued until the move to the new facility.

Gossett, and his son, Jim, also a Gables firefighter and current President of the Firefighters Benevolent Association, will assist the Museum in compiling memorabilia and gathering retired firefighters who worked out of old Station #1 for interviews about their memories as Gables firefighters. For information, contact Christine Rupp, Director of Operations at 305-910-3996 or by clicking here.

click here to view or download a PDF version of this release.