Coconut Grove | |
|---|---|
 Typical street in Coconut Grove, showing heavy vegetation characteristic of thehammock. | |
| Nickname: The Grove | |
 Coconut Grove neighborhood in Miami | |
| Coordinates:25°43′N80°15′W / 25.717°N 80.250°W /25.717; -80.250 | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Florida |
| County | Miami-Dade County |
| City | Miami |
| Settled | 1825 |
| Annexed into the City of Miami | 1925 |
| Subdistricts of Coconut Grove | Neighborhoods list
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| Government | |
| • City of Miami Commissioner | Damian Pardo |
| • Miami-Dade Commissioners | Xavier L. Suarez |
| • House of Representatives | Vicki Lopez (R) |
| • State Senate | Ileana Garcia (R) |
| • U.S. House | Maria Elvira Salazar (R) |
| Area | |
• Total | 5.607 sq mi (14.52 km2) |
| Elevation | 13 ft (4.0 m) |
| Highest elevation | 24 ft (7.3 m) |
| Population (2010) | |
• Total | 20,076 |
| • Density | 8,006/sq mi (3,091/km2) |
| • Demonym | Grovite |
| Time zone | UTC−05 (EST) |
| ZIP Code | 33133 |
| Area codes | 305, 786 |
| Website | www.coconutgrove.com |
Coconut Grove, also known colloquially as "The Grove", is an affluent and the oldest continuously inhabitedneighborhood ofMiami inMiami-Dade County, Florida. The neighborhood is roughly bounded by North Prospect Drive to the south,LeJeune Road to the west,South Dixie Highway (US 1) andRickenbacker Causeway to the north, andBiscayne Bay to the east.[1] It is south of the neighborhoods ofBrickell andThe Roads and east ofCoral Gables. The neighborhood's name has been sometimes spelled "Cocoanut Grove" but the definitive spelling "Coconut Grove" was established when the city was incorporated in 1919.[2]
What is today referred to as Coconut Grove was formed in 1925 when the city of Miami annexed two areas of about equal size, the city of Coconut Grove and most of the town of Silver Bluff. Coconut Grove approximately corresponds to the same area as the 33133ZIP Code although the ZIP Code includes parts ofCoral Way and Coral Gables[3] and a small portion of ZIP Code 33129.[4] The area is often referred to as "The Grove", and locals take pride that Coconut Grove is one of the greenest areas of Miami.[5][6]
Coconut Grove is directly served by theMiami Metrorail atCoconut Grove andDouglas Road stations.
Several waves of immigration established Coconut Grove, the first in 1825, when theCape Florida lighthouse went into operation,kept by John Dubose.[7] The settlers primarily came from the Northeastern United States, in addition to British and Bahamian immigrants.[7] They included sailors, naturalists, and artists.[7] Many Black Bahamian immigrants were hired to construct the historical landmarks in and around Coconut Grove.[8] They were believed to be the only people capable of withstanding the extreme heat and humidity, as well as the large mosquito population.[9]
Dr. Horace P. Porter is credited for coming up with the name when, in 1873, he rented a home from Edmond D. Beasley's widow, who homesteaded 160 acres of bay-front property.[10] He lived there for only a year, but during that time, he established a post office which he named “Coconut Grove.”[11][12]
The first hotel on theSouth Florida mainland was located in Coconut Grove.[13] Called the Bay View Inn (later known as the Peacock Inn), it was built in 1882 on the site of present-dayPeacock Park by English immigrants Isabella and Charles Peacock, who had been the owners of a wholesale meat business in London.[14] Coconut Grove's firstBlack settlement, in the 1880s, was established byBahamian laborers who worked at the Peacock Inn.[15]The Barnacle Historic State Park is the oldest house inMiami-Dade County still standing in its original location.[16] It was built in 1891, and was home toRalph Middleton Munroe, also known as "The Commodore" for being the first commodore and founder of theBiscayne Bay Yacht Club, an American yacht designer, and early resident of Coconut Grove.[17]
Formerly an independent city, Coconut Grove was annexed by the city of Miami in 1925.[18] In the 1960s, bay-shore Coconut Grove served as the center of South Florida'syouth countercultural movement, notably hosting severallove-ins[19] and concerts (including a now-infamousDoors concert atDinner Key Auditorium)[20] during the latter part of the decade.[21] The Bahamian community continued to grow in Coconut Grove through the 1970s.[22]
A surge of commercial development in Coconut Grove was driven by the construction of three major residential complexes during the late 1970s and early 1980s: Yacht Harbour Condominiums in 1975;Grove Isle, a condominium, club, and hotel complex, in 1979; and L'Hermitage in 1980.[23] This was followed by the opening of 2575 S. Bayshore Drive in 1982 and the 1983 opening of Grove Towers.[24] Further development was proposed for Grove Isle in 2013.[25][26][27]
Coconut Grove has a number of outdoor festivals and events, the most prominent of which is the annual Coconut Grove Arts Festival.[28][29] Others include theKing Mango Strut, which began as a parody of theOrange Bowl Parade, and which continues each year on the last Sunday in December. The Great Taste of the Grove Food & Wine Festival takes place each April. Each June, theGoombay Festival transforms Grand Avenue in Coconut Grove into aCarnaval (Caribbean Carnival), celebratingBahamian culture, withBahamian food andCaribbean music (Junkanoo).
The Grove has numerous restaurants, open air and streetside cafes, and several waterfront restaurants and bars. By night, the Grove becomes a center of nightlife frequented by locals, young professionals, students from the nearbyUniversity of Miami andFlorida International University, and tourists.
Shopping is abundant in the Grove, with two open-air malls,CocoWalk, the Streets of Mayfair, and many other street shops and boutiques.
The Village Center, the three blocks radiating from and focusing on the intersection of Main, McFarland, and Grand Avenues, home to the majority of the retail and restaurant business in the Grove, is also home to three gyms, a multiplex movie house in CocoWalk, several parking garages, a state historic site, an elementary school, a City of Miami fire station, several large condos and residential rental towers, the Coconut Grove Post Office, and two sizable parks. Development and redevelopment continue to redefine and transform the area.
Major corporations includingArquitectonica,Spanish Broadcasting System, andWatsco are located in the Grove.
The eastern border of Coconut Grove isBiscayne Bay, which lends itself to the local boating and sailing communities. The area features theCoconut Grove Sailing Club,Biscayne Bay Yacht Club, a sizable municipal marina,Dinner Key Marina, and others[30] The US Sailing Center[31] is on the Bay between Kennedy Park and the Coral Reef Yacht Club.Pan Am's seaplane operations were based at Dinner Key, and theMiami City Hall is based in the old Pan Amterminal building.
Demographically, Coconut Grove is divided into "Northeast Coconut Grove" and "Southwest Coconut Grove." As of the 2000 census, the population of the entire neighborhood was between 18,953[32] and 19,646.[4] The area includes the zip codes 33129 and 33133, covering 5.607 square miles (14.52 km²). The neighborhood's population consists of 9,695 males and 9,951 females. The median age for males was 38.4 years, while for females it was 40.3 years. The average household size was 2.1 people, and the average family size was 2.8 members. Among all households, 33.6% were married-couple families, 11.1% were married-couple families with children, and 7.6% were single-mother households. Additionally, 18.3% of males aged 15 and over had never married, compared to 14.3% of females in the same age group.[4]
Approximately 8.1% of the population spoke English either "not well" or "not at all." Regarding birthplace, 31.6% of residents were born in Florida, 34.7% were born in another U.S. state, and 2.3% were native residents born outside the U.S. The percentage of foreign-born residents was 31.4%.[4]
As of 2000,[32] Northeast Grove had a population of 9,812 residents, with 5,113 households, and 2,221 families residing in the neighborhood. The median household income was $63,617.82. The racial makeup of the neighborhood was 35.24%Hispanic orLatino of any race, 2.25%Black or African American, 60.96%White (non-Hispanic), and 1.55%other races (non-Hispanic).
As of 2000,[32] Southwest Grove had a population of 9,141 residents, with 3,477 households, and 2,082 families residing in the neighborhood. The median household income was $63,617.82. The racial makeup of the neighborhood was 14.80%Hispanic orLatino of any race, 48.27%Black or African American, 35.27%White (non-Hispanic), and 1.66%other races (non-Hispanic).
The "West" Grove (Black Grove) is predominantly composed of people who are ofAfro-Bahamian descent. Bahamian sailors were one of the first groups of settlers in the area.[33] The Goombay festival is a celebration of the rich history of this historically Bahamian neighborhood.[34]
Coconut Grove is served byMetrobus throughout the area, and by theMiami Metrorail at:
Metrobus' Coconut Grove Connection connects at Coconut Grove and Douglas Road stations, going to many popular areas within the Grove, includingCocoWalk and Peacock Park.
Miami-Dade County Public Schools operates area public schools:
Former and current residents include:
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Established in 1825, Coconut Grove is one of Miami's oldest neighborhoods. As such, many of Miami's oldest buildings and homes are located in the Grove. Some of these include:
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