In Old Coconut Grove Houses on Facebook, Maria Freed documents the loss – and possible preservation – of Coconut Grove’s architectural landscape.
For years Maria Freed has watched as rows of modern “white box” houses have replaced the tiny wood-frame cottages and mid-century bungalows that have long defined Coconut Grove as a livable, walkable, historic neighborhood.
Indeed, it was during some of her walks along the streets in her North Grove neighborhood that Freed began keeping track of the small, modest but often uniquely designed homes that caught her eye. Many featured bright colored doors, Key West-inspired wooden detailing and inviting front porches.
Slowly these walks became less colorful.
One of her favorites was a small wooden cottage with blue, red and green banisters on Swanson Avenue in the North Grove. Built in 1920 in Key West but moved to Miami years ago, the eclectic structure was demolished in 2017 to make way for a bigger home. She calls it “the house that broke me.”
Freed was determined not to let its history be forgotten. With no background in history, preservation or real estate, she began to document what she saw on her strolls through the neighborhood on a public Facebook page – Old Coconut Grove Houses – capturing the essence of old Grove charm before it was wiped away.
“The goal of this page is to memorialize houses that have been lost in Miami’s oldest community,” she says in one of her first posts on her page.
The page features photos of homes built before 1960 paired with stories she discovered through neighbors and archives of old newspapers, as well as historical photographs of well-known Grove characters like Marjory Stoneman Douglas and Jimmy Buffett. The page has amassed over 4,500 followers since its first post in 2019.
“This just started out as a hobby,” Freed says. “People would send me pictures of their house.”
Freed, a former president of The Coconut Grove Park Homeowners Association, often begins the process of researching a home through a drawing she makes, a skill she’s devoted more time to since her retirement three years ago.
“It just motivates me, and I feel a stronger connection to the property. I’m not an architectural artist so it’s never perfect,” she says. “It’s my interpretation, more whimsical and more colorful than sometimes the actual house is.”
Her page has become a montage of Grove history told through the homes and owners that lived there. It is also one of the only pages bringing awareness to home demolitions.
“It’s always painful for people to not have respect for these homes,” Freed says.
Along with her historical photos and their descriptions, Freed posts about homes on the market that she hopes will be saved from the wrecking ball by a new buyer. Some photos feature demolition sites – the ruins of older homes – and their gargantuan replacements, often provoking the disdain of her followers.
“Some people are really sad that they can’t go back. They can’t drive by their house anymore,” she says. “Some people say that ‘you’ve ruined my history’.”
For many, she’s become essential to preserving the Grove. With the job, Freed has become a go-to for Grove residents looking to learn more about their neighborhood’s history. Many of her followers have asked her to write a book.
“I think it’s beautiful that she promotes and publicizes them and educates people that there are lovely symbols of history in the Grove,” says Christine Rupp, executive director of Dade Heritage Trust.
Rupp encourages residents to consider historic designation of their homes under local municipal zoning laws, averting future demolition.
Such laws have mixed community support, with some complaining of added restrictions to future improvements. Others say the protections can increase property values not only on the designated property but throughout the neighborhood.
“In a place like Miami, where everybody’s from somewhere else, historic buildings really create a shared history and a sense of place,” Rupp says.
Hurricane-proofing and insurance costs, as well as a misconception about historical designation, often discourage preservation of older homes. New buyers also frequently lie about their intentions for homes, Rupp says, promising to preserve the home then demolishing it once papers are signed.
When Freed began her page, she did not expect to still be active five years later.
“I thought that by now we would have stabilized a little bit, that there would have been more emphasis on retaining and preserving some properties. But that has not been the case. We’ve only gotten worse,” she says.
One of her favorite homes still standing is the Ingram House on Palmetto Avenue in South Grove. Officially built in 1935, though suspected to be even older, the home was purchased by the Ingram family – Bobby, Gay, Liam, and Bryn – in 1978.
Bobby, who died in 2019, was a prominent musician who used the house as an impromptu meeting space for well-known artists – Joni Mitchell and Jimmy Buffet among them – passing through Coconut Grove.
The home has been repainted many times, but its wooden structure, doors and windows have all remained the same.
“If you care for them, the form of architecture is incredible, and the craftsmanship is beyond what they do nowadays,” says Byrn Ingram, who still lives in the 1,400-square-foot bungalow. “So, I think it’s important to keep some of these homes, and it keeps the neighborhood cool.”
Ingram has received countless offers to sell her home, but says she never will.
Not all homeowners share her dedication. Three years ago, Freed’s page kicked up a dust storm over plans to demolish a former sea captain’s home, dubbed Seaside, on Lincoln Avenue in North Coconut Grove.
Despite strong lobbying efforts to preserve, or possibly move, the structure, the home was razed with little notice.
Recognizing the importance of educating the public on the benefits of preservation, much of Freed’s page helps the present generation of Grove homeowners understand that an old home can be a valuable one.
“One of the things I am proud of is there’s a lot of younger people that have taken an interest in older properties. And I like that. You know, this isn’t just people that have been there forever or the baby boomers. There are people that want to retain some of the old Grove. And I’m really heartened by that,” Freed says.
Freed herself moved from the Grove to Palm Beach in 2021, but continues the page from afar, hoping others like her can relocate without fear of seeing their lifetime home reduced to dust and memories.
