Construction crews began gutting the Coconut Grove Playhouse auditorium this week, as Miami-Dade County moves forward with its restoration plan.
Demolition work began this week on the Coconut Grove Playhouse in what appeared to be the final act of a bitter drama over the fate of the landmark theater.
Miami-Dade County moved quickly to put its restoration plan in motion after receiving a demolition permit last week from the City of Miami.
Opponents went back to court, seeking an injunction to halt the pending demolition, but were not able to stop the work – at least not immediately.
The county is seeking to demolish the playhouse’s rear auditorium and replace it with a smaller 300-seat theater.
The front of the playhouse – the distinctive 1926 Mediterranean Revival building that faces Main Highway – would be restored as part of the plan.
As demolition work got underway this week, construction crews were gutting the interior of the rear auditorium, removing theater seats and other debris.
Workers punched through the exterior wall of the auditorium to facilitate the work, a backhoe arrived on Tuesday, and the pile of construction debris in the parking lot behind the playhouse continued to grow as the week progressed.
Attorney David Winker, who went to court last week on behalf of 25 local preservationists who oppose the demolition, could not be reached for comment.
Here are some photos of the work, taken at the scene this week:
This is so disrespectful. At least take care with the deconstruction. The ONE concession Michael Spring and the County made with those of us who wanted restoration was that they would preserve key architectural and cultural elements and incorporate them in the new design. This just shows the lack of respect the County and its development partners have for residents and history. They don’t care one iota about cultural significance. It’s all about the $$$.
Great care has been taken to preserve the double proscenium arch and other historic treasures and to rebuild the facade of the Coconut Grove Playhouse to replicate the original playhouse portion that has been declared an historic sight. People should not post a quick criticism based on a picture when they see debris containing asbestos and mildew being removed if they don’t know the whole picture. Anyone who really cares about the preservation of the legacy of the Coconut Grove theater would know about the amount of time and care that has gone into this project. Anyone who cares about culture would know that it is about theater and the children and adults whose lives have been enriched by a moment in time when they have experienced the magic of live theater. This site has been closed for so long that a generation of children have never had this experience and this loss of time is irreplaceable. We can only make it up by making sure that future generation will not suffer the same loss.
Rosalyn Stuzin is sharing misinformation that the Spotlight is responsible for fact checking. She talks about the importance of getting the “bigger picture” while failing to do that herself. She wrongly stated that only the proscenium arch and other decorations are historically designated. The City of Miami Historic Preservation Board in 2005 issued a historic designation report on the Coconut Grove Playhouse that includes the ENTIRE building. The county is required to go before the City Historic Preservation Board (HEPB) in order to get approval for moving forward. The HEPB REJECTED the county demolition plan because it violates state statutes and violates seven guidelines of the Secretary of the Interior for the restoration of a building that is on the national historic register. The county is being pressured by developers (not just Arquitectonica) to give in to their demands. These developers have donated large sums to the political campaigns of Daniella Levine Cava, Raquel Regalado, Damian Pardo and others. And the developers expect something in return. There’s a hotel being built just feet away from the Playhouse on it’s west side that will be built on the site of six historic West Grove homes bought by Gino Falsetto the CEO of Aries Development. The hotel needs parking and the hotel guests will benefit (so they think) from having a shopping center and restaurants built on the demolition site of the Playhouse. Why doesn’t the Spotlight or Rosalyn ever talk about the 11th district court decision that ruled “the county is incorrect” by stating only the facade is historically designated? Why? Your failure to mention the “big picture” — as Rosalyn claims so much to believe in — is a classic example of not telling the truth by omitting the facts.