Dear Editor:
Re Playhouse Demo Begins, I have been trying for seven years to get into the Coconut Grove Playhouse, and it finally happened today April 23, 2025.
In less than thirty days, everything you see in this video will be gone (except for the historic pieces) and that area will just be a lot. A lot that held almost 100 years of theater history.
The front façade, about 20% of the entire building, will be restored. The rest will just vanish. The historical pieces will be meticulously removed and will be part of the design of the (new) 300-seat theater.
I can’t begin to tell you the overwhelming feeling of depression that I felt when I walked into that space and saw that nothing was there anymore.
I tried to imagine the great plays, actors and audiences that visited the Playhouse, and just simply can’t believe our elected officials thought it best to knock it down, rather than to restore it to greatness.
This is probably the last video from inside, and for sure the last video of the stage because that was going to be demolished right after I left.
There was one chair left and you can see it in the (video). All of the chairs in the garbage piles were destroyed when bulldozers just squashed up those piles.
I have that chair and will cherish what it stands for forever. I love theater / Broadway / musicals, dramas, and feel utter failure after walking out of the Playhouse this morning.
Feel free to share as well if you think it can make a difference. If it can light a fire somewhere.
Michael Rosenberg
West Kendall
