To the Editor:
This week’s Historic and Environmental Preservation Board meeting was an emotional six-hour endurance test. Dedicated advocates were met with an invisible wall from the very custodians entrusted to protect our historic site.
The irony is that those who should have been our champions ended up sealing the words of passionate citizens — a disconcerting display from those charged with preservation.
Yet, amid this theatrical farce, hope flickers. Our State Representative, Fabian Basabe, has entered the stage, promising to bring the Playhouse back to the community eager to reclaim its legacy — an irreplaceable piece of our heritage.
After years of the citizens pleading (with) the Department of Environmental Protection and the County, who had been the irresponsible state’s tenant, to safeguard the historic landmark including its 1,100-seat theater, interiors, roof during countless hurricane seasons, and cherished inside features, the county’s true agenda is laid bare: demolition through neglect.
Simple examples: the once-proud Solomon twisted columns and Art Deco flourishes lay buried under rubble — a somber testament to years of disregard.
To the county, to the architects, to FIU, and Gables Stage: I ask all of them to face eye-to-eye those that have been battling for years but continue their efforts to bring back (the playhouse) brick-by-brick with grandeur its walls, its theater, to resurrect this treasure.
Despite violations and decay, the Playhouse remains a living relic — a battered but not defeated symbol of history worth saving. The fight continues.
Roberto Ciccione
Miami Gardens
