Directly across the street from the
Biltmore Hotel lies the
Congregational Church of Coral Gables.
Started by George Merrick in 1923, the building of a church was a priority as he happened to be the son of a Congregational minister.
This building stands as a grand memorial of sorts to his father.
Designed by the architect Richard Kiehnel, the building is modeled after an earlier church in Costa Rica, in the Spanish Baroque style. These iron lanterns flanking the front door are spectacular.
I love the contrast of the rough stucco with the smooth white painted stone and smooth terracotta tiles. Those little round windows are adorable!
I can imagine the number of couples who get married at the church with a reception at the Biltmore to follow!
The landscaping, as in all of Coral Gables, is very rich, leafy and green, not what one neccesarily associates with Florida. Yellow stucco, green palm trees and blue sky, thats all I ask for in a vacation!
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17 comments:
being from Maine, this just isn't what we think of as a congo church. where's the white paint - where's the high peaked steeple - where's the Quaker simple windows - HOWEVER - being an architectural eclectic, i love this place and many of the FLW style churches also. this place is just perfect in its environment.
INTERIOR????
security word def - "dendie" - as in "curl up and ........
I love that entrance - it's about as Baroque as they come!
So not what I am used to for a Congregational Church - we of course think classic clapboard. But I'm with Mark - love the flourish of the entrance and the little windows - they're like the dots on an "i"!
This one is stunnin, thanks so much. I want to peek inside. Atlanta Congregational Churches go from Italianate to modern with everything in between.
I was thinking that this was the Catholic church in the news a few years ago where the charismatic, handsome, young priest left to get married. But I could be mistaken. In any case, this is a particularly beautiful church.
Friends say I am confusing this with the Church of the Little Flower around the corner which is also a fabulous Baroque church. My apologies.
As I was raised presbyterian, I had no idea that Congregationalists had a typical type of church building. Fascinating! I thought this one fits into the Mediterranean fantasy that Merrick was creating in Coral Gables. I wasn't able to find the inspirational church in Costa Rica.
Devoted, I'm sorry to have missed the Catholic church down the street -it sounds great if it's similar to this one! I had a hard time navigating around Coral Gables and finding the Merrick buildings. It was very frustrating!
Oh my. I was so pleased to see this posting this morning. I grew up attending church here and was confirmed into membership in the sanctuary as a young teen. So nice to see that it has been so meticulously cared for over the years. As mischievous youngsters, we always tried to find the entrance to climb up into the tower, with no success! Later and while in high school, my family switched to Plymouth Congregational in the Grove which is also a lovely study of architecture as it is made entirely of coral rock. Wonderful memories for me, for sure.
Friends say I am confusing this with the Church of the Little Flower around the corner which is also a fabulous Baroque church. My apologies.
Stefan a wonderful church and I agree, love those iron lanterns!
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Even prettier, to my eye, is Plymouth Congregational Church in Coconut Grove. It was funded by one of Merrick's relatives by marriage.
AAL, I didn't know of it, wish I had seen it!
I daresay that's a very different model of Cogregational Church then the white frame New England model I grew up with.
Coconut grove is heaven. One of the better versions of Florida. A friend just got back from Sarasota and can't say enough bad things about all the bad McMansion developments that have taken over there.
What were they thinking? All that white flummery around the bell tower and above the front entrance? Very Spanish Baroquey indeed.
The landscaping, which comes right up to the church wall, looks perfect.
I visit this first villa you post , in Florida , in and out , it is an amazing place , and most of all it is the inspiration pit for ALL Florida's mentions , as if the idea of perfection is about this particular villa . Since then designers (divas or not) have been copying pasting, not always in gracious way, every inch of this estate all over Miami rich suburb.
This one is stunnin, thanks so much. I want to peek inside. Atlanta Congregational Churches go from Italianate to modern with everything in between.
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