How will historic sites survive mega-casino?
It’s reassuring to see outstanding civic leaders working with the Genting Group on plans to mitigate the impact of the $3.8 billion Resorts World Miami on the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts. However, another important issue that must be addressed is the protection of historic landmarks in the surrounding area.
Included in the Genting Group’s purchase of The Miami Herald site is the historic Shrine Building, also known as the Boulevard Shops.
The property was designed in 1930 by prominent architect Robert Law Weed as part of the original retail development of the Biscayne Boulevard Co. The city of Miami gave it historic designation in 2003 to guarantee its preservation. Though this designation should protect it from being demolished, how will this structure be incorporated into the resort’s design? Could the Boulevard Shops perhaps be transformed into a community resource, such as a Miami Welcome Center?
Trinity Cathedral, located next door to the proposed gambling casino, is a National Register site. Founded by Julia Tuttle, the “Mother of Miami,” Trinity is one of Miami’s oldest institutions. How will the dust, noise, traffic and vibrations of massive construction affect this magnificent 1925 structure with its Rose window and Aeolian-Skinner organ that attract visitors from around the world? What provisions are in the development’s plans for pedestrian access, traffic flow and parking? How will Trinity continue to offer community outreach, concerts, worship services, weddings and funerals? The church’s structure has not even been depicted on the development’s planning maps.
And how will the 1926 Miami Woman’s Club, also on North Bayshore Drive and still in need of final restoration, ever receive enough support and use if its location becomes a liability?
The 1925 Miami News/ Freedom Tower on Biscayne Boulevard is a National Historic Landmark. It is a cultural, as well as historic, resource under the ownership of Miami Dade College. How will the Genting Group’s development affect its future programming?
And what about the iconic 1963 Bacardi Building at 2100 Biscayne Blvd. and the highly promoted MiMo Biscayne Boulevard Historic District, with the famous Coppertone sign?
How will Miami’s downtown historic districts, now undergoing revitalization efforts, fare with such gargantuan competition? And how will that 1926 jewel, the Olympia Theater at the Gusman Center, be affected?
Miami’s historic places are too often treated as afterthoughts in Miami’s eagerness to embrace the new. The story of Miami is an ever-evolving tale that needs restored architectural landmarks to mark its chapters. Stakeholders in historic sites and preservationists must be included at the planning table to ensure that a future Miami is not stripped of its past.
Becky Roper Matkov, CEO, Dade Heritage Trust, Miami
Read more: http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/10/28/2477156/how-will-historic-sites-su...
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