Tucked along Sunset Drive in South Miami, the Doc Thomas House is a historic 1932 residence and a hidden gem of South Florida’s natural and architectural heritage. In 2024, the Tropical Audubon Society (TAS), longtime stewards of the property, partnered with RLA Conservation to complete a significant restoration of one of the home’s most striking original features: its limestone fireplace.
Led by TAS Grounds and House Restoration Director Amy Creekmur, the project focused on the first complete cleaning of the fireplace in over 90 years. The fireplace—crafted from a unique blend of local oolitic limestone and fossilized coral from the Upper Keys—had accumulated decades of soot, stains, salt, and other debris, including damage from a past roof leak. RLA Conservation gently cleaned and stabilized the stone, corrected mortar joint deterioration, and restored the fireplace’s structural and aesthetic integrity.
This careful and thoughtful restoration preserves a rare architectural feature and honors the legacy of the house’s original resident, Doc Thomas, who lived there from 1932 to 1975. Accepting the award were Amy Creekmur, Jose Barros, Helen Barros, and Dan Jones of TAS, along with Caroline Dickensheets of RLA Conservation.