Florida Pioneer Village
Introduction
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The name Florida Pioneer Village is a bit confusing. This street transports visitors to the era of the antebellum south with Colonial two-story homes sporting balconies, columns, bulls-eye windows, and spacious, elegant properties. Designed in 1925 by architects John Pierson and John and Coulton Skinner, and inspired by the Greek Revival period, the large Georgian-style homes feature high ceilings and separate quarters for both guests and staff.
In 2007, the homes were included in the Santa Maria Street Historic District.
Images
A lovely Florida Pioneer Village home
Backstory and Context
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As you drive down the street you will see even the more modern homes have captured many of the elegant Colonial features, such as two-story porticos, verandas, slate roofs, and picket fences. The homes back up to the private Riviera Golf Course, which in the 1920s was a part of the Biltmore Golf Course.
According to Coral Gables, Miami Riviera, the architects may have selected the name Florida Pioneer Village to "distinguish it from other Southern Colonial models."
The project was part of the work completed by the American Building Corp. with builder Myers Y. Cooper Company. Cooper was a former governor of Ohio.
The American Building Corp copied the designs and used them for homes built in Cincinnati throughout the '30s, '40s, and '50s.
Sources
Fallon, Maria Rosa Higgins. "The Seven Villages." Coral Gables News (Coral Gables) October 29th, 2015.
Villages, Accessed April 10th, 2021. https://www.coralgables.com/villages.
Historic Coral Gables. Edition First. Self-Guided Tour. Coral Gables, FL. Junior League of Miami, 1986.
Uguccioni, Ellen J. Millas, Aristides J. Coral Gables, Miami Riviera, An Architectural Guide. Edition First. Miami, FL. Dade Heritage Trust, 2003.
KFBuchsbaum