St. Bernard de Clairvaux

The bell at the entrance to the chapel.
Photo by John J. Tackett for The Devoted Classicist blog.

Recently, The Devoted Classicist enjoyed the opportunity to visit the Miami area Episcopal church, St. Bernard de Clairvaux, in some terms the oldest church in the United States.  The building of the Monastery began in Sacramento, Spain, in 1133 and was completed in 1141.  Originally, the Monastery was dedicated to the Virgin Mary and was named "The Monastery of Our Lady, Queen of the Angels."  But when the Cistercian monk Bernard of Clairvaux was canonized, the Monastery was renamed in his honor.  Cistercian monks occupied the Monastery until the revolution in the 1830s, when the cloisters were seized and sold to be used as a granary and a stable.

The Cloister of St. Bernard de Clairvaux.
Photo by John J. Tackett for The Devoted Classicist blog.

William Randolph Hearst bought the Cloisters and Monastery in 1925.  The buildings were dismantled stone by stone and packed in hay for protection in 11,000 crates numbered for identification.  But on arrival in the U.S., there was fear of a possible contagion of hoof and mouth disease and the crates were quarantined, broken open, and the hay burned.  The stones were re-crated, but with no attention to the identification and sent to Hearst's warehouse.

A view down a gallery from the chapel towards the main entrance.
Photo by John J. Tackett for The Devoted Classicist blog.

Hearst had financial problems soon after this which forced much of his collection to be sold at auction.  These crates remained in the warehouse until 1953, however, when more contents were sold in 1953 after Hearst's death.  W. Edgemon and R. Moss bought the stones to reconstruct the Cloisters as a tourist attraction in the Miami, Florida, area.  After 19 months and almost $1.5 million (reportedly 12 million in today's dollars), it was named "the world's biggest jigsaw puzzle" by Time magazine.

The garden at the entrance to St. Bernard de Clairvaux.
Photo by John J. Tackett for The Devoted Classicist blog.

When financial difficulties caused the Cloisters to be put up for sale in 1964, Bishop Henry Louttit bought it on behalf of the Diocese of South Florida.  But when there were financial difficulties after the reorganization into the three dioceses of Central, Southeast, and Southwest Florida, Col. Robert Pentland, Jr., a philanthropist and benefactor of many Episcopal churches, purchased the Cloisters for the parish.  Today, the church of St. Bernard de Clairvaux is an active, culturally diverse Episcopal congregation in the diocese.  Also it is open for tours as well as being a popular site for weddings and quinceaneras (the celebration of a girl's fifteenth birthday).

Villages of Coral Gables

The "Gate House" garden pavillion, 1033 Hardee Road, Coral Gables.
Photo:  John J Tackett for The Devoted Classicist blog.

The Devoted Classicist cannot move on without presenting one more of the many fabulous historic aspects of Coral Gables, Florida.  As mentioned in the previous post on Venetian Pool, George Merrick began to realize his City Beautiful vision of a Mediterranean style community in 1921 with the help of a team of architects, artists, and landscape architects.  Merrick relinquished some control, however, in 1925 by deeding over 100 building lots to the American Building Corporation, and investment group based in Cincinnati, Ohio, and former Ohio Governor Myers Cooper.  A series of as many as twenty period revival theme villages were considered with a thousand residences.  But fewer than 80 were ultimately constructed in six villages.  The 1926 hurricane and the depression that followed ended Merrick's dream and, heavily in debt, he was removed from the Coral Gables commission.

A perspective rendering of French City Village, Coral Gables, by Schell Lewis, 1925.
Drawing:  THE ARCHITECT, December, 1925.

My favorite is the French City Village designed by Mott Schmidt because it is such a successful semi-urban enclave.  Schmidt partnered with Anderson Fowler, a New Jersey developer and attorney, to create a contiguous but slightly varied group of small classical villas will walled gardens and garages in an interpretation of the eighteenth century French style.

Block plan of French City Village, Coral Gables, Florida, from the original working drawings.
Drawing:  Mark Alan Hewitt, from THE ARCHITECTURE OF MOTT B SCHMIDT.

Construction photo of French City VIllage, circa 1926, showing the intersection of Leonardo Street and Hardee Road.
Photo:  City of Coral Gables, Historic Preservation Department,
from THE ARCHITECTURE OF MOTT B SCHMIDT.

Consisting of a total of eleven original lots on a block bordered by Hardee Road on the south, Cellini on the east, Cotorro on the north, and Leonardo on the west, the houses form a desirable grouping that anticipated the "townhouse" developments that started becoming popular forty years later.  The corner garden pavilions which appear as gate houses are an especially nice touch.

The intersection of Hardee Road and Cellini is shown in this circa 1926 construction photo of French City Village, Coral Gables.
Photo:  City of Coral Gables, Historic Preservation Department,
from THE ARCHITECTURE OF MOTT B SCHMIDT.

New houses in a sympathetic design have now filled in the remaining lots, except for 1042 Cotorro Avenue;  it is listed for sale for $790,000 and includes a design for a small villa in the same style of the neighboring houses.

The east end of 1032 Cotorro is shown with the vacant lot at 1042.
Photo:  John J Tackett for The Devoted Classicist blog.

The Devoted Classicist is enamored of the abandoned shell at 1032 Cotorro at the intersection with Leonardo Street.  (Early readers of this blog might recall some coincidental similarities to the new house by John Tackett Design featured in the December 19, 2010, post of The Devoted Classicist).  The classic proportions and siting so close to the sidewalk are noteworthy;  despite the current condition, it is a wonderful semi-urban house.  The real estate ad notes that it is a Short Sale, subject to bank approval;  the listed price is $1,550,000 as is.

1032 Cotorro, Coral Gables.
Photo:  John J Tackett for The Devoted Classicist blog.

1032 Cotorro, Coral Gables.
Photo:  John J Tackett for The Devoted Classicist blog.

1032 Cotorro at the intersection with Leonardo Street.
Photo:  John J Tackett for The Devoted Classicist blog.

The house at the corner of Hardee and Leonardo, 1033 Hardee Road is listed for sale at $2,495,000.  (See the July 4, 2011, post of My Little Housing Blog, linked in the Blog Roll on the right margin of this page, for more photos).   And 1013 Hardee is listed for $1,095,000.  More information on these property listings can be found by a Google search of the address.

A view along Leornardo Street showing No. 6105 on the left, and 1033 Hardee on the right.
Photo:  John J Tackett for The Devoted Classicist blog.

1013 and 1009 Hardee Road, Coral Gables.
Photo:  John J Tackett for The Devoted Classicist blog.

1025 and 1021 Hardee Road, Coral Gables.
Photo:  John J Tackett for The Devoted Classicist blog.

1001 Hardee Road, Coral Gables.
Photo:  John J Tackett for The Devoted Classicist blog.

The "Gate House" garden pavillion at 1001 Hardee Road.
Photo:  John J Tackett for The Devoted Classicist blog.

The ground floor plan of 6105 Leonardo Street.
Drawing:  Mark Alan Hewitt, THE ARCHITECTURE OF MOTT B SCHMIDT.

The ground floor plan of 1013 Hardee Road.  Note:  the scale is not the same for these two plans.
Drawing:  Mark Alan Hewitt, THE ARCHITECTURE OF MOTT B SCHMIDT.

The floor plans of the huoses are variations of a common theme.  They all were designed with the ground floor to have an entrance hall with stairs, an adjacent vestibule with coat closet and powder room, a living room with a fireplace, a dining room, a serving pantry, a service porch, at least one small porch suitable for entertaining, and two servant's rooms sharing a bath.  No second floor plans were available, but the original scheme was smaller than the ground floor footprint;  my guess is that there were usually three bedrooms and two baths upstairs.

An original single house in French Provincial Village, Coral Gables at 501 Hardee Road.
Photo:  John J Tackett for The Devoted Classicist blog.

An original double house in French Provincial Village, Coral Gables, 516 - 520 Hardee Road.
Photo:  John J Tackett for The Devoted Classicist blog.

Nearby, Phillip Lippincott Goodwin was the architect of the French Provincial Village.  It has some charming houses, but the development lacks the cohesive quality that helps make Schmidt's block so successful.  Goodwin teamed with Henry Killam Murphy to co-author the 1924 book French Provincial Architecture which proved to be an inspiration for houses around the country.  Murphy designed a development in Coral Gables as well;  his Chinese Village is surely one of the most exotic examples of 1920s residential architecture in the whole country.

The Chinese Village, Coral Gables, San Sovino Avenue at Maggiore Street.
Photo:  John J Tackett for The Devoted Classicist blog.

The other unique development that sparks my imagination is the Dutch South African Village by architect Marion Syms Wyeth.  The white stucco walls, shaped gables, and twisted column chimneys are delightful.


6704 So Le Jeune Road, Coral Gables, Dutch South African Village.
Photo:  John J Tackett for The Devoted Classicist blog.



A view from Maya Avenue of 6705 San Vicente Street, Dutch South African Village.
Photo:  John J Tackett for The Devoted Classicist blog.

6776 South Le Jeune Road (SW 42nd Avenue), Dutch South African Village.
Photo:  John J Tackett for The Devoted Classicist blog.

All these unique homes are cherished today and any proposed renovation must keep the integrity of the original design.  The City of Coral Gables Historic Committee reviews all plans for the required approvals prior to issuing permits for construction.

For more information on the architect Mott Schmidt, see The Architecture of Mott B Schmidt by Mark Alan Hewitt, the source for the measured drawings and historic photos shown in this post.  It was published by Rizzoli in 1991.

A special thanks to Ian MacDougald for his expert navigation and driving in taking The Devoted Classicist to these locations.