| City of Coral Gables | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| — City — | |||
| Downtown Coral Gables | |||
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| Nickname(s): The City Beautiful, The Gables | |||
| Location in Miami-Dade County and the state of Florida | |||
| U.S. Census Bureau map showing city limits | |||
| Coordinates: | |||
| Country | United States | ||
| State | Florida | ||
| County | Miami-Dade | ||
| Incorporated | 1925 | ||
| Government | |||
| • Mayor | James Cason | ||
| Area | |||
| • City | 37.2 sq mi (96.2 km2) | ||
| • Land | 24.1 sq mi (62.2 km2) | ||
| • Water | 13.1 sq mi (34.0 km2) | ||
| Elevation | 10 ft (2.8 m) | ||
| Population (2005) | |||
| • City | 42,871 | ||
| • Density | 3,216.9/sq mi (1,141.37/km2) | ||
| • Metro | 5,422,200 | ||
| Time zone | EST (UTC-5) | ||
| • Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) | ||
| Area code(s) | 305 | ||
| FIPS code | 12-14250[1] | ||
| GNIS feature ID | 0280801[2] | ||
| Website | http://www.citybeautiful.net/ | ||
Coral Gables /ˌkɒrəl ˈɡeɪbəlz/ is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, southwest of Downtown Miami, in the United States. The city is home to the University of Miami.
The population was 42,249 at the 2000 census. According to U.S Census estimates in 2005, the city had a population of 42,871.[3]
Coral Gables is served directly by the Miami Metrorail at Douglas Road, University, and South Miami stations. Douglas Road, adjacent to the Village of Merrick Park, provides transit service into Downtown Coral Gables via the Coral Gables Trolley, to University of Miami at its namesake station, and to parts of Coral Gables and The Shops at Sunset Place at South Miami.
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Coral Gables was one of the first planned communities, and prefigured the development of the gated community and the homeowners association. It is famous for its strict zoning regulations.[4] The city was developed by George Edgar Merrick during the Florida land boom of the 1920s. The city's architecture is almost entirely Mediterranean Revival Style. By 1926, the city covered 10,000 acres (40 km2), had netted $150 million in sales with over $100 million spent on development.[5]
Merrick designed the downtown commercial district to be only four blocks wide and more than two miles (3 km) long. The main artery bisected the business district. Merrick could boast that every business in Coral Gables was less than a two-block walk. The city used to have an old electric trolley system which was replaced by the popularity of modern automobiles, but now a new free circulator trolley system, initiated in November, 2003, runs down Ponce de León Boulevard.
In 1925, roughly simultaneous to the founding of Coral Gables, the city was selected as the home to the University of Miami, which was constructed that year on 240 acres (0.97 km2) of land just west of U.S. Route 1, approximately two miles south of downtown Coral Gables.
During World War II many Navy pilots and mechanics were trained and housed in Coral Gables.
Coral Gables is located at .[6] It is bordered on the west by Red Road (West 57th Avenue) north of Sunset Drive (South 72nd Street) and West 49th Avenue and Old Cutler Roads south of Sunset Drive. It is bordered on the north by Tamiami Trail/U.S. Route 41 (South 8th Street), except for a small section that extends north of 8th Street for eight blocks between Ponce de Leon Boulevard and Douglas Road (West 37th Avenue). On the east, it is bordered by Douglas Road (West 37th Avenue) north of South 26th Street, Monegro Street south of South 26th Street to Cadima Avenue, Ponce De Leon Boulevard south of Cadima Avenue to South Dixie Highway (U.S. Route 1), LeJeune Road (West 42nd Avenue) south of U.S. 1 to Battersea Road, and by Biscayne Bay south of Battersea Road. On the south, it is bordered by the Charles Deering Estate.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 37.2 square miles (96 km2). 13.1 square miles (34 km2) of it is land and 24.0 square miles (62 km2) of it (64.64%) is water.
As of the census[1] of 2000, there were 42,249 people, 16,793 households, and 10,243 families residing in the city. The population density was 3,216.9 inhabitants per square mile (1,242.4/km2). There were 17,849 housing units at an average density of 1,359.1 per square mile (524.9/km2). The ethnic makeup of the city was 47.7% White or European American (Non Hispanic), 46.64% Hispanic or Latino of any race, 3.30% Black or African American, 0.13% Native American, 1.68% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 1.49% from other races, and 1.54% from two or more races.[7]
There were 16,793 households out of which 24.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.2% were married couples living together, 9.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.0% were non-families. 31.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.31 and the average family size was 2.92.
In the city the population was spread out with 17.4% under the age of 18, 13.9% from 18 to 24, 29.0% from 25 to 44, 23.9% from 45 to 64, and 15.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 87.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.6 males.
According to a 2007 estimate,[8] the median income for a household in the city was $78,157, and the median income for a family was $121,651. Males had a median income of $66,178 versus $39,444 for females. The per capita income for the city was $46,163. About 4.3% of families and 6.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.6% of those under age 18 and 6.0% of those age 65 or over.
In 2000, Spanish was spoken as a first language by 51.05% of residents, while English was the first language of 43.82%, French 1.08%, Portuguese 0.79%, and Italian 0.72% of the population.[9]
As of 2000, Coral Gables had the eighteenth highest percentage of Cuban residents in the US, with 28.72% of the populace.[10] It also had the sixty-fourth highest percentage of Colombian residents in the US, at 2.27% of the city's population,[11] and the sixteenth highest percentage of Venezuelan residents in the US, at 1.17% of its population.[12]
Coral Gables is known as a pedestrian-friendly destination. Located four miles from Miami International Airport, the "City Beautiful" has around 140 dining establishments and gourmet shops, and many notable international retailers. Among the landmarks in Coral Gables are the Venetian Pool, Douglas Entrance, the Biltmore Hotel, and many fine residences.
Coral Gables is covered by several local and regional radio and television stations. Coral Gables is also covered by several weekly newspapers, but has only two newspapers with the city's namesake and main focus. The Coral Gables Gazette is the only award winning FPA (Florida Press Association) weekly newspaper serving Coral Gables. Covering local government, news, sports as well as community events. The Gazette is also the oldest weekly newspaper in Coral Gables. The Gables other newspaper, The Coral Gables News Tribune, is published twice monthly and is part of Miami's Community Newspapers, the Voice of the Community. At the University of Miami in Coral Gables, The Miami Hurricane, the official student newspaper, is published twice weekly.
Portions of the 1995 film Fair Game were filmed in Coral Gables.[13]
By 2006 Burger King had announced that it planned to move its headquarters to a proposed office building in Coral Gables.[23] By 2007 Burger King instead renewed the lease in its existing headquarters for 15 years. Burger King planned to consolidate employees working at an area near Miami International Airport and at a Dadeland Mall-area facility into the current headquarters by June of that year. Instead Bacardi USA leased the headquarters complex, a 15-story building. Bacardi consolidated employees from seven separate buildings in South Florida.[24]
Coral Gables is served by Metrobus throughout the area, and by the Miami Metrorail at:
Several countries operate consulates in Coral Gables. They include Colombia,[25] El Salvador,[26] Italy,[27] Spain,[28] and Uruguay.[29] In addition the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Miami, of the Republic of China, is located in Suite 610 at 2333 Ponce De Leon Boulevard.[30]
Coral Gables is the location of the University of Miami, a university ranked in the top tier of national universities,[31] with particular national status in the fields of business, engineering, law, marine science, medicine, communications, and music.[32][33]
Coral Gables schools are part of the Miami-Dade School District, which serves almost all of metropolitan Miami. The district has one high school in Coral Gables, Coral Gables High School, which educates students in grades nine through 12. George Washington Carver Middle School (Miami, Florida) is located in Coral Gables. An existing school was moved to the current location on Grand Avenue on land donated by George Merrick. When Carver died in 1942 the school was renamed in his honor.[34]
The management offices of Gulliver Schools are located in Coral Gables.[35] Gulliver Academy, a PreK-8 school that is a member of Gulliver Schools, is within Coral Gables.[36]
Miami-Dade Public Library System operates the Coral Gables Branch.[37]
Coral Gables has six sister cities, according to the Coral Gables website:[43]
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