Historic Timeline
George E. Merrick (Founder of Coral Gables) comes to Miami from Duxbury, MA

City Beautiful Movement

Merrick amasses 3,000 acres of land, which he uses to create a unique suburb, featuring all the elements of the City Beautiful Movement.

The quarry used for local projects is reconfigured as Venetian Pool by artist and designer Denman Fink and architect Phineas Paist.

Coral Gables Congregational Church is dedicated; the University of Miami is chartered; the City of Coral Gables is incorporated; and the Chamber of Commerce is established.

The Biltmore Hotel opens; Merrick’s $75 million home development project is blown away by the Great Miami Hurricane in september.

Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden is established.

Thousands of WWII soldiers occupy unused Coral Gables buildings, including The Biltmore Hotel, which becomes an Army hospital.

The Miracle Theatre, designed by architect William H. Lee, is built.

The commercial districtdesigned by Merrick is rebranded as Miracle Mile thanks to Albert H. Friedman’s work with the Miracle Mile Merchants Association.

Coral Gables adopts its first Historic Preservation ordinance.
Coral Gables City Hall is listed in the National Register of Historic Places

Venetian Pool is added to the National Register of Historic Places, the only pool on the list.

Coral Gables Museum and Coral Gables Art Cinema open.
The City earns a silver from the United Nations’ LivCom Awards as one of the Top 5 Most Livable Cities in the World.
The City wins first place nationally in the Digital Cities 2018 awards, in the category of Up to 75K Population.
The #1 ranked Coral Gables Chamber of Commerce moves their headquarters to a state-of-the-art, new office located at 201 Alhambra Circle, 100

The Coral Gables Chamber of Commerce is home to Coral Gables’ official Welcome Center

In 2025, our Chamber celebrates a century of service to the Coral Gables community and beyond!