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https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=IQfJlfpKxWw

“What can I do to help save the Playhouse?” That’s a frequently asked question. Here are the answers. First, join the long list of plaintiffs in the Miami Dade citizens’ lawsuit to stop the illegal demolition and fraudulent misuse of public funds. Becoming a plaintiff doesn’t cost a dime or any of your time. You do not have to appear in court. To join the citizens’ lawsuit, you must be a citizen anywhere in Miami Dade County, and send an email to: cgroveplayhouse@gmail.com mentioning that you wish to be part of the lawsuit. Also include in the email your first and last name, phone number, and address.

The next thing to do is to stay informed about all the facts, especially the facts the County is hiding from you. WATCH this YouTube video and share it for those facts— https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=IQfJlfpKxWw

PLEASE, CONTACT THE LOCAL, STATE AND FEDERAL OFFICIALS MENTIONED BELOW, FOLLOWING THE STATEMENT BY MIAMI MAYOR FRANCIS SUAREZ AND THE COURT RULING.

Email Pinecrestrep@yahoo.com to sign up to receive important updates and stay informed about the Playhouse as well as to ask any questions you may have. Follow our official Instagram at: https://www.instagram.com/savegroveplayhouse/

Visit https://saveourplayhouse.com/ and www.savethecoconutgroveplayhouse.com
for fact-checked, substantiated, complete information, important details, and to see the visionary, fully funded alternative plan to fully restore the Playhouse in compliance with historic codes, statutes and guidelines. The alternative plan is fully funded, ready to go and makes this project not about retail but about bringing back a Regional “LORT” world class theater, with a conservatory, internships, training artists, programs to involve the West Grove and the rest of the community, and honoring the Bahamian roots of Coconut Grove.

PLEASE HIT THE YOUTUBE “SUBSCRIBE” button on the YouTube channel at https://youtube.com/channel/UCkKdYRt2G5-LR51TPmih5OQ for video content you will find nowhere else which the demolitionists and developers do not want you to know about and what you are not being told.


Statement from Miami Mayor Francis Suarez:

Debunking the County’s plan to “renovate”
the Coconut Grove Playhouse

Dear Residents:

With my first veto as the City of Miami Mayor and the reinstatement of the Historic and Environmental Preservation Board’s decision, we have sent an unequivocal message that historic preservation in our community is imperative.

The County’s plan to “renovate” the Coconut Grove Playhouse has ignited a passionate debate about historic preservation and the future of cultural art facilities in our community. Unfortunately, the County in its proposal has misled our residents and created a false narrative. To clarify the record in this polemical arena and for residents to make informed decisions, I am compelled to debunk these falsehoods.

Falsehood #1: The County’s plan is fully funded at $22 million and ready to proceed immediately. The reality is that the City of Miami, via the Miami Parking Authority (‘MPA’), will shoulder the majority of the financial burden of the County’s plan. Using conservative estimates regarding construction costs, the City of Miami will be responsible for almost an additional $30 million to the County’s project, which will require the issuance of bonds to finance it. When reviewed in its entirety, the County’s plan is short about $21 million. This deficiency will require the County to seek a joint venture with a real estate developer or borrow money, which is not permitted under the current version of the lease and will necessitate an amendment to it approved by the Cabinet of the State of Florida. The County’s proposal replaces a historic structure to a mostly commercial real estate space with an attached subservient theater. As opposed to the advertised $22 million program, the County’s plan is more than $50 million, with a substantial financial contribution from the City of Miami and its residents.

Falsehood #2: The County’s plan spends a substantial amount of funds in the preservation of the Coconut Grove Playhouse. The reality is that the County’s plan spends zero in restoring the Playhouse. The County’s bait and switch is not in conformity with the funds raised by the County’s 2005 bond to restore the Playhouse. But what the County’s plan contemplates is using funds from the City of Miami to restore the Playhouse, which ‘restores’ the façade and destroys the Playhouse.

Falsehood #3: The County’s repeated statements that they are the only party financially supporting the Playhouse theater. The reality is that the City of Miami, via the Miami Parking Authority, is the only party committed to an operational subsidy of the theater. Using conservative estimates, the City of Miami will likely contribute in the first year of operations close to $500,000 and remains committed to an operational subsidy going forward. Unlike the advertised characterizations by the County, the City of Miami supports the theater from both a capital and operational perspective.
Consistent with my veto message, I remain committed to further discussion about the future of the Coconut Grove Playhouse. But we must consider all proposals carefully and understand the real facts to arrive at the best proposal for our crown jewel. I look forward to opening night at the new and renovated Coconut Grove Playhouse. (End of Statement)

COURT RULING—-The April 7, 2021 11th District Court Decision ruled the entire playhouse building has historic significance and must be preserved, not just the facade. Here is an excerpt of what the court ruled:
—-Miami’s decision to grant Historical Designation was based upon multiple factors, including the historical significance of the Playhouse, the architectural design of its original architect, Richard Kiehnel, and architect Alfred Browning Parker’s subsequent 1950s “modernist” restyling of the theater. The 2005 Report also specifically defined “contributing structures” to include the entire theater, not merely the façade.

We find that the Mayor’s veto did not depart from the essential requirements of law.

The County argues that the Mayor relied upon the incorrect law -- the criteria in the National Register -- rather than the binding HEPB Report from 2005. This argument is factually incorrect in two respects. First, the Mayor specifically relied
upon the correct legal criteria, the 2005 HEPB Designation, which incorporated the report of the Preservation Officer:
“The Playhouse is ‘a signature building reflecting the heyday of Coconut Grove.’ (See City of Miami Preservation Officer 2005 Report.)The HEP Board recognized this fundamental truth and I seek to reinstate that decision.” (End of Court Ruling).

The Miami Herald— “There’s not enough love or respect in this town for Miami’s history. If there were, our cultural landmarks would be in the hands of better stewards. Once the most important venue of its kind in the Southeast — there’s even less appreciation for the Playhouse among its low-brow gatekeepers.”

HOW YOU CAN HELP—What’s been happening with the Playhouse and what can you do to stop it from being demolished? In short, stay informed and contact the officials listed below.

In 2004, Miami-Dade County voters approved a ballot measure to use $20 million in taxpayer funded bonds ($5 million was added shortly after) to restore the historically designated Coconut Grove Playhouse which is listed on the City and National Historic Registers and is protected by State historic preservation laws. Michael Spring, Director of Miami Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs, has undermined our voters’ mandate for restoration, and has undermined and disrespected the authority of the City Historic Preservation Board with his plans to misuse taxpayers’ money by instead demolishing the Coconut Grove Playhouse theater to make room for condos, retail and cafes.

As a member of the architect selection committee, Michael Spring has gone against protocol of going through two stages in the selection process, with stage two consisting of oral presentation by the candidates. Stage one is merely the committee reading through the proposals without hearing or interacting with the candidates themselves. This refusal to allow the candidates to give their oral presentations is highly significant because oftentimes a candidate who does not score as well in stage one will end up winning over the selection committee with their oral presentation in stage two. Additionally, the architect selection committee did not have on it a member specifically representing the interests of the historic preservation aspect of the project, even though there was representation of the Miami Parking Authority and FIU.

Furthermore, there were no instructions sent out to the architect candidates requiring them to submit their proposals based on what the voters mandated, which was to restore the historic building. Richard Heisenbottle was a candidate with much more experience than Arquitectonica in restoring historic buildings and theaters—yet strangely, was given a much lower score than Arquitectonica in the criteria of experience working on historic projects.

Michael Spring was also negligent in taking even the most basic measures to protect and secure the Playhouse site from hurricanes and the elements (heavy rains and winds) and vandalism. Furthermore, GableStage became the theater programming operator without an open bidding process.

So.....what can you do? Please give a small amount of time to make a phone call and send an email, on an ongoing basis, to the politicians and officials listed below demanding that they require Michael Spring to honor the voters' mandate of restoration, and stop any plan to demolish one of the few remaining historic jewels from a golden age that Miami has left. There is an alternative plan by Mike Eidson, Arsht Center Chairman Emeritus, whose plan is fully funded and ready to go.

Please call and email the local, state and federal officials listed below to express your opposition to the fraudulent misuse of public funds. Tell them Miami Dade County Cultural Affairs’ website has published volumes of blatantly false information including “being fully funded”. The County has also slandered Mike Eidson who has a fully funded plan to restore the Playhouse according to all the historic laws and guidelines. We demand all of the false information be removed IMMEDIATELY from the County website or risk having a lawsuit filed In 2019, the State Division of Lands under the auspices of the State Department of Environmental Protection, notified the County they were in violation of the lease but the state has failed to follow up to enforce their own laws!

Miami-Dade County is leasing the Playhouse property from the State but is in violation of the lease for committing, amongst other things, demolition by neglect. The lease specifically says the County must maintain the property, pick up the mounds of trash, repair the leaking roof, protect against hurricanes, must undergo a Chapter 267 review by the Department of Environmental Protection and Division of Historic Resources, and much more. The State, County and City are doing NOTHING to follow and enforce their OWN LAWS that protect OUR historic resources. If the State and County officials continue to neglect to fulfill their duties to protect this vital iconic historic resource, legal action will be the only remaining recourse to hold them responsible. Please contact all of the officials below—

Rick Gonzalez, vice president for Advisory Council on Historic Preservation based in Washington D.C.; Board member on the Florida Historical Commission; past president of the Florida Trust for Historic Preservation, former chairman of the Florida Board of Architecture and Interior Design. Email: achp@achp.gov (Put “Attention Rick Gonzalez” in subject line). Phone: (202) 517-0200 (Ask for Rick Gonzalez with the ACHP).

Tiffany Hurst, Inspector General for the State of Florida
Email: OIG@dos.state.fl.us
Phone: 850.413.6071

Laurel M. Lee, Florida Secretary of State
SecretaryofState@DOS.MyFlorida.com
Phone: 850.245.6500

Shawn Hamilton, Secretary of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection
Email: public.services@dep.state.fl.us (Put “Attention Shawn Hamilton” in subject line).
Phone: 850-245-2118 (Ask to speak with Shawn Hamilton, Secretary for the Department of Environmental Protection)

Ashley Moody, Attorney General for the State of Florida
Email: oag.civil.eserve@myfloridalegal.com
Phone: 850-414-3990

Callie DeHaven, Director of Florida State Lands (oversees the Playhouse lease as landlord over the property): Phone: 850-245-2555
Email: Callie.DeHaven@FloridaDEP.gov

Nicole Haugdahl, Department of Environmental Protection: nicole.haugdahl@floridadep.gov

Scott Woolam, Department of Environmental Protection: Scott.Woolam@dep.state.fl.us

Francis Suarez, Mayor of the City of Miami, (305) 250-5300 fsuarez@miamigov.com

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis: phone (850)488-7146
Email: governorron.desantis@eog.myflorida.com

Lieutenant Governor Jeanette Nunez:
LtGovernorJeanette.Nunez@eog.myflorida.com
Phone: (850) 717-9331

Timothy Parsons, Director of State of Florida Department of Historical Resources
Email: timothy.parsons@dos.myflorida.com
Phone: 850.245.6300

Gary Gensler, Chair of U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (report fraudulent misuse of public funds on a State owned historically designated property listed on the National Historic Register) 202-551-2100 Chair@sec.gov

Allison Herren Lee, Commissioner, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (202) 551-2800 CommissionerLee@sec.gov

Hester M. Peirce, Commissioner, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (202) 551-5080 CommissionerPeirce@sec.gov

Elad L. Roisman, Commissioner, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (202) 551-2700 CommissionerRoisman@sec.gov

Caroline A. Crenshaw, Commissioner, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (202) 551-5070 CommissionerCrenshaw@sec.gov

(NOTICE from the United States Securities and Exchange Commission:
We strongly encourage the public (whistleblowers and non-whistleblowers) to submit any tips, complaints, and referrals (TCRs) using the SEC's online TCR system and complaint form at https://www.sec.gov/tcr. If you submit your TCR using the online TCR system, you will receive a notice confirming that your submission has been received successfully and providing the submission number for your records.)

Miami Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava (305)375-5071
Email: mayor@miamidade.gov

Florida International University Board of Trustees: Phone: (305)348-6495
Fax: (305)348-6426
E-mail: trustees@fiu.edu

Miami Dade County Commissioner Raquel Regalado (oversees Coconut Grove): phone (305)375-5680
Email: District7@miamidade.gov

Below are all of the Miami Dade County Commissioners' contact info:

District 1 - Oliver G. Gilbert, III: 305-375-5694, District1@miamidade.gov

District 2 - Jean Monestime: 305-375-4833, district2@miamidade.gov

District 3 - Keon Hardemon: 305-375-5393, district3@miamidade.gov

District 4 - Sally A. Heyman: district4@miamidade.gov 305-375-5128

District 5 - Eileen Higgins: district5@miamidade.gov
305-375-5924

District 6 - Rebeca Sosa: district6@miamidade.gov
305-375-5696

District 7 - Raquel Regalado: (305)375-5680
Email: District7@miamidade.gov

District 8 - Danielle Cohen Higgins
district8@miamidade.gov
305-375-5218

District 9 -Kionne L. McGhee : District9@miamidade.gov
305-375-4832

District 10 - Javier D. Souto: district10@miamidade.gov
305-375-4835

District 11 - Joe Martinez: district11@miamidade.gov 305-375-5511

District 12 - José "Pepe" Diaz: District12@miamidade.gov 305-599-1200

District 13 - René Garcia
district13@miamidade.gov
305-375-4831


These are the words of architect Richard Heisenbottle delivered to the City Historic Preservation Board March 5, 2019. It provides irrefutable evidence the County and Arquitectonica are wrong, and likely what clinched it for us as the board voted against the County’s demolition plan. The original architecture is not irreversibly missing. It can be restored. Photo credit: David Bulit, Miami New Times.

The Coconut Grove Playhouse Deserves Better

By RICHARD J. HEISENBOTTLE, FAIA

Good evening everyone, board members, my name is Rich Heisenbottle, FAIA and I am President of R.J. Heisenbottle Architects. For those of you who may not know me, I am an expert on Historic Preservation matters along with my colleague Preservation Architect Bert Bender, Board Member of the Florida Trust for Historic Preservation and Arva Moore Parks, renowned historian. Many of you know that I have provided expert testimony before this board on numerous occasions in the past and that I served on this board for over 10 years. Today I submit my resume to the City Clerk as an expert and ask the chair to graciously allow the three of us a bit more time to make our presentations.

Ladies and gentlemen, today is a very special day.

Today each of you has the opportunity to make history.

You have the opportunity to right a wrong that has been perpetrated on the Coconut Grove Community by the well-intended but often mistaken representatives of Miami Dade County and their professional consultants for many, many years.

I trust that you are all aware that the historic Coconut Grove Playhouse was designed in 1926 by one of the most renowned architectural firms of the day, Kiehnel and Elliott. From its beginnings as a Paramount Movie Theater it evolved to become Miami’s first live-production theater and one of the most important regional theaters in the country. Having served our community for more than five decades, it is difficult to find a Miamian today who does not have vivid memories of enjoying either a movie or a top-rate theater experience in the Playhouse.

Inadequate governance and management mistakes closed the theater 12 years ago. That the Playhouse has remained shuttered for so long is civically indefensible. In 2004 county residents envisioned the theater’s glorious rebirth when we voted for the “Reconstruction of the Coconut Grove Playhouse to restore its structural integrity and add to its performance and educational capabilities." But sadly, for its own convenience Miami Dade County staff choose to undertake a massive demolition and new construction project cloaked in the historic preservation of the front facades. To accomplish this, Miami-Dade County exploited a seriously flawed local historic designation report and interpreted it to mean that only the front facade of the theater have architectural significance. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Today you will hear Andy Parrish, former HEP Board Chairman tell you that when his board voted to designate the theater they were voting to designate the entire building not just the front facades or the front building as the County like to mistakenly refer to it. You can confirm Andy’s testimony by reading the transcript of the meeting. Whether or not there is a scribner’s error in the written report, we know for certain that the entire building was designated back in 2005.

Speaking of previous board actions, may I suggest that each of you go back and read the Conditions contained in “Exhibit A” to that Board 2017 Resolution. HEPB-R-17-23 specifically, conditions Number 11. “No demolition permit will be issued until the plan comes back to the HEPB and is approved” and Condition Number 12. “The concept that is being approved in this plan is in concept only, the HEPB has the purview to require different configurations, heights, setback etc., for the development of each individual building.”

These two Conditions give YOU, the HEP Board, the power to set history straight, to correct the proposed plan and send it on a path that truly MEETS THE SECRETARY OF THE INTERIORS STANDARDS, which is of course the primary charge of your board.

Now to justify their demolition plan, the County would have you believe that the architectural fabric, the ornamentation and detail of Kiehnel and Elliott along with that of architect Alfred Browning Parker has been “erased.” While I would agree that that is true with the front lobby area and nearly all of the Parker renovation, that is not the case with the overall building and the auditorium, the largest space in the entire building. They will tell you that exceptional architectural, artistic, cultural and historical importance is gone and that it should be torn down and replaced by a new 300 seat theater. Ladies and gentlemen, nothing could be further from the truth. The Kiehnel detailing is merely covered up and I would like to demonstrate that to you all now.

If each of you will kindly open the envelopes you have just been handed and take out the high resolution photographs of the existing conditions of the theater’s interior you will see that in spite of the County’s attempt at demolition by neglect, there is no question that the Playhouse Auditorium still possesses integrity of design, setting and workmanship and it still has a major significance in the City of Miami’s historic, cultural, aesthetic and architectural heritage.

The surviving, original proscenium arch is without a doubt a stunning piece of architectural artwork – along with low-relief, plaster ceilings, cornice moldings and twisted columns that remain throughout the building. Where they are missing, they can be recreated accurately from historic photographs and on site examples. The entire Kiehnel auditorium is easily restorable within the guidelines of the U.S. Secretary of the Interior's Standards for Rehabilitation of Historic Structures, all non-original additions could be removed and new, state-of-the-art theatrical support facilities could be constructed at the stage and around the sides of the auditorium without compromising the Playhouse’s historic integrity.

So what can this Board do to make a difference today?

What can you do to Change the Course of History?

Vote to ask your exceptional Preservation Officer to prepare a revised historic designation report that corrects the flaws of the current written report and includes the Auditorium interior.

Chapter 23 Sec 23-4 speaks clearly to the designation of historic sites and historic interior spaces. Par (2) c. “Interior spaces that have exceptional architectural, artistic, or historic importance and that are customarily open to the public may be subject to regulation under this chapter. The designation report shall describe precisely those features subject to review and shall set forth the standards and guidelines for such regulations.”

Ladies and gentlemen as an expert I can assure you the auditorium space meets the criteria for historic designation as listed in Chapter 23. The vast majority of architectural details that were fathered by the hand of master architect Richard Kiehnel are still there. They are not erased, but merely covered up by black paint and plywood acoustical clouds and air conditioning ductwork hung below the original ceiling. Look at the photographs, this auditorium can and should be restored, not demolished.

Tell Miami Dade County that what you expect them to do.

Tell them to come back with a plan that restores all of the Kiehnel and Elliott building as the HP Board intended when it first voted in 2005.

A plan truly meets the requirements of the Secretary of the Interiors Standards, and one that restores the Playhouse’s structural integrity and adds to its performance and educational capabilities.

This is what we all voted for in 2004.

TELL THEM NOT TO COME BACK WITH YET ANOTHER POORLY CONCEIVED DEMOLITION PLAN

Having been the preservation architect for numerous theater restoration projects, I am confident that the County’s talented Design Team can create a remarkably and visually stunning Playhouse where the entire building, including the main hall and its amazing proscenium arch, twisted columns, crown moldings and low-relief details are restored rather than replaced with a new, starkly modern incompatible new theater.

ARE YOU BRAVE ENOUGH TO CHANGE THE COURSE OF HISTORY TODAY??

THEN TELL MIAMI DADE COUNTY WHAT TO DO. THAT IS YOUR CHARGE.

The legacy of the Playhouse, the heart and soul of Coconut Grove, needs to continue – most certainly not as a new theater with an old facade, but as a restored historic theater continuing its legacy of theatrical and artistic excellence.

The entire community – preservationists, theater enthusiasts and all other stakeholders can mobilize behind your action today. This approach is superior, not only for the arts, but for the urban vitality and sustainability of the Coconut Grove, its residents, its visitors, its merchants, its restaurants and its development community. There are literally thousands of successfully operating, restored historic theaters throughout the country, from Broadway to Main Streets they are everywhere. The Coconut Grove Playhouse certainly deserves to be one of them.

(Richard Heisenbottle is president of Richard J. Heisenbottle Architects, a 33-year firm based in Coral Gables with recognized expertise in historic renovation and preservation.)

Letter from Pulitzer prize-winning playwright Edward Albee:

5/1/14

To Whom It May Concern:

It has come to my attention that the Coconut Grove Playhouse – a historic cultural institution as important and useful to the citizens of Miami as it is to theatre practitioners and patrons everywhere –
is in danger of being demolished. Considering how much more useful the Playhouse will be once restored to its former function and prestige, and how much less than useful it will be if razed to the ground, and considering how many good people stand behind its preservation, I would like to think that those in charge of a final decision will come to their senses and assist in the Playhouse’s restoration rather than its destruction. A great many of us – myself, Samuel Beckett, Tennessee Williams, to name only a few –have been lucky
enough to be a part of the Playhouse’s history, and it would be a terrible shame if that history came to an end, when the last thing the American Theatre needs now is one fewer good place to produce good
work. I join the others appealing to you and urge you to save and fortify the Coconut Grove Playhouse.

Sincerely,

Edward Albee

Letter from Edward Mohylowski, whose credentials include:

Member of: Treasurer, Preservation Alumni, New York City, 1982-91; board member, Victorian Society in America, Metropolitan chapter; Preservation Committee, Municipal Art Society, New York City; Preservation League of New York State; National Trust for Historic Preservation. Below is a letter he sent to Miami-Dade County Mayor Levine-Cava and Commissioner Raquel Regalado urging them not to demolish the nationally historic Coconut Grove Playhouse. Please, let’s all do the same.

Dear Commissioner Regalado,

I am writing in my capacity as a professional historic preservationist, educated at the Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation where I earned a Master’s of Science Degree in Historic Preservation (MSHP) in 1982. Subsequently, I acquired extensive experience with the regulation of locally-designated landmark structures while employed for six years at the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC). In that position, I reviewed applications for alterations to landmark structures, issuing permits as appropriate but also shepherding myriad proposals through a public hearing process in search of Certificates of Appropriateness approved by the sitting Commissioners. During my tenure there, the Commission grappled with and ultimately designated numerous Broadway theaters as landmarks, including their interiors. Subsequently, I worked for the New York Landmarks Conservancy, a private not-for-profit, managing the Conservancy’s Sacred Sites Program. While no longer employed in the field, I remain active in the field with numerous preservation-related non-for-profits, on whose Boards I sit.

As I understand the issue involving the Coconut Grove Playhouse, county residents, in 2004, envisioned the theater's rebirth and voted for the "Reconstruction of the Coconut Grove Playhouse to restore its structural integrity and add to its performance and educational capabilities." Subsequently, the Coconut Grove Playhouse was designated as a landmark in 2005, but its backup justification/report turned out to be what has been widely recognized as a seriously flawed local historic designation report. This report has been interpreted erroneously to mean that only the facade of the theater has architectural significance and is hence protected. But this could not be further from the truth. Local legislation speaks clearly to the designation of historic sites and historic interior spaces. "Interior spaces that have exceptional architectural, artistic, or historic importance and that are customarily open to the public may be subject to regulation under this chapter. The designation report shall describe precisely those features subject to review and shall set forth the standards and guidelines for such regulations." Based on photographs that I have seen, the vast majority of the auditorium’s architectural details that were fathered by the hand of master architect Richard Kiehnel are still there. They are not erased, but merely covered up by black paint and plywood acoustical clouds and air conditioning ductwork hung below the original ceiling. Even in its current, unfortunate shape, this auditorium should be protected. It can and should be restored, not demolished.

I urge you, in your considerations, to err on the side of caution and mandate the preservation of the interior of the Coconut Grove Playhouse. Once this space and its decoration are gone, they are lost forever. Please vote to ask your Preservation Officer to prepare a revised historic designation report that corrects the flaws of the current written report and appropriately and scrupulously documents the Auditorium space.

In the meantime, please instruct Miami Dade County to come back with a plan that restores all of the Kiehnel and Elliott building as the HP Board intended when it first voted in 2005. It must be a plan that truly meets the requirements of the Secretary of the Interior's Standards, and one that calls for the restoration of the Playhouse's structural Integrity and adds to its performance and educational capabilities.

As Richard Heisenbottle has correctly noted, there are literally thousands of successfully operating, restored historic theaters throughout the country, from Broadway to Main Streets they are everywhere. The Coconut Grove Playhouse certainly deserves to be one of them.

Sincerely,

Edward T. Mohylowski

Watch this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2OKPdeEPvew#t=12 of Arsht Chair Mike Eidson giving an excellent vision of his alternative plan to saving the Playhouse.

http://www.ams-online.com/docs/coconut_grove_charrette.pdf This is a link to the charrette/feasibility study of the Playhouse conducted by AMS and submitted in 2010. AMS is a national firm hired to procure a plan to renovate the Playhouse. The people on the AMS plan's steering committee had control over the outcome of the vision plan and have something to gain in the Playhouse's demolition and redevelopment. We feel it is best to have this study held under the light of public scrutiny and to reconsider its outcome. If such a study is truly needed it must include steering committee members who are non-biased and who have no conflict of interest. We also feel that true historic preservation and economic vitality are not mutually exclusive but are necessarily interdependent, and cite South Beach's Deco District as a prime example of that.

History of the Coconut Grove Playhouse:

The Coconut Grove Playhouse was originally constructed as a movie theater which first opened on January 3, 1927, as a part of the Paramount chain. The movie house was designed by the architect Richard Kiehnel of Kiehnel and Elliott. It was built by local realtors Irving J. Thomas and Fin L. Pierce. Albert Peacock was the contractor. It was renowned as the second movie theatre on the east coast of Florida to be air conditioned and having the largest Wurlitzer organ in the United States.

In the 1950s George Engle, an oilman, bought it and spent over $1 million in renovations having the architect Alfred Browning Parker convert it to a legitimate theatre. It reopened on January 3, 1956 with the US premiere of Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot, starring Bert Lahr (Lion in "Wizard of Oz") and Tom Ewell.

In the fifty years that have followed, the Playhouse has played host to many of theater’s most renowned performers and playwrights as well as stars of TV and film, including Samuel Beckett, Tennessee Williams, Edward Albee, Henry Fonda, Charlton Heston, Liza Minnelli, Chico Marx, Marlene Dietrich, David Letterman, Will Smith, Denzel Washington, Kathleen Turner, Ethel Merman, Herman Wouk, Jimmy Buffett, Jose Ferrer, Alan Alda, Maureen Stapleton, Hume Cronyn, George C. Scott, Jessica Tandy, Hal Holbrook, Danny Aiello, Tony Randall, Jack Klugman, Eve Arden, Tallulah Bankhead, Carol Channing, Linda Lavin, Bea Arthur, Colleen Dewhurst, and hundreds more.

Between 1964 and 1965, The Coconut Grove Playhouse was used by The Miami Actors Company, which was meant to be an extension of the National Theatre and Academy which was the brainchild of Ilse Earl, who taught theatre classes in Miami. Only 20 actors from Miami and surrounding areas were chosen to become part of this historic event, out of more than 100 or so of those who were asked to audition. The company was reviewed by The Miami Herald theatre critic at that time. Shows involved, among others, were J.B. by Archibald MacLeish; All the Way Home by Tad Mosel; and Slow Dance on the Killing Ground by William Hanley.

In 1982, actor-director José Ferrer was named Artistic Director, and under his supervision the Playhouse gained a reputation as one of the nation's leading theatres. In 1985, Arnold Mittelman was selected after a national search to succeed Mr. Ferrer. Among the productions that premiered here prior to a Broadway opening are Neil Simon’s The Sunshine Boys, starring Jack Klugman and Tony Randall, and Urban Cowboy. Sherry Glaser’s Family Secrets moved to off-Broadway and became its longest running one-woman show. The Playhouse presented the world premiere of Fame: The Musical, which went on to great success in Baltimore, Philadelphia, and London’s West End, and mounted a revival of Death of a Salesman, starring Hal Holbrook and Elizabeth Franz, prior to a national tour. The theatre now has two stages, the 1700-seat proscenium Mainstage Theater and the intimate 100-seat Encore Room Theater.

The Playhouse provided a broad range of programs for all ages, include the In-School Touring Program, which presents plays aimed at students in grades six through twelve, Lizard Lessons, original plays with music for kindergarten through third grade, a Summer Theater Camp for teens, and Theater Stages, which teaches acting techniques, playwriting, costume and scenery design, and improvisation to children, teens, and adult performers.

On November 22, 1996, "Late Show with David Letterman" originated from the Coconut Grove Playhouse. To date, it remains the last episode of the show not to originate from New York.

In 2006 the Coconut Grove Playhouse was closed due to mismanagement and an accumulated debt. It remains closed today.

Sources: Cohen, Carol. "Broadway by the Bay; Thirty Years at the Coconut Grove Playhouse". Miami, FL: Pickering Press, 1987.
"Coconut Grove Playhouse". City of Miami Historic Preservation Board. Retrieved 06 April 2011.

“A closed theater is like the rolling out of a black flag.” —Victor Hugo

IN 1848, famed writer Victor Hugo wrote the following prophetic words......perhaps for us, perhaps for our time and place, to heed and take guidance from. Perhaps it’s time to listen to him. To consider something overlooked rather than pursuing the same flawed demolition plan rejected every step of the way—

Victor Hugo, Acts and words, Plea for the theaters, 1848

What I want is not noise, as you say, it is bread! Bread for the artists, bread for the workers, bread for the twenty thousand families that the theaters sustain! What I want is the commerce, the industry, the work, vitalized by the rivers of sap which flow from the theaters of Paris! The public peace and serenity, the splendor of the city of Paris, the brightness of literature and the arts, the arrival of foreigners, the circulation of money. It is the spreading of activity, joy, health, wealth, civilization, prosperity, when the theaters in Paris are open. What I do not want is the mourning, the distress, the agitation, the idea of revolution and the dread that are contained in these dismal words: “The Theaters of Paris are closed!” I said it at another time in a similar occasion and allow me to say it again: “A closed theater is like the rolling out of a black flag..”