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Hundreds of people surrounded the Coconut Grove Playhouse with yellow ribbon Monday evening to demand that the long-vacant historic theater be returned to public ownership and restored. - Chuck Fadely / Miami Herald Staff

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The American Institute of Architects in Florida (AIA Florida), in celebration of its 100th anniversary, has developed a competition for Florida's Top 100 Buildings and Places. They have invited the general public to go to www.aiafltop100.org and vote through April 6 on the 100 buildings nominated by AIA Florida, ranking them through the vote. Nearly a quarter of those on the list, 22, are located right here in Miami-Dade County. Also, many of these buildings are historic treasures that deserve the votes of historic preservationists like ourselves.

22 Miami Buildings Named to Top 100 Buildings in Florida;
AIA Florida Celebrates 100th Anniversary with competition to name top buildings in Florida

Miami, FL, March 19, 2012 – The beauty and wonder of Miami has been recognized by the Florida Chapter of The American Institute of Architects (AIA Florida) in naming 22 Miami buildings, including the Freedom Tower, the Miami Marine Stadium, Vizcaya, the Bank of America Tower and other local noteworthy buildings to their list of the Top 100 Buildings & Places in Florida.

As part of the celebration of its 100th Anniversary, AIA Florida has launched its “Florida Architecture: 100 Years. 100 Places.” competition, which identifies 100 buildings and places across the state that represent the best in architectural achievement, ranging from the Wentworth Museum in Pensacola to the Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami. AIA Florida has asked the public to rank the nominated buildings and select the top building in Florida by voting online through April 6 at www.aiafltop100.org. “We are so pleased these facilities in Miami have been recognized,” said Natividad Soto, AIA, AIA Florida vice president, AIA Miami past president and spokesperson for the competition in Miami. “Over the course rof the voting period, we will encourage support for these outstanding architectural landmarks by highlighting them in the community and urging our friends and neighbors to vote for them.”

The organ at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral (Miami, FL) was installed at the time of the church’s construction in the mid-1920s. It was built by Ernest M. Skinner and Company, who had developed a national reputation for building large organs for some of the most prestigious churches, concert halls, colleges, and auditoriums in the country. These include The Cathedral of St. John the Divine (op. 150, 1906); Carnegie Music Hall, Pittsburgh (op. 180, 1910) and St Thomas Episcopal Church, Fifth Avenue, New York City (op. 205, 1913). You can view the original specification of Trinity’s organ (op. 471) on the Skinner website here. The organ’s initial specification was four manuals, forty-three stops, thirty-six ranks and 2,497 pipes, including an Echo chamber in the rear gallery containing four ranks of pipes (removed in 2001 to undergo repairs).

To learn more about Trinity Cathedral, the Organ, and opportunities to support the restoration, please click the article title above or the "Read More" Link to the lower-right.

On the evening of October 15th, 2011, Preservation Miami held its Inaugural Celebration at a beautiful residence in Coral Gables, Fl. owned by our good friend, Ernesto Fabre. The event was a great success with over fifty people in attendance including individuals representing all aspects of the preservation community. Preservation Miami would like to sincerely thank The Copper Box (catering) and Books & Books for their generous donations in helping to make our event a fantastic success enjoyed by all.

There are many more events in the works so please stay tuned! In the meantime, we invite you to enjoy the following slideshow from the evening's festivities.