History
Lummus Park, was created in 1909, as one of Miami's first open, green spaces. The opening of the park in 1909, spurred development in the area, and today, most of the building around the park were built before 1926. The neighborhood has a variety of Mediterranean Revival, Frame, and Masonry Vernacular styles of architecture, and is home to Miami's old Scottish Rite Temple.
Lummus Park represents development in Miami before the phenomenal growth of the Florida land boom of the 1920s. The Lummus Park area was platted in 1909, following the creation of Lummus Park in 1909. The park was the catalyst for the development of the surrounding area into a residential neighborhood. The land on which the neighborhood is located was originally owned by the Model Land Company, Henry Flagler's real estate company. The extant buildings and structures, such as the Scottish Rite Temple, are illustrative of the growth patterns in Miami, where areas closest to the water and downtown developed early in the history of the city.
The district is also significant as one of the last remaining residential neighborhood within close proximity to downtown Miami. Over the years, the historic district has been separated from the rest of downtown through the construction of I-95 to the east of the neighborhood and the construction of large high-rise structures on the surrounding properties.
Two of the buildings situated within Lummus Park – Fort Dallas, and the William Wagner House – are significant as the last remaining structures associated with Miami’s pioneer history. Both structures have been moved to their present site because they were threatened with demolition and there was no other alternative to assure their preservation. The erection of Fort Dallas at Lummus Park presents a combination of a reconstruction and moved structure. The 1920s endeavor to save the structure heralded the city’s first historic preservation effort. This was quite a civic undertaking, as the city was just more than three decades old when the preservation effort began.
Read more about this topic: Lummus Park Historic District
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