Tag Archives: Charles Avenue

The E.W.F. Stirrup House ► Before and After

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Meeting announcement
Click to enlarge

It probably has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that the next Charles Avenue Historic Preservation meeting is this Wednesday, but there were big doings afoot at the E.W.F. Stirrup House yesterday.

The meeting announcement (left) lists rapacious developer Gino Falsetto under the rubric “Historic Assets.” Presumably that means the 120-year old E.W.F. Stirrup House, which his Aries Development controls through a 50-year lease. Falsetto claims he wants to preserve and renovate the house, turning it into a Bed and Breakfast. If that were truly the case, why has he been allowing it to undergo Demolition by Neglect for the better part of a decade? Why wouldn’t Falsetto do the bare minimum to protect his asset by — at the very least — sealing the windows to keep out the weather? Wood, water, and Florida humidity don’t mix very well and Gino’s given them 8 years to work their moldy magic on this architectural gem.

However, lo and behold: Yesterday a crew was cleaning up the Stirrup property by removing the vines and bushes that had grown all over the back of the house. This blog has documented how the property becomes an unruly garbage dump between citations from the City of Miami. The property is always cleaned up before fines are levied. Then it’s allowed to slowly fall into disarray until the next city inspector posts a citation on the property about all the garbage, weeds, and graffiti. Despite occasional landscaping, the vast Westerfield Archives has several year’s worth of pictures that prove these bushes and vines have never been cleared away. This was not just another minor clean-up.

Could it be that Gino Falsetto realized that eyes would be on the E.W.F. Stirrup House again this week because of the Charles Avenue Historic Preservation meeting? After 8 years of inactivity, is it possible that Falsetto wants to be able to say at Wednesday’s meeting “Things are happening,” only to let it slid into disarray until the next time it gets cleaned up?

[Continued after the jump.]

BEFORE – September 14, 2012
AFTER – February 22, 2013

You can clearly see the damage of vines having 8 years to work their way into the structure and what happens when they are finally ripped out indiscriminately. [Above]

Before – July 17, 2012
After – February 22, 2013

However, that’s just the property. This clean-up is primarily superficial, except for the new scars left on the structure from the brutal landscaping job. Sadly, the E.W.F. Stirrup House, the object of my affection, continues to rot away. To be fair: There has been some very minor work inside the house, which will be the subject of an upcoming post.

Continue to Part Two: Inside The E.W.F. Stirrup House ► Before and After 

For more on the E.W.F. Stirrup House, please read my continuing series:

Unpacking Coconut Grove ► A Compendium [UPDATED]

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This is the historical marker I just happened to discover
one day in early 2009. It led to all the research that followed.

As I add chapters to my ongoing series “Unpacking Coconut Grove” this compendium will be updated with the latest on top. The first entry for 2013 is:

Happy Birthday Coconut Grove!!! Now Honour Your Past

In which I briefly lay out the history of Coconut Grove from the mid-1800s to the present-day and make the case that systemic racism is the reason the E.W.F. Stirrup House and the Mariah Brown House have not been renovated, despite promises to do so.

Previous chapters:

The corner of Charles Avenue and
Main Highway in Coconut Grove.

Unpacking Coconut Grove, Florida – Part One

This is an overview of the area, the issues at stake, how I came to discover Coconut Grove, and why I became so passionate about it.

Unpacking Coconut Grove, Florida – Part 1.1

This chapter contrasts the 120-year old E.W.F. Stirrup House, currently undergoing Demolition by Neglect, with a house built in 1964 less than a mile away. One is rotting away and the other is for sale for $22,000,000.

Unpacking Coconut Grove – Part Two – E.W.F. Stirrup House

The E.W.F. Stirrup House,
standing proud on Charles Avenue.

This chapter delves deeper into the history of the E.W.F. Stirrup House and the history of Ebenezer Woodbury Franklin Stirrup. It explains why this proud Bahamian man’s legacy is in need of preserving for the community, as opposed to rapacious developers. E.W.F. Stirrup almost single-handedly created a Black community unique in the entire United States.

Unpacking Coconut Grove – Part 2.2 – The Neighbourhood Around The E.W.F. Stirrup House

Musings upon recent discoveries in my continued research of Coconut Grove, Charles Avenue and the Grove Gardens Residence Condominiums immediately behind the E.W.F. Stirrup House. It also includes a close up photo essay showing the damage that years of neglect have caused on the E.W.F. Stirrup House.

Unpacking Coconut Grove – Part 2.3 – The Charles Avenue Rabbit Hole Leads To Canada

Imagine my surprise when I discover my ongoing research on the E.W.F. Stirrup House leads to Canada, the country I chose to become a citizen of.

Unpacking Coconut Grove – Part Three – Who Controls What On Charles Avenue

The Coconut Grove Playhouse at the corner of Charles Avenue
and Main Highway. The City of Miami has been trying to wrest
control of it back, but one person is holding up all progress.

After extensive research I share what I have learned on who controls, or owns, properties along Charles Avenue. It turns out it’s all the same guy, or companies owned, in part, by the same guy, or properties controlled by the same guy. And, that even includes the Coconut Grove Playhouse, which I never even considered to be a part of my original research. Come on down, Gino Falsetto.

Unpacking Coconut Grove – Part Four – Open Houses and Broken Laws

In which I discover that demolition work is proceeding within the E.W.F. Stirrup House without the benefit of a Building Permit issued by the City of Miami. Also, for the first time, I get inside the Stirrup House after being invited inside by one of the men doing the demolition. This entry has lots of pictures of the inside of this historic 120-year old architectural treasure.

Unpacking Coconut Grove – Part 4.1 – A Photo Essay

Another visit to Charles Avenue seems to indicate that my blog posts are being read because the property is locked up tight again and all (allegedly) illegal demolition work appears to have stopped after being reported to the City of Miami Building Department. 

Unpacking Coconut Grove – Part Five – A Charles Avenue Love Story

180 degree panorama of the entrance to the Charlotte Jane Memorial Park Cemetery,
at one time the only place around where Black folk could bury their dead.

I would like to know more about the love affair between E.W.F. Stirrup and his childhood sweetheart, and wife, for whom the Charlotte Jane Memorial Park Cemetery, at the far end of Charles Avenue, is named. Here is the little I have been able to learn so far.

One of the informational
signs along Charles Avenue.

Unpacking Coconut Grove – Part Six – Still Building With No Building Permit

An update a week later, where I discover that (allegedly) illegal work is still proceeding within the E.W.F. Stirrup House without benefit of a work permit on prominent display.

Unpacking Coconut Grove – Part 6.1 – An Open Email to the City of Miami

Since the City of Miami has not seen fit to respond to my email, I have printed it here for all the world to read.

Unpacking Coconut Grove – Part Seven – Signs along Charles Avenue

At some point in the recent past a series of informational signs were erected along Charles Avenue. Here they are for you to read.

Unpacking Coconut Grove ► Part Eight ► The Powers That Be

Read along as I try to unpack the power structure in Coconut Grove. Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain, even if it is Gino Falsetto, a Canadian who left a string of bankruptcies behind before he left cold Canada for warm Miami.

Unpacking Coconut Grove ► Part Nine ► Good Neighbours and Bad Neighbours 

What makes a good neighbour and what makes a bad neighbour? In this latest chapter of Unpacking Coconut Grove I state the difference and name names.

Unpacking Coconut Grove ► Part 9.1 ► A Bad Neighbour Photo Essay 

A follow-up to last week’s entry with some hot, new information: How did The Bad Neighbour acquire his 50-year lease on the E.W.F. Stirrup House? It wasn’t by putting up any hard-earned cash. Read this chapter to find out how a (alleged) scumbag works real estate a deal.

Unpacking Coconut Grove ► Part 9.2 ► A Photo Essay Follow Up

Why did the alleged scumbag, aka The Bad Neighbour, allow the owners of the E.W.F. Stirrup House to be cited for contravening city by-laws by the City of Miami?  ALSO: More on how the alleged rapacious developer, aka Gino Falsetto, managed to acquire his 50-year lease on the E.W.F. Stirrup House. It isn’t pretty.

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Unpacking Coconut Grove ► Part Eight ► The Powers That Be

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The Charles Avenue Historical Marker with
the E.W.F. Stirrup House in the background.

My quest to save the E.W.F. Stirrup House, and my running headlong into the Powers That Be in Coconut Grove and the City of Miami, began a few years back when I first happened across the Charles Avenue Historical Marker. I had never been in Coconut Grove before and, since I’ve always been a sucker for history and historical markers, I stopped to read it. It was by sheer coincidence (or total synchronicity) that on the day I discovered the marker detailing the oldest Black community in on the Florida mainland, I was also reading “Sundown Towns: A Hidden Dimension of American Racism” by James W. Loewen. Lowen has written an amazing book of more than 650 pages, which goes to great lengths to explain why every ‘Merkin city looks the way it does.

The broken base of the marker
with garbage piled all around

On the day I discovered the Charles Avenue Historical Marker it was leaning backwards against a fence because the base was broken. However, I didn’t even know the base was broken on my first visit because of the garbage bags piled up all around it. Maybe it was the book I was reading, or maybe because I have studied race relations most of my adult life, but I knew INSTINCTIVELY that the reason the marker leaned and the reason it had garbage piled up all around the base, was due to Institutional Racism. Nothing in my subsequent research has disabused me of that notion. The Charles Avenue Historical Marker, and treatment of the E.W.F Stirrup House, seems to me to encapsulate the Black experience in ‘Merka.

It was only after I took in the sign did I look across the street and, for the first time, saw the beautiful, historic 120-year old E.W.F. Stirrup House (pictured below). When I saw that house in 2009, empty and being allowed to rot, I started my research. It was all that subsequent research that led to my campaign to save this house.

The saddest marker I have ever read.

As I said, I love historical markers. Word of warning: Never travel with me because if I see a sign that points towards an historical marker, I’ll detour from the main route just to see it. I have seen hundreds of historical markers in my lifetime, but the saddest one I’ve ever seen is one in my home town of Detroit commemorating where Paradise Valley once stood. To quote Joni Mitchell: “Don’t it always seem to go that you don’t know what you’ve got ’til it’s gone. They paved paradise and put up a parking lot.”

While Joni Mitchell once lived in Detroit [where I met her at “The Castle,” the apartment on the east side that she shared with her then-husband Chuck Mitchell, but that’s another story], I doubt she was singing about Detroit’s Paradise Valley. Yet, the words apply to Paradise Valley better than anywhere else. An entire neighbourhood was razed in the name of progress and not a single building remains. Imagine that. A vibrant Black business district was destroyed for freeways under the guise of urban renewal. However, let’s not sugar coat it: This would have never happened to a thriving White neighbourhood. White folk would have had enough clout to have stopped it or have had the plans modified.

[I’ve touched upon the topic of Paradise Valley briefly in my two posts about the Detroit Riots.]

There was once a plan floated to tear down most of Black Coconut Grove in the name of Urban Renewal. In the 1950s the City of Miami considered the neighbourhood blighted. Compared to other houses in the area, the houses in Black Coconut Grove were somewhat ramshackled. However, that tended to be a function of the relative poverty of the residents, when compared to White incomes in the area, and the fact that many of the homes had been in the same family for several generations. Furthermore, whereas all the surrounding neighbourhoods had running water and sewers, Black Coconut Grove still used hand pumps and outhouses — in the ”50s!!! People who lived in the area at the time have told me about the “honey wagon” that was just a way of life on Charles Avenue back then. Why would all the White neighbourhoods in the area have the amenities denied to Black Coconut Grove? I’ll let you answer that for yourself.

Had this been Detroit it’s possible the neighbourhood would have come down just like Miami city planners wanted. However, what saved the neighbourhood was E.W.F. Stirrup’s foresight. Back in the 1890s, when he was one of the largest landholders in the area, he had this crazy idea that home ownership was important for growing Black families. According to Kate Stirrup Dean, Stirrup’s eldest daughter:

Father believed in every family having a house, a yard and a garden, so you would feel like you had a home. He felt that people became better citizens when they owned their own homes.

The 120-year old E.W.F. Stirrup House, the showplace
Ebenezer Stirrup built for himself that once looked out
over his estate, which included most of downtown
Coconut Grove at one point.

To that end E.W.F. Stirrup built with his own hands, and with help from his neighbours, more than 100 houses in the area. This is why Coconut Grove, at one time, had a larger percentage of Black home ownership than any other place in the United States. It was that high percentage of Black home ownership that saved Black Coconut Grove. People simply refused to sell out at the cut-rate prices the city was offering. These were the houses passed from one generation to the next, the way that some families hand down precious family jewels.

Eventually the City of Miami was forced to put in sewers and running water. However, as much as some things change, some things never change. Institutional Racism has kept Black Coconut Grove in a bit of a time warp. While the 33133 Zip Code is now considered one of the most exclusive in the entire country, Black Coconut Grove has languished. This being the United States, Black income has always been less than their White counterparts — an undeniable truth — as have opportunities for Black folk. While other areas of Coconut Grove have thrived, Black Coconut Grove did not. Nothing represents that better than the E.W.F. Stirrup House, allowed to rot away at the end of Charles Avenue. And that’s where the Powers That Be mentioned in the first paragraph comes in.

The Powers That Be

Ever since I started making noise with this series, people I trust have told I am messing with dark forces far more powerful than little old me. People have told me that I am screwing with the power structure in Coconut Grove. People have told me that the City of Miami is one of the most corrupt in the nation. People have told me that Commissioner Marc Sarnoff has always been in the pocket of developers and runs his own district like a minor Fiefdom. People have told me that developers make the decisions and the Commission just rubber stamps them. People have pointed to the story of Konstantinos “Gus” Boulis as a cautionary tale of what can happen to someone who gets in the way of someone’s multi-million dollar deal here in South Florida. [My Canadian family and friends are aware of Gus Boulis, even if they don’t know his name.]

What do I know? I am still making noise, but now I’m watching my back very carefully.

The other night two facebook status updates crossed my screen simultaneously. Take a look at the unedited screen grab I captured:

Unedited screen grab. Nothing comes between the Coconut Grove Chamber of
Commerce and the owners of the Calamari Restaurant, both literally and figuratively.
The Grove Gardens Condominium Residences with Calamari,
La Bottega restaurants and Taurus Bar on the ground floor.

Does Gino Falsetto own and/or control the Coconut Grove Chamber of Commerce? They appear to move in lockstep, as evidenced by those messages sent out virtually simultaneously. It would make sense because Gino Falsetto appears to own, or control, almost everything else in Coconut Grove, at least that which can be seen from the corner of Charles Avenue and Main Highway. You see, Calamari is owned, in part or full, by Gino Falsetto, whom I have documented elsewhere in this series. He also owns, in whole or in part, La Bottega Restaurant, the Taurus Bar, and the Grove Gardens Condominiums Residences, all of which share the same plot of land. Falsetto, who left Canadian taxpayers on the hook after a string of restaurant bankruptcies in Canada before he high-tailed it to Miami, also controls the Coconut Grove Playhouse by virtue of a loan he made to the Playhouse board when the board was still thought viable. Because of that financial interest he has scuttled several potential deals to return the Coconut Grove Playhouse to the City of Miami. He is also said to be the owner, through a series of shell companies, of the two vacant lots immediately behind the Coconut Grove Playhouse, which are immediately across Charles Avenue from the E.W.F. Stirrup House. Falsetto’s Aries development company also controls the E.W.F. Stirrup House with a 50-year lease. It would appear in one way or another Gino Falsetto has almost all the properties surrounding the E.W.F. Stirrup House all sewed up.

How much power can one man have? I am beginning to think Gino Falsetto has the City of Miami Building Department all sewn up as well. On the 17th of August I reported to the City of Miami Building Department that demolition work was proceeding within the E.W.F. Stirrup House without the benefit of a Building Permit. Several phone calls later I have confirmed the case was closed without any notation of the resolution of the complaint. I have now been told twice that a lack of notation is very unusual and contrary to City of Miami policy. Many phone messages left with various people within the City of Miami Building Department have gone unanswered. The last time I phoned, on August 30th, while I was still on the phone a City of Miami employee sent an email to the Building Department requesting that they finally return my phone calls and let me know how my complaint was resolved. I am still waiting for that return phone call. I still do not know why my complaint was closed. Anyone is welcome to find out the determination of complaint #1200243103. Let me know if you have any success.

Meanwhile, I am also still waiting for a response to my email to the City of Miami’s Press Relations Department sent on August 10. Having had no reply, and not being able to get a single human on the phone, nor having any of my many messages returned, I published it as an Open Email to the City of Miami. That has still brought no results.

The historical marker that started it all.

Gina Falsetto is clearly a powerful force in Coconut Grove and, hence, the City of Miami. Not a single phone call, email, or public plea I have made has resulted in a response of any kind. Meanwhile, Gino Falsetto continues to wreak havoc on the E.W.F. Stirrup House in his attempt to turn it into a Bed and Breakfast without benefit of the proper building permits and without the Commercial Zoning required for such a business. After the (alleged) rapacious developer Gino Falsetto is done with the E.W.F. Stirrup House, all that may be left to honour the large and culturally rich Bahamian community that once existed in Coconut Grove might be an historical marker.

Everybody sing along with Joni Mitchell as you read all the parts of this ongoing series, Unpacking Coconut Grove:

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Unpacking Coconut Grove ► Part Seven ► Signs along Charles Avenue

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The Charles Avenue historical marker with the
historic E.W.F. Stirrup House in the background.

Now that the City of Miami has designated Charles Avenue an Historic Designation Roadway (whatever that is supposed to mean), the informational signs along Charles Avenue might get a little more attention. Every day several tour buses rumble down Charles Avenue, starting at the Coconut Grove Playhouse and the Charles Avenue historical marker all the way down to the Charlotte Jane Memorial Park Cemetery at South Douglas Road. The bus slows down at various locations, and even stops along the route, but no one ever gets out. No one! Any pictures taken are taken through the windows.

The original historical marker (at left) commemorates the first Black Bahamian residents who settled the area in the 1880s. It reads:

The marker in 2010.

“The first black community on the South Florida mainland began here in the late 1880s, when Blacks primarily from the Bahamas came via Key West to work at the Peacock Inn. Their first hand experience with tropical plants and building materials proved invaluable to the development of Coconut Grove. Besides private homes the early buildings included the Odd Fellows Hall, which served as a community center and library, Macedonia Baptist Church, home of the oldest black congregation in the area, and the A.M.E. Methodist Church, which housed the community’s first school. At the western end of Charles Avenue is one of the area’s oldest cemeteries.”


When I first discovered the marker in 2009 I wondered why it hadn’t been kept in good repair. At the bottom, in smaller letters, it reads “Sponsored by Eastern Airlines in cooperation with the Historical Association of Southern Florida.” Eastern Airlines went out of business in 1991. I couldn’t find out when the Historical Association of Southern Florida became defunct, but it no longer seems to exist either. I also couldn’t understand why it was being used as a trash pick-up spot. However, every time I visited there was a whole new assortment of garbage piled up around the base, so clearly the trash was being picked up from there on collection day.

The 120-year old E.W.F. Stirrup House.

The marker has recently been straightened and a flowering plant has been stuck in the ground next to it, but it was hard not to see the state of the marker as a metaphor for Race Relation in ‘Merka from the distant past right up to the present. The E.W.F. Stirrup House is a manifest representation to how Black History is treated in ‘Merka, marginalized and only mentioned for one month of the year, if at all. Yet Black history is ALL of our histories and, not to put to fine a point on it, it was the Black folk that did most of the hard work that built this country. As the Charles Avenue historical marker makes clear, the Black folk also taught the White folk how to survive in the godforsaken swamp that was Coconut Grove in the late 1800s.

 However, the Charles Avenue historical marker is not the only sign along Charles Avenue. At some time in the relative recent past a number of informational signs were erected, too small to be appreciated by even the most eagle-eyed passengers on the tour buses.

A few doors west of the E.W.F. Stirrup House is the current United Christian Church of Christ, aka Coconut Grove Seventh-day Adventist Church, which had once been the Odd Fellows Hall mentioned on the Charles Avenue historical marker. A sign in from of the building, erected by the Coconut Grove Cemetery Association, tells of the history of the Odd Fellows Hall and its importance to the early settlers of Coconut Grove.

Moving westward, immediately next door to the Odd Fellows Hall, is the Mariah Brown House. The Brown House predates the E.W.F. Stirrup House and is said to be the first house owned by a Black Bahamian on Evangelist Street, as Charles Avenue was first known. This means it predates the beautiful 120-year old Stirrup House at the end of the block.

The Brown House has been empty and boarded up as long as I have been visiting Charles Avenue, and quite a bit longer, I am told.

The sign in front of the Brown house speaks of the first settlers and makes it clear that these were the people who served, or worked for, the few White folk who had already moved to the area. The sign also mentions three early families who settled on Charles Avenue. Conspicuously absent is the Stirrup name.

As one moves farther west along the street, at the corner of Charles Avenue and Plaza Street, is a two-sided sign paying tribute to the unique Bahamian architecture brought here by those first immigrants who helped settle the area.

The Mariah Brown House is an example of a Conch, or Bahamian, house.

The reverse of the sign, with an example of a gentrified “shotgun” house in the background.
Two gentrified shotgun houses turned inwards, faces removed from the street view.

I’ve written more fulsomely about the Charlotte Jane Memorial Park Cemetery elsewhere. However, I include its sign here for completeness.

At the very end of the street, immediately across the street from the Charlotte Jane Memorial Park Cemetery, and outside what is currently known as the Macedonia Missionary Baptist Church, is the last sign on our Charles Avenue signage tour. Another two-sided sign, it speaks to the importance of religion to the original settlers along what used to be known as Evangelist Street, for rather obvious reasons.

The tour buses that ramble down Charles Avenue do not take enough time to impart the information on the signs along the route. I wonder is what the passengers are told, if anything, about the original Bahamian community that made and built Coconut Grove, currently considered one of the most exclusive areas in all of ‘Merka.

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An Open Email to the City of Miami ► Unpacking Coconut Grove ► Part 6.1

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This is a copy of the email I sent to the City of Miami Office of Communications. It was addressed to an email address I was given over the phone by a recording when trying to reach that department. I have yet to receive a reply.

To: Press@Miamigov.com
Date: Aug 10
Subject: Trying to obtain information

I appreciate any help you can give me. I am a semi-retired journalist (with limited funds) trying to get to the bottom of a mystery concerning Coconut Grove’s historic E.W.F. Stirrup House at 3242 Charles Avenue.

It appears that when the Grove Gardens Residences Condominium project (3540 Main Highway) was first proposed (in 2005 or 2006 or 2007; sorry to be so vague) promises were made concerning the renovation and rehabilitation of the E.W.F. Stirrup House on Charles Avenue. However, no one seems to remember what exact promises were made and this is what I am trying to find out.

People in the neighbourhood tell me that when the Grove Gardens Condominiums were first proposed the surrounding community had several objections. Those on the east side of Main Highway, in the gated communities like Camp Biscayne, were concerned about the proposed height of the project. Another group was bothered that the 100+-year old Taurus Bar might be torn down. A third group was worried about the historical E.W.F. Stirrup House coming under the wrecker’s ball. Accordingly, the height of the project was scaled back, and the building was stepped back, so the street view didn’t present a massive condo tower. Then the Taurus Bar was saved and (reportedly) moved back 7 inches and placed on a new foundation.

However, nothing was ever done to the Stirrup House, which has now been empty approximately 7 years, and possibly longer.

Those in the neighbourhood I have interviewed tell me that the house had been given an historical designation, but I can find no proof of that. They also told me that it was their understanding the developer promised that the E.W.F. Stirrup House would be renovated and rehabilitated to become a neighbourhood Historical and Community Resource Center, honouring the original Bahamians who came to Coconut Grove in the late 1880s. However, I cannot find any confirmation of this either. Others have told me the same story, except it was the Mariah Brown House further down the block that was to be renovated and turned into a Community Resource Center. This cannot be confirmed either, but both cannot be true.

I note that whatever promises were made, if any, on the Stirrup House and/or Brown House, they have not been fulfilled. Both houses have been empty since I discovered them in early 2009 and, I am told, much longer than that.

Last year, according to newspaper articles, the owner of the E.W.F. Stirrup House petitioned the City of Miami to rezone the E.W.F. Stirrup House as a Commercial Property in order to build a Bed & Breakfast in the house. I have been unable to find out whether this change of zoning was ever granted.

So, you see, I have a lot of rumour and conjecture, but no facts.

Here are my specific questions:

  1. Did the developer of Grove Gardens Condominiums make any specific promises concerning the E.W.F. Stirrup House in order to get its building permits?
  2. If so, what were they?
  3. If not, what community concerns were addressed to get the building permits?
  4. Is there an Historical Designation for the actual E.W.F. Stirrup House?
  5. Is there anything to prevent the destruction of the E.W.F. Stirrup House?
  6. Was a change of zoning, from Residential tp [sic] Commercial, granted for the E.W.F. Stirrup House?
  7. Who is the registered owner of the E.W.F. Stirrup House?
  8. Who is the registered owner of the Mariah Brown House?
  9. Were any promises made concerning the Mariah Brown House?
  10. Recently Charles Avenue was designated an Historical Roadway from Main Highway to S. Douglas Road. What practical effect does this have?

I am trying to save the E.W.F. Stirrup House from what appears to be Demolition By Neglect. To that end I am using my Blog to get the word out. This is what I have posted on Coconut Grove so far:

[Deleted Chapter titles and URLs for Parts 1 through 3 of this ongoing series]

I look forward to hearing from you. Thank you in advance for any help you are able to provide to me. Feel free to phone if you require any further information.

This email was sent a week prior to my discovering that (allegedly) illegal work has been taking place inside the E.W.F. Stirrup House without then benefit of a Building Permit. The questions asked in this email become more crucial now that the (alleged) rapacious developer Gino Falsetto continues to renovate the E.W.F. Stirrup House without a Building Permit. Will Gino Falsetto be allowed to get away with his alleged Bed and Breakfast Con? Will anyone at the City of Miami Building Department hold Gino Falsetto accountable? Will Gino Falsetto continue to be allowed to thumb his nose at City of Miami regulations concerning trash allowed to pile up on the property he controls, but doesn’t own? Will anyone at the City of Miami ever respond to my emails or phone calls?

Stay tuned, kids.

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Unpacking Coconut Grove ► Part Six ► Still Building With No Building Permit

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The E.W.F. Stirrup House on Friday, August 24, 2012. Note
the used metal studs leaning against the building. Used
materials to build their chi chi Bed and Breakfast? How nice.

Another visit to Charles Avenue on Friday demonstrated beyond a doubt that (alleged) illegal work is still going on inside the E.W.F. Stirrup House. More troubling is the fact that there is still no Building Permit on display.

Earlier in the week I called the City of Miami to check up on my complaint about work proceeding without a Building Permit. I was told the file had been closed, but there was no other information available. When I expressed my concern, I was transferred to a Building Department supervisor. I left a detailed message requesting I be called back. I am still waiting for that return phone call.

Used metal studs.

I am also still waiting for a return call from Maurice Pons, identified
as the Chief of Inspections (Field) for the City of Miami Building Department. I left a detailed message during the week, expressing my concern about the (alleged) illegal work proceeding inside the historic, 120-year old E.W.F. Stirrup House and practically begged that someone get in touch with me so that I could be assured that an (alleged) rapacious developer was not (allegedly) getting away with something (allegedly) illegal. Begging didn’t help either.

The funny thing is, depending on your definition of funny: No matter who I am transferred to within the City of Miami phone system, I can NEVER get a human on the phone. They all have voice mail and they all studiously seem to avoid returning their calls. I have made dozens of calls only to get voice mail with no way to reach a human being. Of those dozens of calls, I have left at least 10 to 12 messages with various departments and City of Miami employees. I have yet to hear back from any of them.

The dumpster is fuller than it was earlier in the week and
the piles of trash are larger than they were earlier in the
week. All of this is just waiting to be picked up by this
weekend’s approaching Hurricane Isaac.

While on the same topic: I am still waiting for a reply from the City of Miami Office of Communications to my email of August 10, 2012. [See Unpacking Coconut Grove ► Part 6.1 ► An Open Email To The City of Miami] It was sent to “Press at Miamigov dot com,” an email address given to me over the phone by a recorded message when trying to get that department on the phone. One would think that, by now, I would have had a reply, even if it was to say, “Sorry, we can’t help you.” At the very least you’d think I would have received a acknowledgment that the email had been received. Oh, and again, there is no way to get that department on the phone or to return my calls either. It’s like falling into a black hole.

As a journalist of long-standing, I have had to call Mayors, Members of Parliament, Members of Provincial Parliament and city departments many times. I have never had this kind of trouble reaching someone by phone in my entire life. And, when I have left a message, I have always received a prompt call back. What the hell is going on at Miami City Hall?

RECAP: My complaint was closed with no other notations on
the file. Two City of Miami Building Department inspectors have failed
to return my phone calls, as have many other City of Miami employees.
Furthermore, the Media and Communications Department doesn’t respond to
Media and Press Inquiries. What the hell is going on at Miami City Hall?

This is just more proof that the owners
Grove Gardens Residence Condominiums
uses this property for unintended uses.
While at the E.W.F Stirrup House I
saw workmen carrying out piles of trash
and dumping them next to these doors.

I have been told many times, by many people far more knowledgeable about Miami politics than I, that the City of Miami Building Department is in the pocket of rich developers. It’s hard NOT to come to the same conclusion when I cannot even get simple answers to my simple questions from ANYONE in the Building Department or the Press Relations Department. What the hell is going on at Miami City Hall?

Meanwhile, there is continued evidence that (allegedly) illegal work is still proceeding within the E.W.F. Stirrup House without benefit of a Building Permit. Will anyone at Miami City Hall address this issue? Will anyone at Miami City Hall return my phone calls? Will anyone at Miami City Hall take any notice that a developer is (allegedly) doing whatever the hell he wants, despite the fact that he doesn’t even own the property, but merely has a 50-year lease on it? Stay tuned . . . .

Meanwhile, here are some more pictures taken yesterday which proves that (alleged) illegal work is still is ongoing inside the historic 120-year old E.W.F. Stirrup House without benefit of a building permit and that workers within the Grove Gardens Residence Condominiums (immediately behind the Stirrup House) are using the property to dump their trash.

These trash piles have grown since Monday. They will make good projectiles for this week’s approaching hurricane.
Everything in this dumpster will become a projectile if and when Hurricane Isaac hits.

Fresh sawdust outside the side door of the E.W.F. Stirrup House indicating work inside is ongoing.

This fresh sawdust has not even gotten wet, despite the fact that it rains almost every day down here.
The fresh sawdust trails under and inside the side door of the E.W.F. Stirrup House.

This pile of construction materials has also grown since Monday. Plywood makes a great sail in a hurricane.

These piles of trash, hidden behind the E.W.F. Stirrup House, away
from the prying eyes of City of Miami inspectors, have not grown.

This pile of trash behind the E.W.F. Stirrup House has not grown either.

This pile of trash has grown since Monday.

I don’t want to be anywhere near this plywood when Hurricane Isaac arrives.
This Reggae flyer is still in front of the E.W.F. Stirrup House. Hurricane Isaac will take care of it.

This Red Stripe carton in front of the E.W.F. Stirrup House is a new arrival. It matches my shoes.
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A Charles Avenue Love Story ► Unpacking Coconut Grove ► Part Five

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The Charlotte Jane Memorial Park Cemetery

On the corner of Charles Avenue and South Douglas Rd., on the opposite end of the street from the E.W.F. Stirrup House, is the Charlotte Jane Memorial Park Cemetery. It dates back to the early 1900s and at one time — and for a long time — was the only place in Coconut Grove where Black folk could consecrate and bury their dead.

The entrance to the Charlotte Jane Memorial Park Cemetery. 180 degree panorama by author.

Charlotte Jane was E.W.F. Stirrup’s childhood sweetheart. I know
almost nothing about her, save for this: In the 1870s or 1880s Ebenezer
Woodbury Franklin Stirrup made his first pilgrimage to the United
States. He came up through Key West, where he stopped for a while and apprenticed as a carpenter with an uncle. This is the skill he would eventually utilize in Coconut Grove to great effect, building more than 100 houses in the area, including his own show piece at the other end of Charles Avenue. Stirrup reportedly spent 10 years working for his uncle in Key West before he decided he would head north to see what life was like on the mainland. However, before he did he went back to the Bahamas to marry his childhood sweetheart. Then he brought her
back with him, eventually settling in Cutler Bay for a time.

Photo by Stefan Kokemüller
From Wikipedia Commons

I try to imagine that trip, which Mr. Stirrup took at least 3 times in his life. It could not have been easy. The trip from the Bahamas to Key West was obviously an ocean journey. At one time — and for a long time — Key West was the largest city in Florida and remained unconnected to the mainland until 1912, when Henry Flagler completed his railroad. Consequently the journey from Key West to the mainland was another ocean voyage. It would have been far easier, in those times, to sail directly to Cutler Bay. There would have been few roads, if any. Southern Florida was swampland, overgrown with mangrove, pine, oak and banyan trees, not to mention alligators and snakes. Traversing the lower end of the Florida peninsula by land would have been a harrowing and nearly impossible journey.

E.W.F. and Charlotte Jane Stirrup first settled in Cutler Bay, about 13 miles from where they eventually settled. For
whatever reason Cutler Bay was not to his liking and he decided to move north to
the nascent community of Coconut Grove, where he eventually settled and
built his beautiful house and more than 100 others.

The Charlotte Jane Memorial Park Cemetery was originally known by the more generic names of Coconut Grove Cemetery or Grove’s Bahamian Cemetery. It opened in 1904, or 1906 (both dates are cited in various places) and was originally owned by the city (despite what I stated elsewhere). According to the USGenWeb Archives, Mary Washburn writes:

In 1913, the cemetery property was purchased by five families for the sum of $140.00.  The families that purchased the property are Burrow, Higgs, Reddick, Ross and the E.W.F. Stirrup families.


The first burial was Joseph Mayor he was buried as Daniel Anderson.  Daniel Anderson and his wife Catherine Anderson were the founders of the Christ Episcopal Church.


Also buried here is Capt. John Sweeting, developer and commercial fisherman who Settled the ground now know as Charlotte Jane Memorial Park Cemetery.

There has long been a rumour to the effect that Michael Jackson filmed the cemetery scenes to “Thriller” at the Charlotte Jane Memorial Park Cemetery and you’ll find many references on the innertubes citing that. This is totally incorrect. WikiAnswers states:

Contrary to rumors, the cemetery scenes of Thriller were actually filmed on a soundstage and not at an actual cemetery. This fact is clearly proven by watching the DVD release of Thriller. During the wide-shot of the cemetery set as Michael and Ola walk past, various lighting and rigs can be seen over head.

Again, the cemetery sequence was NOT filmed in a real cemetery.

No matter because the Charlotte Jane Memorial Park Cemetery is a lovely little cemetery, with a long history of its own. In Florida, as in New Orleans, caskets cannot be buried below ground because of the water table. Unlike the New Orleans’ crypts you are used to seeing, the graves at the Charlotte Jane Memorial Park Cemetery are simple and uncomplicated, paralleling the economic realities of a Black community in 20th Century ‘Merka.

In the years since I have been visiting Charles Avenue I have taken thousands of pictures of the Charlotte Jane Memorial Park Cemetery, some of which I’d like to share with you.

Memorial Day, 2010

Memorial Day, 2010

Memorial Day, 2010

Memorial Day, 2010

Memorial Day, 2010

Memorial Day, 2010

Memorial Day, 2010

All photographs © copyright 2012 by author.

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Unpacking Coconut Grove ► Part 4.1 ► A Photo Essay

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The room on the second floor in
which the (alleged) illegal
demolition was taking place.
Another angle, showing the 2nd
floor front room and the former
upper porch, now an interior room.

A quick visit to Charles Avenue confirmed the (allegedly) illegal demolition inside the historic, 120-year old E.W.F. Stirrup House has stopped. Whether that was due to my reporting them to the City of Miami Building Department, because of my weekend blog post called Open Houses and Broken Laws, or whether they just ran out of work to do, is something I don’t know.

However, I have a small clue that my post has been read by the alleged rapacious developer. There is now a lock and chain through the double-doors in the wall that separates the E.W.F. Stirrup property from the Grove Gardens Residences Condominiums mentioned in my previous post. I have never seen a chain and lock on that door before. Maybe they think that’s how I get onto the property when I visit and thought this would block my way.

That looks formidable, doesn’t it?

This is the formidable lock on the front gate. The gap is large enough to squeeze through, but I’ve never done that.

Yet locks do not prevent me from taking pictures through a chain link fence.

The workers conducting the (alleged) illegal demolition of the
E.W.F. Stirrup House filled this dumpster before work stopped.

If I were in Great Britain I’d call this a skip, which is taken to the tip. In any language, it’s full.

Locks do not prevent me from taking pictures over the wall from the Regions Bank parking lot either.
This angle showed me a new pile of trash that wasn’t there on Friday.
This is the parking lot of the Regions Bank. The wall is chest
high and you can just see the E.W.F. Stirrup House in the background.
It’s not clear what that pile of trash is, but I’d lay money it’s non-conforming.
Note the height of the grass. I’ve seen the property cited previously for a lack of upkeep on the landscaping.

Notice from the City of Miami for code violations taken by author on August 26, 2009
Close up of notice from August 26, 2009. The property is in worse condition now than it was in 2009.
Also from August 2009. The property across from the E.W.F. Stirrup House with a similar citation.
This is the property currently being used to shunt cars in and out of the Coconut Grove Playhouse parking lot.
A new picture from yesterday of the same fence, with far more growth than for
which the property was cited in 2009 (above). Note how it’s impeding the sidewalk.
Back to the Stirrup property and yesterday. It wouldn’t surprise me at all to find
this pile of trash is also non-conforming. This is next to the padlocked doors seen above.
The mailbox at the E.W.F. Stirrup House at 3242 Charles Avenue
indicates the neglect as well as anything else.

Another view of the mailbox at the E.W.F. Stirrup House.
I have photographed this hole in the front of the E.W.F. Stirrup House before.
This is the first time I ever saw a creature come out of it.
It’s always a good day when I see a flyer for Reggae music.
This was on the sidewalk directly in from of the E.W.F. Stirrup House.
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Unpacking Coconut Grove ► Part Four ► Open Houses and Broken Laws

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The meeting place

Is there illegal work going on inside the E.W.F. Stirrup House? I certainly think so. Get comfortable and read on. This is a long one, friends.

It was Friday noon (08-17-2012) and I was to meet someone in front of the Coconut Grove Playhouse. This gent was going to get the full Charles Avenue History Tour, which I have now given to several people, several times. In fact, I’ll give the Charles Avenue History Tour to anyone who shows an interest in helping me get the word out about the E.W.F. Stirrup House. It’s almost like the Coconut Grove Ghost Walk, except the ghosts I’m talking about once lived on Charles Avenue. If you want to book a Charles Avenue History Tour, contact me.

This particular Charles Avenue History Tour turned out to be the longest one yet, almost 2 full hours. Either this gentleman was very interested, or he feigned interest very well; I only saw him glance at his watch once. Or, it could be I’m a much better story teller than I give myself credit for, despite all the swearing.

Since I arrived before he did I had a bit of time to kill and used that time to take a few pictures. The first picture I took was of a brand new structure that’s popped up
on Charles Avenue since the last time I was there, mere weeks ago.

Blessed relief with the E.W.F Stirrup House in background

This Port-A-Potty is just off the Charles Avenue driveway entrance to the Regions Bank, and is situated just east of the locked gate at the E.W.F. Stirrup property. Half off/half on the sidewalk and half off/half in the bank’s driveway seemed a very unusual place for a Port-A-Potty, but I was undaunted. I used it anyway. After the 65 minute drive from Sunrise, it was actually a welcome sight, if my bladder could see. Usually my first stop in The Grove is the washroom for the Taurus Bar. I don’t know how many times I can get away with “I’m a tourist and I need to use your washroom,” but this week I didn’t need to. It appeared as if my every need was being anticipated, and you have no idea how right that thought turned out to be in the end. It was a day of wonderful Synchronicity and being able to take a whiz without lying to the bartender at the Taurus was the least of it.

But, I’m getting ahead of myself.

Still life: Damaged fence with dumpster

I noted some new, recent damage to the fence surrounding the Stirrup House, which is no big deal; chain linked fencing is easily fixed. However, the dumpster in the background MIGHT be a big deal. Then it occurred to me that the dumpster might be connected in some way to the Port-A-Potty. I made a mental note to keep an eye on the dumpster as best I can. I have seen many dumpsters come and go from inside the Stirrup property. However, I’m never around to know what they are being used for because I only get down to Coconut Grove once a week.

Then I hustled over to the front of the Coconut Grove Playhouse, just a few hundred feet away, to meet my Charles Avenue History Tour guest.

Skip ahead about an hour. My guest and I were standing directly in front of the Stirrup House while I conducted my Charles Avenue History Tour as fast as I could, because I never know when someone will tire of it. It’s a long, complicated history that spans 120 years and several different Charles Avenue properties. All of that background becomes necessary before I can even get to what I consider the important part of the story: Who Controls What On Charles Avenue, which, is not coincidentally, Part Three of this continuing series. I was at the part in the Charles Avenue History Tour, where I start connecting all the dots. Suddenly a white pickup truck arrived and the two gents in the truck unlock the gate surrounding the Stirrup property and drive inside.

The Grove Gardens Residence Condominiums

My attention was now divided. I wanted to finish the Charles Avenue History Tour, but I could not help be curious about the pickup truck, the bed of which was filled to the gills with carpet and padding. Are they going to start carpeting the rotting E.W.F. Stirrup House, currently undergoing Demolition by Neglect. That would be like putting lipstick on a GOP vice presidential candidate.

However, it turned out the carpet was merely remnants ripped up from somewhere else and was being tossed into the dumpster. It is my assumption (without any proof whatsoever) that the carpet was ripped up during some renovation from inside the Grove Gardens Residence Condominiums immediately south of the E.W.F. Stirrup House. It’s not such a leap of imagination. The Grove Garden Residence Condominiums, or rather the powers that control it, seem to use the Stirrup property for its own benefit for all kinds of things.

To the left is a set of doors built into the wall that separates the E.W.F. Stirrup property from the Grove Garden Residence Condominiums. If one peeks through the partially open doorway, pictured at right, one discovers the “La Cava Wine Club,” just one of four Chi Chi restaurants that occupy the ground floor of the Grove Garden Residence Condominiums. La Cava Wine Club is a near redundancy, since “la cava” means “the wine cellar.” The other businesses are two high end restaurants, and the 100+ year old structure that houses the Taurus Bar, that began its life as a tea room. It was saved from the wrecker’s ball when the Grove Garden Residence Condominiums was built around it.

That’s not all the Stirrup property is being used for to benefit the Grove Garden Residence Condominiums. In the southeast corner of the lot are two air conditioning units (left) that feed cold air to somewhere within the condo complex, maybe to the wine bar, which is the closest business. There are also many piles of garbage (just one is pictured at right) and trash hidden behind the E.W.F. Stirrup House, away from the prying eyes of city inspectors, who would levy fines if they knew how much trash was being piled up on the property. This is clearly illegal. Even though I have seen dumpsters come and go, these piles of garbage just get larger and larger. It’s clear the dumpsters are not being used for these piles of garbage. So what, exactly are their purpose? Turns out I wouldn’t have all that long to find out.

But, I’m getting ahead of myself again.

While my attention was divided — giving my Charles Avenue History Tour and trying to see what these gents are doing inside the Stirrup property — I missed the most important thing of all. These men unlocked the side door of the Stirrup House and stepped inside. It happened so fast I didn’t have time to get my camera out of my quick-release holster to take a picture of them entering the side door; I only managed to take a picture of the open door after they passed through it. I have never seen anyone in the Stirrup House before!!!

The open side door to the historic E.W.F. Stirrup House, currently undergoing Demolition by Neglect, and now hammers

Then we heard pounding from inside the house. The two gents are visible through the front window of the upper floor of the Stirrup House and they are ripping the room apart. I yell up, “What’s going on?”  They yell down to me that the E.W.F. Stirrup House is being turned into a Bed & Breakfast.

WAIT!!! WHAT???

No! That can’t be! It was only last week that I was on the City of Miami web site and confirmed for myself that the property is still zoned Residential. I was checking the status because last year, according to CBS Miami, Aries Development Group (oddly not named in the CBS article, but named by the Coconut Grove Grapevine) was petitioning the city for a change of zoning on the E.W.F. Stirrup property from the current Residential to Commercial. According to the CBS report a decision was to be made by May 26th of last year, which apparently had been deferred to the April 6th meeting. Now, fifteen months later — as I mentioned above — the Miami web site still lists it Residential and I can find no OFFICIAL mention anywhere that the zoning has been changed to accommodate the developer.

Now it’s time to get even deeper into the weeds. According to a 2010 article in the South Florida Business Journal a man by the name of Gino Falsetto is head of Aries Development. According to the Coconut Grove Grapevine “Aries Development Group [are] the people [sic] that own Calamari and the Taurus restaurants.” That seems somewhat misleading. It’s my understanding that Aries Development Group also built the Grove Garden Residence Condominiums, which has never been fully occupied.

Who is Gino Falsetto? To begin with Gino Falsetto is, or was, Canadian. So am I, so I don’t hold that against him. What’s IS worth holding against him, however, is the string of bankruptcies Falsetto and his brothers left behind in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, and just across the river in Quebec, which left Canadian taxpayers on the hook for a good chunk of change. According to the Ottawa Citizen:

An Ottawa success story in the restaurant business ended in failure Tuesday when two restaurants owned by the Falsetto brothers declared bankruptcy owing creditors and the tax department more than $1 million.

Sheriff’s deputies acting on the orders of Revenue Canada Tuesday raided the House of Caesar on Somerset Street, Stephano’s Restaurant and Bar on Bank Street and the Amoretto Restaurant on Lisgar Street seizing items including liquor, beer and cash to offset back taxes.

On Wednesday, Stephano’s (521327 Ont. Inc.) and Amoretto (521326 Ont. Inc.) filed for bankruptcy. House of Caesar is not bankrupt, but has closed.

Stephano’s and Amoretto are still operating under the trusteeship of Thorne Ernst & Whinney until a buyer, or buyers, can be found for the restaurants, said bankruptcy trustee Brian Doyle. [Fri Jan 30 1987, subscription required]

According to a February 3rd article in the same newspaper, the Revenue Canada seizure angered Gino Falsetto:

“They left us to operate three restaurants with no inventory and no cash,” says an irate Gino Falsetto, the president of Falsetto Holding.

The failures mark the end of a restaurant business that in its heyday had annual gross revenues of about $4.5 million, 120 employees and a $1-million payroll.

It started eight years ago when the four Falsetto brothers – Gino, Antonio, Enrico and Stephen – and a handful of shareholders opened the House of Caesar.

Expansion was rapid with Amoretto opening next, then Stephano in 1982 and finally Sapper’s Bridge in 1984.

Revenue Canada’s action was the result of a series of financial problems that started with the opening of Sapper’s Bridge – a classy restaurant in the Atrium in the Byward Market.

In less than two years, the Sapper’s Bridge operation lost $1.2 million, half of that in the six months before it went bankrupt last March.

“Our problems, no question about it, started with our Sapper’s Bridge operation,” Gino said in a recent interview.

A PDF file found on the internet, titled “The Gino Falsetto Bed and Breakfast Con, not only goes into some of Falsetto’s Canadian business failures, but more importantly, traces the various corporations that claim an interest in the E.W.F. Stirrup House. Assuming the information is correct, it’s like those Russian dolls, with one nested inside the next, nested inside the next, nested inside the next. And, whaddaya know, it all goes back to Gino Falsetto and Aries Development.

The author of the PDF, who has his own issues and lawsuits with Gino Falsetto and his
business partner Pierre Heafy (who is also from Canada), maintains a web site called Heafy-Falsetto Leaks. The author comes off as a combination of Crank and Gadfly, leaning towards Crank. Yet, he has obsessively followed the business activities of Gino Falsetto and asks 3 legitimate questions about the nesting-Russian-doll aspect of the property’s ownership, which I don’t feel qualified to answer:

Why, Mr. Falsetto, the shenanigans of hiding the true identity of corporate ownership of 3242 Charles LLC? It couldn’t possibly be simply a maneuver to accrue benefits under the IRS Tax Code? What if it is a means of building a solid wall should creditors knock on Gino Falsetto’s door?

But, I digress.

Back to the story. To remind you: I’m yelling up to the guys tearing apart the front room of the 2nd floor of the historic E.W.F. Stirrup House and they’re yelling down at me. One of the guys agrees with me that it’s a beautiful house, needing restoration. The other one is saying that it should be set on fire because it’s full of wood rot, mold, and termite damage. This is troubling because my guest on the Charles Avenue History Tour had just said almost the exact same thing to me. However, he was talking about how unscrupulous property owners have been known to do away with inconvenient structures standing in the way of development and then blame drug addicts or electrical problems for the ensuing conflagration.

I shudder at the thought that someone would do such a thing to the beautiful, historic 120-year old E.W.F. Stirrup House. As I am shuddering I have a flash of inspiration, so I yell up, “Can I take a look?”

And they said YES!!!  

AMAZING!!!

It has been my dream to see the inside of this house ever since I first discovered it in early 2009. Even though they gave me permission, I knew I was being subversive when I entered the Stirrup House. I took as many pictures as I could while I was in the house before I skedaddled. Not all of them came out good, but I am including those as well.

This is what the inside of the historic E.W.F. Stirrup House looked like as of yesterday.

The mud room just inside the side door of the E.W.F. Stirrup House.
Many of the rooms are used to store construction materials and other junk.

Another ground floor room. The house had many small rooms and no large ones.

This seemed to be the largest room in the entire house. The front of the house is through that door of the bright room.

Another room in a warren’s maze of rooms. More storage.

Another room. More storage.

Upstairs. A cute little built in shelving system.
I can imagine E.W.F. Stirrup’s books, family photographs, and knickknacks  here.

A lovely little window seat on the second floor with a western exposure. Afternoon sunlight would fill this window.

Another room on the second floor looking towards the front of the house to the room where the men are working.

Another view of the room on the 2nd floor where the men are working, looking west.

This is where the work was going on, the front room on the 2nd floor. The guys are ripping the paneling off the wall.
While I was unable to get pictures of it, the boards being pulled down have termite tracks all on the back.

Men at work. Behind the wooden paneling are wooden walls, not lathing. Houses of this era were built entirely with
Miami Dade Pine. It is impossible to get Miami Dade pine these days. It’s all been chopped down.

This is the room above the front porch, which provides the shade below. It appears
as if the white wall at left was once an outside wall because it’s made of siding.
That screen door is very pretty and highly sought after by restorationists.

The same room as above, but the reverse angle. It’s very small.

Paneling about to be chucked to the ground from the 2nd story window. You can see the
elements that lead me to believe this was once an exterior 2nd floor porch: the screen door,
the solid door behind the workman, the exterior siding, and the pitched roof above.

The top of the stairs with more built in shelving.

Rooms after rooms after rooms. The back of the house on the 2nd floor.

Aside from the room where the guys were working, this was the least cluttered one.

A relatively modern bathroom.

Another view of a relatively modern bathroom.

Coming down the stairs. That’s the front door.

I’m not entirely sure what those things are, but they might be shelves. The rest? Who knows?

Junk and exposed PVC drain pipes. Sorry it’s out of focus.

Another room on the 1st floor, just inside the mud room.

Another view of the same room At this point I decided I better get out while the getting was still good.

Now I wish I had taken more pictures. All told I guess I spent about 15 or 20 minutes inside the house and I was nervous the entire time. Even though the workers gave me permission, if anyone higher up the chain of command showed up it could have gotten dicey, especially if they learned I was the one writing all about the E.W.F. Stirrup House.

Fortunately my guest was still waiting for me when I left. He had declined stepping on to the property himself because, as a newly minted immigrant who had only recently received his Green Card, he didn’t want to do anything that might jeopardize his stay in ‘Merka. However, he was pretty much out of time. So I summed up a few bullet points for him, we shook hands, and parted.

It was only after we parted, and I was already on my drive home, did it occur to me that I had witnessed a potentially illegal act. Whether the property is zoned Residential or Commercial is something that I don’t know for certain. Unconfirmed reports say the zoning has been changed. The City of Miami web site informed me last week that it was Residential. I tried to locate the same information today to see if it had changed and couldn’t even find the place where I had been last week to see if it had changed in the meantime. It’s a very confusing web site.

However, that’s not what is allegedly illegal. The law is pretty clear about construction and renovations and it’s no different in Miami than anywhere else in the country. There must be a Building Permit issued by the Building Department. Furthermore, the Building Permit must be conspicuously displayed. I saw no Building Permit outside the house or inside the house.

That’s why the minute I got home I called the City of Miami and reported it to the Building Inspection Department as a potentially illegal work site. I stressed with the woman who took the information that this needed to be expedited above a normal building inspection because this is a 120-year old structure and there is a fear that the owner/developer is trying to get away with making so many changes it will be too late for the E.W.F. Stirrup House to be the Community Resource Center that neighbourhood rumours say was intended when the Grove Gardens Residences Condominiums was granted ITS building permits.

I have a confirmation number for my complaint and everything. So yeah, MoFos. If you are wondering who reported you, it was me.

Previous Chapters in Unpacking Coconut Grove

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Unpacking Coconut Grove ► Part Three ► Who Controls What On Charles Avenue

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East side of the E.W.F. Stirrup House, still undergoing Demolition by
Neglect with the Garden Grove Condominiums in the background.

Some good news came in over the transom this past week. Miami’s Historical and Environmental Preservation Board [HEP cats?] voted unanimously to make Charles Avenue an Historic Designation Roadway, whatever the heck that means. This seems to have no practical effect: no money will be
spent and no signs will be placed. However, signs need not be placed because there are several informational signs along Charles Avenue. In an upcoming chapter of Uncovering Coconut Grove I will talk about all the Charles Avenue signage.

Meanwhile, how will this Historic Designation Roadway thangie affect my campaign to
save the E.W.F. Stirrup House? It’s hard to tell. The designation did
not appear to mention the Stirrup House, nor did it delve into the
survival of the Coconut Grove Playhouse, or the Mariah Brown house, said to be the first home owned
by a Black person in south Florida. These three structures are empty and have been empty for years now.

Yet, as my initial research began informing me, the E.W.F. Stirrup House dates back to a unique time and place in ‘Merka. In later chapters of this series I will explore what makes Charles Avenue, and the Black enclave that grew up around it, totally unique to all other Black neighbourhoods in ‘Merka.

The historical marker that started it all.
The vacant lot is behind this sign.

I first started my campaign to save the Stirrup House several years ago when I just happened to run across the historical marker on Charles Avenue. The marker had seen better days, but there was just enough on the sign to pique my interest. However, it was when I looked across the street did I see the gem of the neighbourhood, the historical Stirrup House, built in 1898. Buildings of any age are a rarity in south Florida, a state that appears to have no sense of history, no sense of of place, and no indigenous architectural style. Florida buildings present a pastiche of other architectural elements, but nothing Floridian.

On that first visit to Charles Avenue I noticed an empty lot immediately across the street from the Stirrup House. Later that day, while using Google Street View, I was surprised to see a house on what had been a vacant lot when I was there. That became the first mystery to solve: Where did that house go, and why?

That mystery was solved pretty quickly. While there had been a house on that lot as late as 2007, it was knocked down to create a marshaling yard for equipment and materials needed to build the Grove Gardens Condominium complex.

I started keeping a paper map on which I added what I had learned interviewing neighbours up and down Charles Avenue. There were many crossoffs on that map. Some of the early information turned out to be bogus, but some of the rumours have actually led to hard information, or additional areas of solid inquiry. Eventually I had to throw out that paper map and have created a new, 21st century, electronic version of the Charles Avenue map as I delve into who controls what on the east end of Charles Avenue.

Like any good reporter, I will continue to follow the money. Right now all the threads I am pulling seems to lead to the same place: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, of all places.

Meanwhile, here’s my current map of the area on which I have added information on who controls what on Charles Avenue. Click around on the map. Each shaded area and marker has a small explination of what I have been able to confirm so far, along with some of the rumours.

This map will change as I learn new information.