| City of Coral Gables, Florida | |||
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| Nickname(s): The City Beautiful, The Gables | |||
| Location in Miami-Dade County and the state of Florida | |||
| U.S. Census Bureau map showing city limits | |||
| Coordinates: | |||
| Country | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| State | |||
| County | Miami-Dade | ||
| Government | |||
| - Mayor | Don Slesnick | ||
| Area | |||
| - City | 37.2 sq mi (96.2 km²) | ||
| - Land | 24.1 sq mi (62.2 km²) | ||
| - Water | 13.1 sq mi (34.0 km²) | ||
| Elevation | 10 ft (2.8 m) | ||
| Population (2005) | |||
| - City | 42,871 | ||
| - Density | 3,216.9/sq mi (1,141.37/km²) | ||
| - Metro | 5,422,200 | ||
| Time zone | EST (UTC-5) | ||
| - Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) | ||
| Area code(s) | 305 | ||
| FIPS code | 12-14250[1] | ||
| GNIS feature ID | 0280801[2] | ||
| Website: http://www.citybeautiful.net/ | |||
Coral Gables (sometimes referred to as The Gables) is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, southwest of Miami, in the United States. The city is best known as the home of the University of Miami, and as an example of City Beautiful urban planning.
The population was 42,249 at the 2000 census. According to U.S Census estimates in 2005, the city had a population of 42,871.[3]
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Coral Gables was one of the first planned communities, and prefigured the development of the gated community and the homeowners association. It is notorious for its aesthetic regulations.[citation needed] The city was developed by George Edgar Merrick during the Florida land boom of the 1920s. The city's architecture is almost entirely Mediterranean Revival Style. By 1926, the city covered 10,000 acres (40 km2), had netted $150 million in sales with over $100 million spent on development.[4]
Merrick designed the downtown commercial district to be only four blocks wide and more than two miles (3 km) long. The main artery bisected the business district. Merrick could boast that every business in Coral Gables was less than a two-block walk. The old electric trolley system was replaced by the popularity of modern automobiles; today a new free circulator trolley system, initiated in November, 2003, that runs down Ponce de León Boulevard is in operation. Coral Gables is known as a pedestrian-friendly destination. Located four miles from Miami International Airport, the "City Beautiful" has around 140 dining establishments and gourmet shops, and many notable international retailers. Among the landmarks in Coral Gables are the Venetian Pool, Douglas Entrance, the Biltmore Hotel, and many fine residences.
In 1925, roughly simultaneous to the founding of Coral Gables, the city was selected as the home to the University of Miami, which was constructed that year on 240 acres (0.97 km2) of land just west of U.S. Route 1, approximately two miles south of downtown Coral Gables.
Coral Gables is located at (25.728228, -80.270986).[5].
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 96.2 km² (37.2 mi²). 34.0 km² (13.1 mi²) of it is land and 62.2 km² (24.0 mi²) of it (64.64%) is water. Pearce Falcon is a pioneer of Coral Gables.
As of the census[1] of 2000, there were 42,249 people, 16,793 households, and 10,243 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,242.4/km² (3,216.9/mi²). There were 17,849 housing units at an average density of 524.9/km² (1,359.1/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 91.83% White (47.7% were Non-Hispanic Whites,)[6] 3.30% African American, 0.13% Native American, 1.68% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 1.49% from other races, and 1.54% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 46.64% of the population.
There were 16,793 households out of which 24.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.2% were married couples living together, 9.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.0% were non-families. 31.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.31 and the average family size was 2.92.
In the city the population was spread out with 17.4% under the age of 18, 13.9% from 18 to 24, 29.0% from 25 to 44, 23.9% from 45 to 64, and 15.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 87.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.6 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $66,839, and the median income for a family was $98,553. Males had a median income of $66,178 versus $39,444 for females. The per capita income for the city was $46,163. About 4.3% of families and 6.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.6% of those under age 18 and 6.0% of those age 65 or over.
As of 2000, Spanish spoken as a first language accounted for 51.05% of residents, while English was at 43.82%, French at 1.08%, Portuguese 0.79%, and Italian made up 0.72% of the population.[7]
As of 2000, Coral Gables had the eighteenth highest percentage of Cuban residents in the US, with 28.72% of the populace.[8] It also had the sixty-fourth highest percentage of Colombian residents in the US, at 2.27% of the city's population,[9] and the sixteenth highest percentage of Venezuelan residents in the US, at 1.17% of its population.[10]
Coral Gables is best known as home to the University of Miami, a globally recognized university that ranks academically among the top tier of U.S.-based colleges and universities, with particular national status in the fields of business, law, medicine, and music, in which the university is considered among the best in the nation.[11][12] The University of Miami also has given birth to a number of notable alumni.
The University of Miami also maintains one of the nation's most successful collegiate athletic programs. It has won repeated national championships in both Division I football (1983, 1987, 1989, 1991 and 2001) and baseball (1982, 1985, 1999 and 2001).[13] Over the past 30 years, the University of Miami has been the most successful Division I college football program in the nation; its five national championships since 1983 are the most of any Division I university during this time.[14]
The University of Miami also has graduated two Heisman Trophy winners, Vinny Testaverde (in 1986) and Gino Torretta (in 1992),[15] and four of its former football players--Ted Hendricks, Michael Irvin, Jim Kelly and Jim Otto--went on, following highly successful National Football League careers, to be elected into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, the highest honor awarded a former NFL player. Currently, the University of Miami has more of its graduates playing in the NFL than any other U.S. college or university.
Coral Gables is covered by several local and regional radio and television stations. Coral Gables is also covered by several weekly newspapers, but has only two newspapers with the city's namesake and main focus. The Coral Gables Gazette is the only award winning FPA (Florida Press Association) weekly newspaper serving Coral Gables. Covering local government, news, sports as well as community events. The Gazette is also the oldest weekly newspaper in Coral Gables. The Gables other newspaper, The Coral Gables News Tribune, is published twice monthly and is part of Miami's Community Newspapers, the Voice of the Community. At the University of Miami in Coral Gables, The Miami Hurricane, the official student newspaper, is published twice weekly.
The city also has a sizable business district. Coral Gables residents include middle to upper class people. The city is well known for its restaurants, art galleries, unique shops and boutiques and live theater performances.
The median household income for a Coral Gables resident, as of the 2000 census, was $66,839.
Portions of the 1995 film Fair Game were filmed in Coral Gables.[16]
Coral Gables schools are part of the Miami-Dade School District, which serves almost all of metropolitan Miami. The district has one high school in Coral Gables, Coral Gables High School, which educates students in grades nine through 12.
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The famous Coral Gables Biltmore Hotel |
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Miracle Theater on Miracle Mile |
Coral Way, a scenic road through Miami |
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Venetian Pool, Coral Gables' public swimming pool |
Coral Gables has seven sister cities, as designated by Sister Cities International:
| Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Coral Gables, Florida |
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