Trapp Homestead

Infobox_nrhp | name = Trapp Homestead


caption =
locator_x = 239
locator_y = 167
location = Miami, Miami-Dade County, Florida
built =
added = November 10, 1994
governing_body =

The Trapp Homestead (also known as the Caleb Trapp House and the Trapp Estate) is a historic home in the Coconut Grove section of the City of Miami, Florida, United States. It is located at 2521 South Bayshore Drive. On November 10, 1994, it was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. The home was constructed out of Oolitic Lime quarried out of the Silver Bluff of the property in 1887 by Caleb Trapp (aged 70, at the time) and his son, Harlan. During construction, the Trapps lived on a thatched hut at the front of the property. The Property is believed to be the oldest-standing masonry home in Miami-Dade County, Florida. The Estate's construction pre-dates the incorporation of the City of Miami.

The Estate was particularly notable at the time because it was one of the few stone structures in Miami-Dade County (then called only Dade County), as nearly all structures in the area were built of wood at that time.

Originally, the property consisted of approximately 2.5 acres overlooking Biscayne Bay before what is now called South Bayshore Drive was built (at the time of the road's construction, it was known as Rhodes Boulevard and was named for Mrs. Trapp's family, which had previously settled in the area and received a convert|400|acre|km2|sing=on land grant). Subsequently, Main Street, which later was renamed Tigertail Avenue was constructed along property's Northern Boundary.

The Trapp family pioneered the famed "Trapp Avocado" and sold them by boat to early Miami area hotels. They also grew and milled Coontie Starch sold for local use. A road in Coconut Grove located just a few blocks away is named Trapp Avenue in honor of the Trapp family. The Trapps were significant community leaders in the area and Mr. Trapp was one of the 8 founding members of the Coconut Grove Yacht Club (which continues to operate) located across South Bayshore Drive from the estate. Mrs. Trapp is believed to have given at the Estate the first teachers' test for the local public school. Mrs. Trapp was also one of the first Public School Teachers in the area.

In the years that followed, numerous mansions were constructed along Rhodes Boulevard/South Bayshore Drive and the street became notable in Miami for its expensive and substantial homes cast on top of the Silver Bluff overlooking Biscayne Bay.

The Trapp family later sold off various parts of the property into what appears to have been 5 different parcels where numerous homes and apartments were constructed. One such parcel was sold to and owned for many years by an heir to the Beach-Nut chewing gum empire.

In 1951, the Connelly Family of Atlanta, Georgia purchased the property and used it as a part-time residence. In time, the Connellys were unable to properly maintain the property and it started to collapse in 1978. In the 1980s and 1990s, many of the other homes located on the sold off property were demolished and all that remained were 4 decaying structures on the central portion of the property, with the main building holding up best, though poorly.

Between 1994 and 1996, the Connellys purchased the remaining parcels on each side of the central parcel and had the site officially declared Historic and entered into the National Register of Historic Places. Meanwhile, the property continued to decline and several buildings became uninhabitable. The Estate became well known with community activists who feared that the buildings would collapse and that a developer would purchase the property and seek to build one or more highrise building on the site.

In 2005, the already-weakened roof of the main house suffered serious damage in Hurricanes Katrina and Wilma, while other buildings on the site suffered more serious damage and it was determined that the secondary buildings could not be saved from demolition.

In early 2006, the Connellys sold the property to Lisa and Victor Mendelson, longtime Miami and Coconut Grove residents, who worked with famed historic preservationist architech, Richard Heisenbottle and his associate Juan Alcala, to develop a plan to restore the main house and add an appropriate addition to it for their family's private use. The Mendelsons sought to create a setting which harkens back to Coconut Grove's pioneering days through the use of appropriate architectural features and extensive landscaping.

Among others, Heisenbottle's historic site restoration credits include, restoration of The City of Miami City Hall (located approximately convert|1|mi|km|sing=on from the Estate), The Gusman Theatre in Downtown Miami, Miami Edison High School, the Freedom Tower facing Biscayne Bay in Downtown Miami, and the Colony Theatre on Lincoln Road in Miami Beach, Florida. From 2004-2006, Heisenbottle chaired the Dade Heritage Trust, the primary Miami-area historic preservation watchdog group. Heisenbottle also lead the charge to prevent demolition of substantial portions of the famed and historic Coconut Grove Playhouse in addition to numerous other historic preservation iniatives.

Upon Site Plan approval of the Mendelsons plans by the City of Miami's Historic and Environmental Preservation Board in the Fall of 2006, a board member remarked that it was "the best presentation" he had ever seen before the Board. A round of applause ensued. Several members of the Board thanked the Mendelsons for undertaking the project. Construction is expected to commence by late summer or early fall of 2007 and should continue for approximately 18-24 months.

References and external links

* [http://www.nationalregisterofhistoricplaces.com/FL/Miami-Dade/state.html Miami-Dade County listings] at [http://www.nationalregisterofhistoricplaces.com National Register of Historic Places]