Coconut Grove

This article is about the neighborhood in Florida. For other uses, see Cocoanut Grove.

Skyline of Coconut Grove, Miami, Florida as seen from its respective Metrorail station 3/5/2007. Photo: Marc Averette

Coconut Grove, originally spelled Cocoanut Grove, is a neighborhood located in the City of Miami, Florida in Miami-Dade County, United States. The area is defined as southeast of US 1, from N. Prospect Ave as the southern border to the intersection of US 1 and Brickell Ave as the northern border. The western border is Le Jeune Road and the eastern border is Biscayne Bay. Technically, all of Coconut Grove has a zip code of 33133, which actually extends the area north of US 1 into what is called "Silver Bluffs". The region is often referred to simply as "The Grove".

Several waves of immigration established Coconut Grove, the first in 1825, when the Cape Florida lighthouse went into operation and was manned by John Dubose. The post office was established in 1873, around the same time that the area saw an influx of Americans from the Northeastern US, as well as British immigrants. Coconut Grove's first black settlement, in the 1880s, was established by Bahamian craftsmen and sailors and their families. The first hotel on the south Florida mainland was located in Coconut Grove. Called the Bay View Inn (later known as the Peacock Inn), it was built in 1882, on the site of present-day Peacock Park, by English immigrants Isabella and Charles Peacock, who had been the owner of a wholesale meat business in London.

World-renowned for its annual art festival, Coconut Grove's other events include the King Mango Strut, which began as a parody of the Orange Bowl Parade. The Goombay Festival For a week in mid-June, Grand Avenue in Coconut Grove is transformed into a Caribbean Carnival. It celebrates Bahamian residents historic festival with Bahamian dancing, Bahamian food, Caribbean music (Junkanoo) and Bahamian culture.

Once an independent city, Coconut Grove was annexed by the city of Miami. The Grove is sometimes known as Miami's Food Court, for its many and varied restaurants. Open air cafes are quite popular as well. Some local favorites include Green Street Cafe, Monty's Raw Bar, Tuscany, Mr. Moes, and Le Bouchon, a French cafe. There are plenty of chain franchises as well, such as The Cheesecake Factory and Johnny Rockets. Shopping is also abundant in the Grove, with two large open-air malls, CocoWalk, Streets of Mayfair , and many other street shops and boutiques. The Coconut Grove Playhouse is a very popular destination, and has launched a number of popular plays and musicals. By night, the Grove becomes a center of nightlife frequented by young professionals and students from the University of Miami.

The southern border of Coconut Grove is Biscayne Bay, which lends itself to a boating community. The area features a sailing club (Coconut Grove Sailing Club), a yacht club (Coral Reef Yacht Club) and a marina (Dinner Key Marina). Pan Am's seaplane operations were based in Dinner Key, and the Miami City Hall is based in the old Pan Am terminal building.

Coconut Grove is also home to The Kampong, an 8 acre (32,000 m²) tropical garden that forms part of the National Tropical Botanical Garden.

Coconut Grove is also the location of The Barnacle Historic State Park. Built in the late 1800s, the former home of Ralph Middleton Munroe is one of the oldest homes in Dade County and is situated on the shore of Biscayne Bay. The forest surrounding the home is hardwood hammock and is the last of its kind in the area. The unique architecture includes period furniture and wide porches that afford magnificent views.

In Popular Culture

• In the film 'Scarface' Manny lives in an upscale home in the Grove.
• 'Coconut Grove' is also a song by The Lovin' Spoonful.
• In the TV series 'Dexter', Dexter Morgan, lives in Coconut Grove.
• In the video for the song 'Careless Whisper' George Michael can be seen looking out at sea from a hotel balcony in Coconut Grove as a seaplane flies by.
• In the movie 'Bad Boys' Martin Lawrence and Will Smith follow a suspect through Coconut Grove.

Points of interest

• The Kampong
• Vizcaya Museum and Gardens

External links

• The Barnacle Historic State Park
• Coconut Grove Grapevine, daily blog
• The case of Joyce Cohen

25°42′45″N 80°15′25″W