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Hidden from the highway by a tropical hardwood hammock (mound), this is Dade County’s oldest home. It was designed and built in 1891 by Commodore Ralph Munroe, who made his living as a boat builder and a wrecker (salvager). In fact, wood from shipwrecks was used to build the house, and it was inventively laid out to allow the circulation of air, all-important in those days before air-conditioning. Rooms are stuffed with old family heirlooms, old tools, and wonderful early appliances.

This compact, two-story center is the heart of Coconut Grove Village, and features some good shopping, dining, and entertainment. The atmosphere is, in fact, that of a village. People are hanging out, zipping by on in-line skates and bikes, checking each other out. Often live music is happening right in the middle of it all. The main attraction in the evening is probably the multiplex cinema.

The boyhood home of George Merrick (see Merrick’s Coral Gables Fantasies) has been restored to its 1920s look, and it’s remarkable to reflect on how modest the man’s background was compared to the grandeur of the dreams he realized. The city of Coral Gables took its name from this house. The stone was quarried from what is now the Venetian Pool.

The name derives from the early days when settlers had picnics here. In the 1930s, Pan American Airways transformed Dinner Key into the busiest seaplane base in the US. It was also the departure point for Amelia Earhart’s doomed roundthe-world flight in 1937. The airline’s sleek Streamline Moderne terminal houses the Miami City Hall, and the hangars are now mostly boatyards, though one is the famous Monty’s Stone Crab Seafood House and Raw Bar. The marina here is now the most prestigious in Miami, so walk along and enjoy inspecting the yachts berthed here.