REFLECTION

REFLECTION

MEMORY VS. REALITYTo reflect is to ponder and to weigh: to sift in order to discern. Reflection seeks to establish the value of information within contexts determined by circumstance. For this class, reflection represents a further step beyond observation and analysis, requiring as it does the essential element of time: as with contemplation or rumination, reflection is a process of incremental scrutiny and speculation. It aims to connect the isolated facts of observation, and the focused processes of analysis, within a broader framework of references in order to evaluate the potential significance of the specific within the general.

PROCEDURERecall a significant architectural memory of a place that has the possibility of being re-visited.

WHAT: The Biltmore HotelWHERE: 1200 Anastasia Ave Coral Gables, FL 33134WHEN: Visit 1: May – Summer 2001

Visit 2: Feb – Winter 2014WHY: This “place” holds a distinct childhood

memory from when I was in middle school (7th-8th grade).

QUICK FACTS TO KNOW REGARDING THE BILTMORE HOTEL:1. It is a luxury hotel in Coral Gables, Florida 2. The Miami-Biltmore Hotel & Country Club was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1996. On April 18, 2012, the AIA’s Florida Chapter placed the building on its list of Florida Architecture: 100 Years. 100 Places 3. It served as a hospital during World War II and as a VA Hospital and campus of the University of Miami medical school until 1968. It became a hotel again in 1987.4. Some superstitious people claim this hotel to be haunted, most often by the spirit of Thomas Walsh. Walsh was a New York mobster involved in narcotics who was killed at the Biltmore Hotel during a gambling dispute on March 4, 1929. 5. When completed, it was the tallest building in Florida, surpassing the Freedom Tower in Downtown Miami. It was surpassed in 1928 by the Dade County Courthouse, also in Downtown Miami.6. At one time the pool was the largest pool in the world.7. The hotel has been used as a setting for movies and television programs.

MEMORY VS. REALITY

REFLECTION

BEGIN HERE Up until the fourth grade, I attended a very small Christian school named Kings’ Christian. One of those schools, where everyone knew everyone’s business. If I recall correctly, there was a maximum of 20 students per grade and you probably knew them by their first and middle names. The school is located off of a very busy Bird Road (40th st.) and nearby 87th avenue which is also very popular and commonly used.

For fourth grade, I was to make the transfer to a much larger Catholic school, St. Theresa Catholic School which was located in the very quiet yet beautiful upscale neighbor- hood of Coral Gables. The school was triple in size and had about 95-103 students per grade. IMAGE Aerial view of St. Theresa.

THE BILTMORE HOTEL

IMAGE FrontEntranceof King’sChristian(Pre-K through 8th)

At this time, my house was located in an extremely old neighborhood which was full of average to wealthy Cubans as well as other Latinos and some Asian families (and many “santeros”). Coral Gables was the quint-essential neighbor-hood. Everyone

greeted each other, everyone smiled, everyone sparked conversations with one another. It was a whole new world compared to my old school and current neighborhood. Before you knew it, I was staying over all my friends houses which lived in the Gables. On our free time, we went to nearby youth centers, nearby parks and nearby pools. The local YMCA and Venetian Pool where two of our top favorites to frequent. The Venetian Pool is a public pool which requires an entrance fee and beginning to become costly for us fourth graders. Therefore, we needed a new pool which was free and close enough to hitch quick car rides by our parents or friends (maybe, even bike ride to it). Pool time was amongst one of our favorite things to do. We could spend hours upon hours in the pool without a single break or meal. Just off energy and imagination alone we were capable of living like mermaids. On our ride to the Venetian Pool we would always spot the Biltmore ahead of us. The large structure standing tall above the lush Gable trees. It had warm golden walls, cream accents and a terra cotta roof. It was adorned with towering palm trees and laid in front of a rich green golf course.

REFLECTION

I recall laying under the stars, on the golf course watching the annual Forth of July fireworks. The hotel had Roman statues, limestone columns, arched doorways… architect- ural features which I was not accustomed to back in my Westchester neighborhood. It always caught our young attention; It was full of character and history. From a hospital, to a hotel to an eerie/haunted space and to an elegantly refined luxury hotel. Despite claims of the hotel being haunted (specific-ally how the haunted13th floor was unused) we had caught news that their pool was phenomenal and HAD to be checked out immediately. It was our mission. We caught a ride to the hotel by one of our moms with a simple guideline: “If anyone asks, just say ‘your mom is staying in the hotel for the weekend’, ok, enjoy the pool. I will be back later to pick you up.” (Back then, parental supervision was not as necessary and heavy as it is now). Naturally, we walked in there like we owned the place and had been there many times before. Inside however, we were exploding with joy. It was grandiose, gaudy and heavily detailed. The ceilings were taller than normal, windows bigger than average and doors much older/heavier than what was expected. I remember seeing details of Romanesque, Mediterranean and Bungalow style architecture. Now, old enough to assess what style/period. It was one of the most beautiful buildings I had ever seen after ‘Church of the Little Flower’ which was St. Theresa’s Parish Catholic Church (side note: the waiting list to get married here is at an average of 5 years. Most beautiful and over the top church in my opinion). We made our way through a colonnade and back to the outdoor pool. It was singlehandedly the biggest pool I had ever seen. Equally as fancy and detailed as the rest of the hotel. Time after time, we snuck into the Biltmore Pool unsupervised for some swimming time. Whether we pretended we were rich or belonged to a mother who rented out one of the fancy rooms we always enjoyed our times here at the pool. It became a ritual to visit the pool at the end of the school year and for other celebrations throughout the school year. REVISIT When I revisited the pool, it still carried the same energy and affected me just as strong as it did when I was a child. I can find myself getting lost there for hours just feeling like I was in a different world because of the historical nature of its architecture. Now that I am older, I can analyze the amount of detail and work that was put into the exteriors and interiors of the hotel. I can still appreciate the history yet be fascinated by the modern appeal or allure. Overall, it gives me the same warm fuzzy feeling as it did before.

THE BILTMORE HOTEL