Preserving a Grand Old Church
Built in 1926 in neoclassical grandeur by the Memphis firm of Dougherty and Gardner, the Central Baptist Church has undergone a complete rehabilitation.
Miami has great historic buildings. One is the Central Baptist Church which parallels the very history of Miami. Built in 1926 in neoclassical grandeur by the Memphis firm of Dougherty and Gardner, it has undergone a complete rehabilitation, explained preservationist Megan McLaughlin of PlusUrbia, who serves as adviser and liaison for permitting with the city.
Given that she is an expert in historic preservation, we start by addressing characteristics of downtown historic architecture?
Megan McLaughlin: Buildings from the 1920s are distinctive because they are very large. There was such a boom going on in the 1920s. Miami buildings were taller, more robust, than those in Palm Beach, Orlando and other municipalities in Florida. Because of the nature of architecture in that period, and up to the 1960s, buildings were more humane, designed for people to inhabit them, to experience them…
Downtown News: You mean today’s buildings aren’t as humane?
MM: Yes. Today they build with a different audience in mind. They have other requirements, which might not be so much human interaction. They have to house a lot of cars and that changes the nature and feeling of the building. Sometimes they build for impressiveness, to be viewed from across the Bay or from I95. It’s almost like advertisement, not so much to experience the building as a person from the street or inside. Older buildings were more about the human experience.
DN: Luckily in downtown we can relive history through our buildings. The question is, how can we preserve them vis a vis the voracious appetite for development?
MM: Downtown Miami has been in a unique situation. Preservation came naturally. The Royal Palm Hotel [Flagler’s hotel], a very large site, when it burnt down in the 1930s, it was never really redeveloped. It became an enormous parking lot. That was like the saving grace for Downtown Miami as there was no need to tear down buildings to create parking lots, which happened in most major cities in the 1950’s and 60s. We had this enormous parking lot. So, Flagler Street is, even today, a continuous frontage of buildings built between 1920 and 1960.
Another factor that preserved old architecture naturally is that it is just so difficult to build on those tiny old lots. Any rational developer would much rather find a site that is easier to work with like Brickell, where you can get larger sites and the land price is probably more affordable. That said, there is more pressure to build now than in previous decades. The downtown business community recognizes the uniqueness of Flagler Street and the National Registered Historic District, but in terms of protection it’s a difficult conversation. If downtown became the next market, it would be difficult to make an argument that a ten or fifteen story building is worth keeping in place when it is possible to build eighty stories. That is a difficult mathematical equation.
DN: Which brings us to the Central Baptist Church. You said it was a beautiful project…
MM: It’s always nice to be involved in a positive preservation project, a success story of a partnership between new developers and preservation. The church was able to sell its parking lots and areas that were not used, where new towers are now being built. The infusion of capital allowed the rehabilitation of the building. They were able to replace the roof, for example, taking great care to select the tile that most closely matched the original. In the process, they fixed many problems, like many a leaking. After the roof came the windows. Understandingly, they wanted to replace them with impact resistant windows. “We brought in a local architect adept to historic preservation and we came up with a plan to keep the original steel casements and install impact glass. When it came to repairing the cast stone in the pediment, with urns and beautiful designs, we recommended working with nationally renowned conservator Rosa Lowinger, who had worked with the Vizcaya. The Church and the contractors had been committed to bringing back the church to its glory in a historic accurate way. That is a beautiful story.
One final question. Wouldn’t the renovated church feel caged surrounded by the towers going up? Megan McLaughlin, a professor of architecture at the University of Miami, doesn’t think so. “It would be like a breath of fresh air, a jewel within an active and thriving city.”
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