Love, concrete and a stadium

It was a love of concrete that led to the Miami Marine Stadium. 

In a recent article in Modern magazine titled “Brute Force,” the Miami Marine Stadium’s architect Hilario Candela recalls the hold-your-breath moments during the stadium’s construction. 

It was like “making a dessert mold,” Candela recalls of the creation of the cantilevered roof we marvel at today.  

In the  article, Miami Beach-based writer Rebecca Kleinman,  documents Candela’s early love of concrete:

...Candela is drawn to concrete’s honesty and rawness. In the mature years of his career he could properly be classified as a member o the brutalist school but with a twist. He always incorporated Caribbean design staples for controlling sunlight and capturing breezes, such as covered walkways, bruise soleils, and plazas.

The American Institute of Architects has posted a remarkable slide show, "Study and Sculpture," of the Miami Marine Stadium  where you can see the construction progress from scaffolds to opening day. 

@2010 All Rights Reserved by Blanca Mesa

To receive the latest articles on ecology, history and explorations of Virginia Key, subscribe to View From Virginia Key.

Also on Facebook: Friends of Virginia Key 

Will economics "whittle away our heritage" on Virginia Key?

As both Miami-Dade County and the City of Miami mull over proposals for development of Virginia Key, the words of the stadium architect, Hilario Candela, captured in July 1993 in a letter to the Miami-Dade Commission, are prescient.

He was writing to commissioners to save the stadium from demolition at a time the City of Miami was facing economic difficulties and wanted to raze the stadium to make way for commercial development of the area.


In the letter, Candela refers to the "economic equation" that might be used to justify razing the stadium.

That same equation has returned-- with a slight twist. The stadium is not slated for demolition for now but pressure exists to introduce commercial development of public lands surrounding the stadium as a way to both pay for its restoration as well as provide a quick fix to solve budget shortfalls.

How far will it go? And what is the real cost of giving away public lands? In 1993, Candela urged that we not give up what is uniquely ours:

As the architect of the facility, both on a personal and professional level, I would be extremely disappointed to see this landmark razed primarily because the "economic equation" didn't work. It seems to me that there must be other creative ways we can take advantage of this unique facility, ways that could improve the financial picture to the City and its taxpayers as well as enhancing the quality of life of citizens by the concerts, shows and special events which could take place at the Marine Stadium. In a City and County where we have too few civic structures which have been preserved, it would be a shame to lose a facility that has been the center of so many happy memories for so many people.

...(T)he people of Miami and the surrounding communities need a structure like the Marine Stadium. Its very existence celebrates the public assembly of the various cultures that make up our unique community along the waterfront. It is this celebration of the waterfront and its various recreational activities that define us, not only in this community, but in truth throughout the entire world. It is synonymous with Miami and an intrinsic part of our community. It is my belief that the destruction of the Marine Stadium would accomplish the exact opposite of what we are trying to accomplish. We need to accentuate our uniqueness not whittle away our heritage.

Video: Great shots of Miami Marine Stadium, today and in its heyday.

Virginia Key's Wheel of (Mis)fortune

Spin the wheel and land on yet another development proposal for Virginia Key.

Airport. Freight port. Blimp base. World’s Fair. Hotel. Sports stadium. Trade-mart. And shopping centers - marine-themed or otherwise. Lots of marine industrial stuff, from mega boat-storage stacks to marinas.

A lot of things didn’t happen over the years because of public outcry. Some things happened in spite of it.

Here’s the story so far: two public beach parks, marinas, restaurants, a sewage station, a garbage dump, a historic Marine Stadium and a whole lot of wilderness. In fact, 700 of the roughly 1000-acre island is comprised of the Bill Sadowski Critical Wildlife Area, which contains the island’s largest amount of unaltered, submerged land and unaltered mangrove forest. It is also the cradle of wildlife seen in the area by air or sea- from rare hawks to manatees.

What’s next for Virginia Key?

On Saturday, March 27, the Urban Environment League will host a Public Design Workshop on Virginia Key from 8:30 am. to 11:30 a.m. at the Rusty Pelican restaurant, 3201 Rickenbacker Causeway, Virginia Key. Hopefully the public will get a say on the island’s future.

Up for grabs: the historic Miami Marine Stadium and surrounding public lands and commercial areas, the lagoon, the City of Miami landfill site, Northpoint, Jimbo's,  and all natural areas, including the Bill Sadowski Critical Wildlife Area and the Tropical Hammock and restored dunes.  

University of Miami architecture students, who have been working for months under the guidance of UM Professor and Friends of Marine Stadium Co-Founder Jorge Hernandez, and Hilario Candela, architect of the Stadium, and the watchful eyes of City of Miami planning department officials, will present their plans, too.

The public will have an opportunity to provide feedback on the proposals presented and offer up their own ideas. There will also be information on a recently released biological evaluation of the island and a proposal for a Biscayne National Park Visitor’s Center on Virginia Key. 

Those who can’t attend the UEL Virginia Key Design Workshop and still want to offer feedback can send comments to the Urban Environment League at www.urbanenvironmentleague.blogspot.com or uel@bellsouth.net.

And the big wheel keeps on spinning...