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www.ambiente.us MAY / MAYO 2008
Push made to refurbish Miami Marine Stadium
By Andres Viglucci
One of the most remarkable feats of
architecture and engineering in Miami's
history sits nearly forgotten behind dense
overgrowth off the Rickenbacker
Causeway, a moldering husk serving as
nothing more than the city's biggest
graffiti canvas.
Has the time now come, more than 15
years after it fell victim to city neglect
and indecision, to save the storied
44-year-old Miami Marine Stadium?
Yes, says a coalition of architects,
preservationists, activists, historians,
rowers, boaters and plain Miamians
who believe a restored and reactivated
Marine Stadium would become an iconic
landmark in a rejuvenating Miami.
''The marine stadium is one of those magical great places that can really provide soul to a city,'' said Don
Worth, a co-founder of Friends of the Marine Stadium, which will launch a campaign Saturday to preserve the
shuttered building with a fundraiser at the adjacent Miami Rowing Club. The event includes boat tours of the
stadium.
''It's great architecture, an amazing setting that is just so Miami, with the moon and the stars above and the
Emerald City skyline beyond,'' Worth said. ``Can you imagine a more dramatic outdoor venue anyplace?''
The group, with the backing of the Dade Heritage Trust, will submit a study to the city's office of historic
preservation next week requesting that the stadium be declared a historic structure. The drive comes as
cities from Miami to New York and Chicago have begun preserving mid-20th century modern buildings as
historic landmarks.
The Virginia Key stadium opened in 1964, a Modernist sculpture in poured concrete with a vast overhanging
roof folded into Vs, like Origami sails, and a grandstand with seating for nearly 7,000 that seems to float over
the water.
`COMING TOGETHER'
The stadium and the Bacardi Building on Biscayne Boulevard were the first significant modern buildings
designed by Cuban-born architects in Miami. The stadium's designer, Hilario Candela, today calls it ``a
celebration of water and land coming together.''
For nearly 30 years it was the memorable site of roaring powerboat and hydroplane races, Easter sunrise
services and concerts on a barge that included symphony orchestras, Tony Bennett, Jimmy Buffett, and Fela
Kuti, the late Nigerian king of Afro-Pop. As musicians performed, attendees in boats, floats and even
inflatable rings bobbed in the water. Buffett once released a video of a concert at the stadium.
But the city shut down the money-losing facility amid a fiscal crunch in 1992 after Hurricane Andrew.
A subsequent engineering study found the structure sound, but city officials said they couldn't justify
reopening what they considered a white elephant -- for one thing, faster powerboats had rendered it obsolete.
In the years since, vandals methodically stripped it of wiring and plumbing. Graffiti covers nearly every bit of it.
MARINE `VILLAGE'
Many believe the storm was an excuse for the city to dispose of the stadium to make way for expanded,
profit-making marina facilities -- a conclusion bolstered two years ago when consultants hired to design a
new master plan for Virginia Key sketched in a marine ''village'' of shops, restaurants and boating facilities in
its place. Planners say the city could use income from marine-oriented businesses, including increased boat
storage, to finance improvements, including new, nearby parks.
But after strong support for saving the stadium emerged last year at a public forum, City Manager Pete
Hernandez decided to take a fresh look -- prodded also by City Commissioner Marc Sarnoff, whose district
includes much of Virginia Key.
'We have a big photograph of the stadium in its present condition on the wall in my office, and whenever we
have a meeting we make the city manager sit in front of it and say, `Look, Pete, it's demolition by neglect,' ''
said Sarnoff.
``We've taken away the Orange Bowl. The marine stadium, if it does have a viable use, let's preserve it.''
The city has commissioned a new engineering evaluation of the stadium's structural integrity, to be followed,
if it clears that hurdle, by an analysis of potential uses, Sarnoff said. The consultant's study should be
finished within a month.
Because it is designated as a parks facility, Sarnoff said he would not expect a reopened stadium to pay for
itself, only that attendance help pay for maintenance and operation.
EVENTS
Supporters, including rowers who use the basin for training, races and other events, predict it would get
plenty of use.
This weekend, for instance, there is a rowing regatta at the basin. Last weekend, there was a professional
wake-boarding competition. A growing Chinese Dragon Boat Club, based at the rowing club, plans to bring
the world championships to Miami next year.
''I haven't seen anything like it anywhere else,'' said Joseph Chi, president of the Dragon Boat Club.
But with the stadium closed there is no viewing area for spectators and participants, who often number in the
thousands, organizers say.
''It's a frying pan out there, and we have this incredible place next door that we can't use,'' said architect and
University of Miami professor Jorge Hernandez, whose son rows competitively in the basin.
The Rhythm Foundation, an established concert promoter of Latin and World Music, is also interested in
using the stadium.
`UNIQUE ASSET'
Supporters say the stadium, built from poured and reinforced concrete, is unlikely to prove structurally
unsound. Though chunks of concrete are missing in spots, exposing rebar, those problems appear minor
and repairable, said Candela, the building's architect. Concrete structures built on similar principles survive
today from the days of the Roman Empire, he said.
Demolishing it, Candela and other supporters contend, would be a foolish waste.
The stadium cost about $1 million when built, but would cost tens of millions to reproduce from scratch
today, Candela said.
''Here the city has a unique asset of huge value,'' Candela, 73, said during a visit to the site.
It's primarily the stadium's design, a seamless Modernist marriage of engineering and architectural
ingenuity, and a product of exacting craftsmanship, that has won admirers the world over, supporters say. It
has been featured in books and exhibitions.
SPECIAL ROOF
Its roof -- one of the longest unsupported concrete spans in the world -- is anchored only at the rear, by a
system of eight tilted columns and concrete tethers arranged in big, sharply defined diamond shapes. The
stadium's powerful profile has been likened to an open lobster claw or the open jaw of an alligator.
''The building is a great work of art, and it's a signature piece of urban planning too, with the perfectly aligned
view of downtown, which is a classic feature of city planning,'' said Hernandez, the UM professor.
Copyright © herald.com & AMBIENTE MAGAZINE. Do not reproduce without citing this source.
Push made to refurbish Miami Marine Stadium
By Andres Viglucci
One of the most remarkable feats of
architecture and engineering in Miami's
history sits nearly forgotten behind dense
overgrowth off the Rickenbacker
Causeway, a moldering husk serving as
nothing more than the city's biggest
graffiti canvas.
Has the time now come, more than 15
years after it fell victim to city neglect
and indecision, to save the storied
44-year-old Miami Marine Stadium?
Yes, says a coalition of architects,
preservationists, activists, historians,
rowers, boaters and plain Miamians
who believe a restored and reactivated
Marine Stadium would become an iconic
landmark in a rejuvenating Miami.
''The marine stadium is one of those magical great places that can really provide soul to a city,'' said Don
Worth, a co-founder of Friends of the Marine Stadium, which will launch a campaign Saturday to preserve the
shuttered building with a fundraiser at the adjacent Miami Rowing Club. The event includes boat tours of the
stadium.
''It's great architecture, an amazing setting that is just so Miami, with the moon and the stars above and the
Emerald City skyline beyond,'' Worth said. ``Can you imagine a more dramatic outdoor venue anyplace?''
The group, with the backing of the Dade Heritage Trust, will submit a study to the city's office of historic
preservation next week requesting that the stadium be declared a historic structure. The drive comes as
cities from Miami to New York and Chicago have begun preserving mid-20th century modern buildings as
historic landmarks.
The Virginia Key stadium opened in 1964, a Modernist sculpture in poured concrete with a vast overhanging
roof folded into Vs, like Origami sails, and a grandstand with seating for nearly 7,000 that seems to float over
the water.
`COMING TOGETHER'
The stadium and the Bacardi Building on Biscayne Boulevard were the first significant modern buildings
designed by Cuban-born architects in Miami. The stadium's designer, Hilario Candela, today calls it ``a
celebration of water and land coming together.''
For nearly 30 years it was the memorable site of roaring powerboat and hydroplane races, Easter sunrise
services and concerts on a barge that included symphony orchestras, Tony Bennett, Jimmy Buffett, and Fela
Kuti, the late Nigerian king of Afro-Pop. As musicians performed, attendees in boats, floats and even
inflatable rings bobbed in the water. Buffett once released a video of a concert at the stadium.
But the city shut down the money-losing facility amid a fiscal crunch in 1992 after Hurricane Andrew.
A subsequent engineering study found the structure sound, but city officials said they couldn't justify
reopening what they considered a white elephant -- for one thing, faster powerboats had rendered it obsolete.
In the years since, vandals methodically stripped it of wiring and plumbing. Graffiti covers nearly every bit of it.
MARINE `VILLAGE'
Many believe the storm was an excuse for the city to dispose of the stadium to make way for expanded,
profit-making marina facilities -- a conclusion bolstered two years ago when consultants hired to design a
new master plan for Virginia Key sketched in a marine ''village'' of shops, restaurants and boating facilities in
its place. Planners say the city could use income from marine-oriented businesses, including increased boat
storage, to finance improvements, including new, nearby parks.
But after strong support for saving the stadium emerged last year at a public forum, City Manager Pete
Hernandez decided to take a fresh look -- prodded also by City Commissioner Marc Sarnoff, whose district
includes much of Virginia Key.
'We have a big photograph of the stadium in its present condition on the wall in my office, and whenever we
have a meeting we make the city manager sit in front of it and say, `Look, Pete, it's demolition by neglect,' ''
said Sarnoff.
``We've taken away the Orange Bowl. The marine stadium, if it does have a viable use, let's preserve it.''
The city has commissioned a new engineering evaluation of the stadium's structural integrity, to be followed,
if it clears that hurdle, by an analysis of potential uses, Sarnoff said. The consultant's study should be
finished within a month.
Because it is designated as a parks facility, Sarnoff said he would not expect a reopened stadium to pay for
itself, only that attendance help pay for maintenance and operation.
EVENTS
Supporters, including rowers who use the basin for training, races and other events, predict it would get
plenty of use.
This weekend, for instance, there is a rowing regatta at the basin. Last weekend, there was a professional
wake-boarding competition. A growing Chinese Dragon Boat Club, based at the rowing club, plans to bring
the world championships to Miami next year.
''I haven't seen anything like it anywhere else,'' said Joseph Chi, president of the Dragon Boat Club.
But with the stadium closed there is no viewing area for spectators and participants, who often number in the
thousands, organizers say.
''It's a frying pan out there, and we have this incredible place next door that we can't use,'' said architect and
University of Miami professor Jorge Hernandez, whose son rows competitively in the basin.
The Rhythm Foundation, an established concert promoter of Latin and World Music, is also interested in
using the stadium.
`UNIQUE ASSET'
Supporters say the stadium, built from poured and reinforced concrete, is unlikely to prove structurally
unsound. Though chunks of concrete are missing in spots, exposing rebar, those problems appear minor
and repairable, said Candela, the building's architect. Concrete structures built on similar principles survive
today from the days of the Roman Empire, he said.
Demolishing it, Candela and other supporters contend, would be a foolish waste.
The stadium cost about $1 million when built, but would cost tens of millions to reproduce from scratch
today, Candela said.
''Here the city has a unique asset of huge value,'' Candela, 73, said during a visit to the site.
It's primarily the stadium's design, a seamless Modernist marriage of engineering and architectural
ingenuity, and a product of exacting craftsmanship, that has won admirers the world over, supporters say. It
has been featured in books and exhibitions.
SPECIAL ROOF
Its roof -- one of the longest unsupported concrete spans in the world -- is anchored only at the rear, by a
system of eight tilted columns and concrete tethers arranged in big, sharply defined diamond shapes. The
stadium's powerful profile has been likened to an open lobster claw or the open jaw of an alligator.
''The building is a great work of art, and it's a signature piece of urban planning too, with the perfectly aligned
view of downtown, which is a classic feature of city planning,'' said Hernandez, the UM professor.
Copyright © herald.com & AMBIENTE MAGAZINE. Do not reproduce without citing this source.
| www.dadeheritagetrust.org |