Little Prince - sad news for sleuths

[CarolineUK]

I've just seen the following on Facebook where I subscribe to the Miami Design Preservation League. In a month where I have seen the hotel Marlin and the former Versace Mansion up for sale online as going concerns, this latest news is going to be sad news for fans of Little Prince & that lovely white mansion which seems to welcome you as you drive across the causeway to South Beach. Due to foreclosure someone has bought the Little Prince mansion on Star Island & wants to demolish the building from 1924 to build a massive White House style mega-mansion instead. Unless the League can stop this, if anyone wants to get a picture while it survives, they had better head for Miami Beach soon :cry:Here is the link:http://www.change.org/petitions/design-review-board-of-miami-beach-stop-the-demolition-of-42-star-island-a-1924-landmark-of-miami-beach

[CharlieGlide]

Ugh! Tasteless and tacky. That house is a masterpiece, with or without Miami Vice's use. It would be a shame to see it demolished. Why are some people just so lame? If you want a big, gaudy, nouveaux riche home, go build it where all the other nouveaux riche homes are located.

[miamijimf]

http://www.change.org/petitions/design-review-board-of-miami-beach-stop-the-demolition-of-42-star-island-a-1924-landmark-of-miami-beach

Thanks for posting this Sue, you beat me to it. I hope everyone signs the on-line petition. Another great site in danger and may be gone. That's one reason why Miami Vice is so important, it preserves a video record of important Miami landmarks that are gone or changed. It won't be long before Burn Notice serves the same purpose, in fact it's already happening.

[Kavinsky]

I think I saw the house on burn notice in the background recently actually, the pre November 29th episode I think.

[alleycat]

No,No,this is not right,How could they demolish this beautiful home,Its Miami history this can't happen.This isn't right,no way.I can't freaking believe this.Petition signed:thumbsup:with my John Hancock,not really but my name.

[CarolineUK]

Ugh! Tasteless and tacky. That house is a masterpiece' date=' with or without Miami Vice's use. It would be a shame to see it demolished. Why are some people just so lame? If you want a big, gaudy, nouveaux riche home, go build it where all the other nouveaux riche homes are located.[/quote']Sadly the rich gaudy developers have already demolished almost the whole of Sunny Isles for the monstrous Trump etc towers so that the entire beach is in shadow for part of the day. I am not against new buildings but why this pointless razing of anything that does have character? Sunny Isles may have been a bit gaudy back in the 1980s but at least you saw people in the street - its now like a ghost town with all the rich up in their "ivory" towers.Thank heavens for the Miami Design Preservation League because without their formation there would be no Vice South Beach locations left for us to see and enjoy.For anyone who wants to see the details on the Marlin sale:http://www.loopnet.com/Listing/16673200/1200-Collins-Ave-Miami-Beach-FL/And if you have a spare $125 million, here is an extended listing of the Versace/Casa Casuarina:http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/06/08/2839202/photo-gallery-06-08-131135.html

[Kavinsky]

yeash you would think a marine would have more respect for Miami than that, still though its readily apparent that money talks if anything.

[pahonu]

I recall reading an article several years ago that listed Miami and a few other large cities including the Los Angeles area, where I live, as having amongst the weakest historic preservation laws in the country. Things may have changed since then as the article describes strict preservation laws, but it sadly doesn't seem to be so. In contrast Boston, Phiadelphia and San Francisco were ranked highly for preservation efforts. Older cities, unlike Miami, seemed to be more preservation minded. I also hope everyone here takes the time to sign the petition. Unfortunately, these situations rarely get attention beyond the local level. Too many iconic structures have been lost already.

[Pink Flaming0]

Progressive run city, they have no regard for history.

[Matt5]

http://www.change.org/petitions/design-review-board-of-miami-beach-stop-the-demolition-of-42-star-island-a-1924-landmark-of-miami-beach

Ridicoulous

[pahonu]

Progressive run city' date=' they have no regard for history. [/quote']I'm not sure it's that simple. San Francisco and Boston, two very progressive cities, have quite strict historic preservation ordinances. I think the age of the city plays a much bigger role, and Miami is fairly young.

[Kavinsky]

Well right on boston given its age and how many of the founding fathers were there at one point and what happened here, but on SF in a way in your actually off.Here in boston and MA the places where the founding fathers lived have been considerably preserved, even with some of the odd things that they needed back then to live. given horses being the primary means of transportation in addition to the cobble stone roads being preserved.It's like walking into a time warp, hell the area the first shot of the war was fired is considerably preserved and I've been over the bridge too, in lexington I believe and I think I was on the constitution after her restoration was complete. SF however was completely rebuilt in the early 1900's given its destruction after the great earthquake so technically its not that old building wise, although Im not sure how much of the original SF before that point survived outside of the road layoutbut that means technically Miami and SF are on the same foot preservation wise because of the I believe 1906 Earthquake.

[CarolineUK]

Latest news on Little Prince mansionHere's the latest news on the mansion http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/12/04/3126191/miami-housewives-star-island-home.html

[Sonny-Burnett]

Here's the latest news on the mansion http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/12/04/3126191/miami-housewives-star-island-home.html

From this comment "The Degarmo-designed home, however, is not designated historic by the city, which means the Hochsteins do not need the approval of Miami Beach’s protective Historic Preservation Board", I wonder what it would take to reclassify the home as "historic" and thereby render it protected?

[pahonu]

Well right on boston given its age and how many of the founding fathers were there at one point and what happened here' date=' but on SF in a way in your actually off.Here in boston and MA the places where the founding fathers lived have been considerably preserved, even with some of the odd things that they needed back then to live. given horses being the primary means of transportation in addition to the cobble stone roads being preserved.It's like walking into a time warp, hell the area the first shot of the war was fired is considerably preserved and I've been over the bridge too, in lexington I believe and I think I was on the constitution after her restoration was complete. SF however was completely rebuilt in the early 1900's given its destruction after the great earthquake so technically its not that old building wise, although Im not sure how much of the original SF before that point survived outside of the road layoutbut that means technically Miami and SF are on the same foot preservation wise because of the I believe 1906 Earthquake.[/quote']All the Victorian houses that remain in SF, the famous "painted ladies", predate the earthquake and fire. Most are from the 1870's to 1890's including the famous "postcard row" near Alamo Square. There were many areas of the city that survived the fire and thousands of Victorian-era homes still exist in the southern and western parts of the city. Miami has very few structures from the 19th century and it's real growth doesn't begin until the 1920's. Compared to Boston of course, San Francisco is quite new, but many of it's structures are 50-plus years older than the oldest in Miami. By the way, the Los Angeles area, where I'm at, has a somewhat similar time line as Miami in regards to growth with a first wave of growth in the teens and 20's followed by a post-war boom.

[pahonu]

From this comment "The Degarmo-designed home' date=' however, is not designated historic by the city, which means the Hochsteins do not need the approval of Miami Beach’s protective Historic Preservation Board", I wonder what it would take to reclassify the home as "historic" and thereby render it protected?[/quote']One of the articles stated that the designation as historic would require the consent of the current owners. This is apparently an unusual requirement and the exception compared to other preservation ordinances in the area. Unfortunately the previous owners didn't go through the process of designating the home as historic and now there seems little hope that the new owners will.

[Kavinsky]

All the Victorian houses that remain in SF' date=' the famous "painted ladies", predate the earthquake and fire. Most are from the 1870's to 1890's including the famous "postcard row" near Alamo Square. There were many areas of the city that survived the fire and thousands of Victorian-era homes still exist in the southern and western parts of the city. Miami has very few structures from the 19th century and it's real growth doesn't begin until the 1920's. Compared to Boston of course, San Francisco is quite new, but many of it's structures are 50-plus years older than the oldest in Miami. By the way, the Los Angeles area, where I'm at, has a somewhat similar time line as Miami in regards to growth with a first wave of growth in the teens and 20's followed by a post-war boom.[/quote']yeash and then with the boom in the 1980's well I see now why it seems like the stuff from that time period is biting the dust then in Miami.and I remember my old man telling me of how empty LA used to be when he lived there in the 1970's, seems unthinkable to think of how populated it used to be. Makes me wish I could have seen it in its hayday back then along with Dean Martin's playboy club. Still though so all of those old buildings from the 1870's and 1890's and all that survived not only the 1906 earthquake and fire but the 1989 one? talk about tough old buildings.

[Matt5]

yeash and then with the boom in the 1980's well I see now why it seems like the stuff from that time period is biting the dust then in Miami.and I remember my old man telling me of how empty LA used to be when he lived there in the 1970's' date=' seems unthinkable to think of how populated it used to be. Makes me wish I could have seen it in its hayday back then along with Dean Martin's playboy club. Still though so all of those old buildings from the 1870's and 1890's and all that survived not only the 1906 earthquake and fire but the 1989 one? talk about tough old buildings.[/quote']Good info thankyou

[pahonu]

yeash and then with the boom in the 1980's well I see now why it seems like the stuff from that time period is biting the dust then in Miami.and I remember my old man telling me of how empty LA used to be when he lived there in the 1970's' date=' seems unthinkable to think of how populated it used to be. Makes me wish I could have seen it in its hayday back then along with Dean Martin's playboy club. Still though so all of those old buildings from the 1870's and 1890's and all that survived not only the 1906 earthquake and fire but the 1989 one? talk about tough old buildings.[/quote']Tough old buildings is right.LA hasn't stopped it's staggering growth yet. It's approaching 4 million. In the 2010 census LA County had just under 9.9 million people! It's the most populated county in the country. It has 88 cities in it, several of which have over 100,000 people, including Long Beach where I'm at which has just under a half million people. I was stunned to discover Long Beach has more people than Miami which has about 400,000. When I was a kid in the 70's there were still a little remaining farmland around here in the outlying areas. That's been gone for 30+ years.

[Matt5]

little remaining farmland around here in the outlying areas. That's been gone for 30+ years.

Great info thankyou

[alleycat]

Some info about our beloved Star IslandUpdate about "City of Miami Beach and Design Review Board: Stop the demolition of 42 Star Island, a 1925 landmark of Miami Beach"Thank you for your support in opposing the demolition of 42 Star Island, one of the most recognizable and iconic historic homes in Miami Beach. To date, we have 369 signatures from Miami Beach residents and those outside of Miami Beach who support our efforts. I wanted to provide a quick update to keep you all in the loop:The good news is that the first application for the new house was not approved by the Design Review Board (DRB) and it was continued to February 5th. This means the owner must come up with improved designs in order to get approved by the DRB. Unfortunately, once the design is approved, the demolition can begin... there is currently no way to stop demolition via the DRB process.Mayor Matti Bower, a known preservationist, attempted to send the issue of pre-1942 home demolitions to the Planning Board, which may have led to a Zoning in Progress and halted all pre-1942 demolitions temporarily while a solution was explored. This would have been the best option given the current demolition epidemic that has infected our City.Unfortunately, Commissioners Jonah Wolfson and Deede Weithorn pulled the issue for discussion to prevent it from going directly to the Planning Board. Several citizens and I were at the meeting and urged the Commission to send the issue to the Planning Board instead of the Land Use Committee. Nevertheless, the Commissioners disagreed with the Mayor and other preservationists, and they voted to send it instead to Land Use... delaying the issue at its most critical hour.We urge you to write to the Commissioners expressing your disappointment that they did not follow the Mayor's lead to help save homes in threat of demolition in the most immediate way possible. Each Commissioner except Commissioner Libbin voted to send it to Land Use... You can contact them at the website link here: http://web.miamibeachfl.gov/web_contact.aspx?webpageID=35In addition, we learned today that Commissioner Jonah Wolfson has added a new item to next Wednesday's Commission meeting which would be a charter amendment to prevent the Involuntary Historic Designation of a single-family home without the owner's consent - something directly related to the 42 Star Island petition....He is calling it the "Homeowner's Protection Act"... In this case, it could halt the efforts of the Miami Design Preservation League to continue their historic designation process for 42 Star Island and save it from total demolition. I believe that this would be unfair to the process and that Commissioner Wolfson would be on the wrong side of history by responding to the overwhelming public outcry against the demolition with a new law giving real estate investors more encouragement to demolish any home on a whim. Who knows how dangerous such an Act could be to the beauty of our neighborhoods in the next decade if the demolition rate continues or even increases. Involuntary requests without the homeowner's consent are of course not optimal, but have been used in certain dire situations to protect important historic homes and structures - for example, in Coral Gables.If you are available to attend the Commission Meeting next Wednesday and voice your opposition to the 42 Star Island demolition and subsequent actions by the Commission, please join us at City Hall. Most likely the item will come up after 5pm, so if you'd like to join us I suggest coming around then. You can also email me a letter to the Commission and I will submit it to them at the meeting. My email is dgc223@gmail.comPlease send your letters of encouragement to Mayor Bower at MayorBower@miamibeachfl.gov - she is taking a stand and should be applauded for it.Finally, we are trying to organize homeowners to convince the City that there needs to be a way to deny total demolition of an historic, architecturally significant home -- especially if neighbors overwhelmingly oppose its demolition and the proposed replacement home.

[miamijimf]

Thanks for posting Ally. I was wondering what was going on. I have written the Mayor, wish I (we) could do more.

[Pink Flaming0]

Thanks for posting Ally. I was wondering what was going on. I have written the Mayor' date=' wish I (we) could do more.[/quote']Just an idea but how about a form letter stating our support for the mayor with everyone from this boards electronic signature? It seems some of those in power in Miami aren't doing a very good job of blending new architecture with old. Of course we all know to do this you first have to preserve the OLD!

[Matt5]

Its crazy if this goes

[miamijimf]

Just an idea but how about a form letter stating our support for the mayor with everyone from this boards electronic signature? It seems some of those in power in Miami aren't doing a very good job of blending new architecture with old. Of course we all know to do this you first have to preserve the OLD!

Good idea Pink, not sure how much weight it would have but it would at least show that there is nationwide and worldwide support for preserving this landmark. One of the top administrators want to start the ball rolling?