For larger view, click on image. Return to page via back arrow. Situated in a magical garden setting behind a 1937 Mediterranean Revival style (or “Old Spanish”) home in Miami’s historic Shenandoah neighborhood, Lost Reef Cottage offers a spacious, private, and utterly comfortable retreat from the fast-paced city outside its walls. The place is named after an ancient coral reef excavated most unexpectedly in the course of working on its garden, sitting just outside its front door, offering a quiet reminder that all of the Earth as we know it was birthed from the sea. In Miami terms (and please don't laugh at this!) the Cottage sits on "higher ground," a momentous eight feet above sea level!
The "Coral Chamber" just outside the front door shortly after its discovery in 2003, (temporarily!) filled with rainwater after a heavy deluge.
Despite its multi-cultural clumsiness and considerable array of very real big city problems, Miami remains at its mysterious heart a jewel of rare quality. A "new" city in relative terms, incorporated only in 1896, this grand vision of a moonlit Metropolis arising from the swamp has always drawn in unreasonable numbers the dreamers, rogues, knaves, and visionaries called by the dream or come to exploit it. That remains so.
Meanwhile, outside the garden gate, Miami's population continues to swell and its traffic problem continues (unbelievably!) to worsen on an infrastructure of roads and highways already long since outgrown by the strapping city. Longer and more hateful commutes have become a daily ordeal for many, and a huge common negative diminishing quality of life. Rampant discourtesy, an overabundance of truly awful drivers, and long stretches to travel on too-few arteries have all led to a sense of mounting frustration, with road rage simmering always just under the surface and no end in sight. Against that dark backdrop, the Shenandoah neighborhood has become something of a shining beacon, highly prized for its central location-- only minutes from downtown, Brickell Avenue, Key Biscayne, Coconut Grove, and Coral Gables.
"Drive to Cocoanut Grove, Miami, Fla."
Despite its multi-cultural clumsiness and considerable array of very real big city problems, Miami remains at its mysterious heart a jewel of rare quality. A "new" city in relative terms, incorporated only in 1896, this grand vision of a moonlit Metropolis arising from the swamp has always drawn in unreasonable numbers the dreamers, rogues, knaves, and visionaries called by the dream or come to exploit it. That remains so.
When the world was younger: the mouth of a pristine, crystal-clear Miami River at Biscayne Bay, 1900's
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.In a sense we have all washed up upon its shores, bearing the cargo of our own cultural assumptions, beliefs, ways, dreams, and contributions. So here we are. And where are we to head from here? I have little idea, and that's all right. In fact, to me that's what makes it all interesting. This city, my home town and the backdrop of my life thus far, refuses absolutely to be bound by "reason," or any logic other than its own dynamic becoming.
Miami "once upon a time": Brickell Avenue (above), Ocean Drive, 1912 (below). Imagine.
The apparent chaos that is today's Miami is by no means for everybody. Yet for the engaged and curious, those of sufficiently stubborn disposition, hopefully some sense of humor, and an open heart, the place is alive, virtually electrified with possibility, with an unparalleled breadth and range of experience, perspectives, and connections all freely available for the plucking. Whatever might be the purpose of your stay, our simple and singular intention is to make it as comfortable and refreshing as possible. To put it simply, the Cottage and its gardens have been created, tended, and loved as a sanctuary, all for the sharing.
An early beacon of hospitality-- Henry Flagler's Royal Palm Hotel, along a pristine Miami River. Yet another fragment of "the Magic City's" rich and vast heritage, alive only in memory.___________________________________
From the multi-colored clay barrel tile capping roof and tower above to the tile floor within, no expense has been spared in renovating and enhancing the property to both honor its past and to offer its guests the modern comforts they desire.
Its furnishings and decorations are eclectic and both modern and antique, reflecting that elusive spirit of magic that has drawn so many here over the years. Original art by Paul Hampton Crockett decorates the walls. (www.crockettartworks.com ) An excellent, quirky library invites a guest to curl up with a good book and enjoy some quiet time.
Lost Reef, detail 2003 P. Crockett
