Growing up in Bay Heights
Categories: Coconut Grove, Real Estate News
hiIsn’t it funny that I grew up in Bay Heights, which is considered north Coconut Grove, and I’m now a real estate broker working for EWM in their Coconut Grove office! I feel like I’ve come full circle! Coconut Grove has changed so much since I was a child. I remember a small, sleepy village with nothing to do. I remember Jason’s, which was a restaurant on Bayshore Drive. Every once in awhile, my Dad would take me to breakfast there with him. It was such a treat, especially spending time alone with my father without my three sisters tagging along! Ultimately Jason’s became the Bayshore Inn which was owned by Mr. & Mrs. Niman. When they decided to retire and sell the restaurant, they sold it to some guy named Monty Trainer who no one had ever heard of! Now, Monty’s is practically a household name in Miami with restaurants in Coconut Grove and Miami Beach.
In the center Grove, there was a five and ten cent store, a few artist studios and a really nice restaurant called The Country Store which we only went to for very special occasions. The Coconut Grove library was a destination and Peacock Park was a favorite because they had the best trees to climb! And under the trees, there were always these little piles of dirt balls that we would examine with great seriousness, which I now know were the result of the insects digging into the earth.
As I got older and was allowed to go off on my bike with my friends, we would ride into the Grove and turn right around and ride back. Never did we stay to spend time because there wasn’t anything to stay for! How different is that from today’s Coconut Grove?! As teenagers, a lot of kids used to go to Fair Isle to neck (not me, of course!) because it was a dark and deserted island and nobody bothered you. Today, Fair Isle is known as Grove Isle! Grove Isle is now a wonderful waterfront community of condominiums, tennis and a private club. It’s not only a great place to live, but a lifestyle.
Growing up in Bay Heights was a very special experience. The neighborhood was filled with kids of all ages and everyone knew everyone. We played in the streets and rode our bikes freely in the streets. Because Bay Heights was somewhat far removed from any stores, if we wanted an ice cream or a candy bar, we had to hop the wall and go to the vending machines in the Museum of Science. The machines were located in an open patio to the back of the Museum with no air conditioning and a few skinny palms scattered about. But the museum was air conditioned and we could hang around the lobby with our Popsicles and throw pennies in the big globe or look at the beautiful rocks in the display case at the front with longing, wishing we could buy a couple.
As much as I love the Coconut Grove of today, I sometimes long for the Grove of yesterday.
What a great post. We often forget how small town parts of Miami really are. Even today the Grove is very small town, with many people who were born and raised here, still living and working here. Just look at the many natives in the Grove office!