Coconut Grove used to look like that? See photos of hippies, head shops, street life

Miami Herald Archives
·2 min read

From Seminole War battleground to Bahamian pioneer outpost to groovy hippie haven, Coconut Grove has had several incarnations.

Originally spelled Cocoanut Grove — its residents decided to drop the “a” after its incorporation as a city in 1919 — the village has attracted sailors, academics, artists, explorers, drop-outs and scientists. It was the place where northern millionaires built their sprawling estates near the bay and Black residents turned Charles Avenue into a district lush with its own sense of history and architecture.

The Grove was the first Black community in Miami-Dade County and home of the Mariah Brown House. Brown was one of Coconut Grove’s first African-Bahamian residents and her home is thought to be one of the first houses with a Black owner.

From Dinner Key you can admire Miami’s City Hall, once the terminal for Pan Am’s famed clipper service. Along Main Highway, you can still see old vestiges of the Grove: Carrollton School, El Jardin, Miami’s first Mediterranean Building; Bryan Memorial United Methodist Church, a Byzantine-influenced memorial to William Jennings Bryan; Plymouth Church, with its mission-style coral rock buildings; the old Pagoda at Ransom Everglades.

When Commodore Ralph Middleton Munroe moved into the Grove in 1888 he began to design his next home, which would eventually be known as the Barnacle, now a historic site.

In the 1960s the Grove, absorbed into the city of Miami and the site of City Hall, was a counterculture capital where hippies would circulate “Being Nice” flyers and camp out uninvited in vacant lots and public parks.

In recent years, the Grove has moved away from being a quiet, everybody-knows-everybody community with a vibrant artist population to a nightlife and shopping alternative to South Beach. And luxury towers are now par tof the landscape, with more to come.

The changes have caused some friction but powerful civic forces have managed to preserve the community’s character.

Today, you can still find pieces of the old Grove mixed in with the sleek mainstream storefronts.

Let’s take a trip back in time through the Miami Herald Archives to tour the old days of Coconut Grove:

Hippie hangout

In 1970, hippies gather at St Stephen’s in Coconut Grove.
In 1970, hippies gather at St Stephen’s in Coconut Grove.
Young people in a Grove park in 1970.
Young people in a Grove park in 1970.
Free Thinkers in a Coconut Grive park in 1969.
Free Thinkers in a Coconut Grive park in 1969.
Coconut Grove Bayfront
Coconut Grove Bayfront
A head shop in Coconut Grove in 1967. Mike Lang and Howard Zaitchick, co-owners of their “hippie” joint at the corner of Oak Avenue and Rice Street.
A head shop in Coconut Grove in 1967. Mike Lang and Howard Zaitchick, co-owners of their “hippie” joint at the corner of Oak Avenue and Rice Street.
The Tiger Rags Shop in 1970, a hippie hangout in the Grove.
The Tiger Rags Shop in 1970, a hippie hangout in the Grove.

Street scenes

Looking west on Grand Avenue in 1967, with Food Fair supermarket in the background.
Looking west on Grand Avenue in 1967, with Food Fair supermarket in the background.
In 1976, a sign on U.S. 1 pointing drivers to the Dinner Key Auditorium in Coconut Grove.
In 1976, a sign on U.S. 1 pointing drivers to the Dinner Key Auditorium in Coconut Grove.
Mayfair on Virginia Street.
Mayfair on Virginia Street.
Main entrance to Mayfair shopping complex in 1985.
Main entrance to Mayfair shopping complex in 1985.
Storm flooding on Douglas Road in Coconut Grove in 1965 after Hurricane Betsy.
Storm flooding on Douglas Road in Coconut Grove in 1965 after Hurricane Betsy.
In 1969, police at a Coconut Grove park on the bayfront.
In 1969, police at a Coconut Grove park on the bayfront.
Downtown Coconut Grove looking east on Grand Avenue in 1967.
Downtown Coconut Grove looking east on Grand Avenue in 1967.
Main Highway in 1969.
Main Highway in 1969.
Coconut Grove Art Festival in 1972.
Coconut Grove Art Festival in 1972.
Coconut Grove Arts Festival Baloon as it heads for the clouds.
Coconut Grove Arts Festival Baloon as it heads for the clouds.
Parked cars along Commodore Plaza in 1978.
Parked cars along Commodore Plaza in 1978.
Construction on Main Highway in 1979.
Construction on Main Highway in 1979.
Main Highway in Coconut Grove in 1969.
Main Highway in Coconut Grove in 1969.
Bicyclers in Coconut Grove in 1974.
Bicyclers in Coconut Grove in 1974.
Grand Avenue, just east of Douglas Road, in 1979.
Grand Avenue, just east of Douglas Road, in 1979.
Coconut Grove in 1979, looking across Southwest 27th Avenue and South Dixie Highway.
Coconut Grove in 1979, looking across Southwest 27th Avenue and South Dixie Highway.
In 1980, on Grand Avenue and Douglas Road in Coconut Grove, National Guardsman Milton O’Dell meets 5-year-old Joe Rickenbacker Jr.
In 1980, on Grand Avenue and Douglas Road in Coconut Grove, National Guardsman Milton O’Dell meets 5-year-old Joe Rickenbacker Jr.
Pedestrians in 1984.
Pedestrians in 1984.

Businesses

A sign points the way.
A sign points the way.
Businesses in Coconut Grove in the 1960s.
Businesses in Coconut Grove in the 1960s.
Ace Theater in 1979.
Ace Theater in 1979.
A perch above Dade Cycle on Grand Avenue in 1978.
A perch above Dade Cycle on Grand Avenue in 1978.
Strollers on Mian Highway in 1988.
Strollers on Mian Highway in 1988.
Senufa Rivera Employee sits outside of the affinity boutique in Coconut Grove Debbi Belcher (inside Right) talks to customer.
Senufa Rivera Employee sits outside of the affinity boutique in Coconut Grove Debbi Belcher (inside Right) talks to customer.
In 1973, a collection of Grove businesses in a mall.
In 1973, a collection of Grove businesses in a mall.
A laundry storefront in 1969.
A laundry storefront in 1969.
A business in the Grove.
A business in the Grove.
Grove businesses line the street.
Grove businesses line the street.
Mutiny Hotel, notorious for cocaine parties in the 1980s.
Mutiny Hotel, notorious for cocaine parties in the 1980s.
Georgia Rib on Grand Avenue in 1982.
Georgia Rib on Grand Avenue in 1982.
The Peacock Cafe in 1988.
The Peacock Cafe in 1988.

Early years

First schoolhouse in Miami-Dade County, on Grand Avenue in Coconut Grove.
First schoolhouse in Miami-Dade County, on Grand Avenue in Coconut Grove.
Road to Coconut Grove through a hammock in 1903.
Road to Coconut Grove through a hammock in 1903.
Peacock Inn, the Grove’s first hotel.
Peacock Inn, the Grove’s first hotel.
A Pan Am passenger terminal under construction in Coconut Grove.
A Pan Am passenger terminal under construction in Coconut Grove.
Visitors crowd around the globe of the world at the Pan Am seaplane terminal in Coconut Grove, now Miami’s City Hall, in the mid-1930s.
Visitors crowd around the globe of the world at the Pan Am seaplane terminal in Coconut Grove, now Miami’s City Hall, in the mid-1930s.

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