Tequesta/2020
The Journal of HistoryMiami Museum Number LXXX (80) The Journal of HistoryMiami Museum Number LXXX (80) 2020 On the cover: Reverend Theodore Gibson and Elizabeth Virrick, 1969. Father Gibson was Dade County’s foremost Civil Rights leader, an out- spoken critic of the city of Miami’s failure at code enforcement, and the uncontrolled activities of white slumlords. Inspired by father Gibson, Elizabeth Virrick became a passionate, highly effective urban reformer. HASF, Miami News Collection 1989-011-0821. 3
Tequesta, The Journal of HistoryMiami Museum
Editor Paul S. George, Ph.D.
Managing Editor Vanessa Cambrelen
Number LXXX (80) 2020
Contents
Trustees ...... 4
Editor’s Essay ...... 5
Miami In 1876, Arva Moore Parks ...... 10
The Miami-Havana Connection: The First Seventy-Five Years, Francis J. Sicius ...... 78
Elizabeth Virrick and the “Concrete Monsters”: Housing Reform in Postwar Miami, Raymond A. Mohl ...... 124
The Holders of the Dry Tortugas, James A. Kushlan ...... 164
Arva Moore Parks, 1939-2020, Historian, Paul S. George ...... 202
Memberships and Donations ...... 205
About Tequesta ...... 206
© Copyright 2020 by the Historical Association of Southern Florida 4 Tequesta LXXX
HistoryMiami Museum Historical Association of Southern Florida, Inc.
Founded 1940—Incorporated 1941
Officers
John Shubin, Chairman Michael Gold, Vice Chairman Brian Barroso, Secretary Ronald E. Frazier, Treasurer Etan Mark, At Large Representative Michael Carricarte, Sr., At Large Representative Michael Weiser, Immediate Past Chairman
Trustees
Alejandro A. Dominguez Ben Mollere Michael Fay Carlo A. Rodriguez Avra Jain Manuel J. Rodriguez Barry E. Johnson Elissa Vanaver Elizabeth P. Johnson Candido Viyella
© Copyright 2020 by the Historical Association of Southern Florida ISSN 0363-3705
Tequesta is published annually by HistoryMiami. Communications should be addressed to the Editor of Tequesta, HistoryMiami, 101 West Flagler Street, Miami, Florida 33130; 305-375-1492 or info@ historymiami.org. HistoryMiami does not assume responsibility for statements of facts or opinions made by contributors.
Sign language interpreters and materials in accessible format are available upon request. Please call 305-375-1628 or email [email protected]. 5
Editor’s Essay
HistoryMiami Museum is eighty years of age and its signature journal, Tequesta, The Journal of HistoryMiami Museum, is right behind, with its first edition appearing in 1941. It would be difficult to study and understand the rich history of Miami and nearby areas without a deep familiarity with Tequesta, since the journal has covered a dizzying array of topics, both popular and arcane, that speak to this history.
From the beginning, Tequesta has showcased the works of many of Greater Miami’s most important early authors and leading fig- ures. The lead article in volume one was Coral Gables’ creator, George Merrick’s, “Pre-Flagler Influences on the Lower Florida East Coast.” That number of Tequesta contained an astounding nine articles on a wide array of topics. The fourth edition of Te- questa (1944) featured an article by Marjory Stoneman Douglas just three years before the appearance of her seminal work, The Everglades, River of Grass. Thus, the tone was set early for the importance and excellence of Tequesta articles.
I have had the good fortune to serve as editor of Tequesta for more than twenty-five years. Before then, the journal was a prime research tool for my dissertation research and, later, for articles, columns, and boo