George Merrick created the Venetian Pool, in front of you, from a coral rock quarry in 1924, and it remains the most beautiful public swimming pool in the United States, perhaps the only pool in the country listed on the National Register of Historic Places. George Merrick created it in 1924 from a coral rock quarry that had been excavated for the limestone used to build Coral Gables' homes and streets. Rather than leave the quarry as an eyesore, Merrick hired artist Denman Fink and architect Phineas Paist to transform it into a fantasy lagoon.
They added Venetian loggias, stone bridges, waterfalls, and grottos to what was already a dramatic natural bowl of pale limestone. The pool holds 820,000 gallons of water drawn from an artesian well; it is drained and refilled daily during the swimming season, with a new supply of cool, clear water that keeps it pristine. Johnny Weissmuller trained here.
Esther Williams filmed promotional footage in the pool. Today it remains a working public pool, used by Coral Gables residents and visitors from around the world. Come in the morning before the crowds arrive.
The light on the limestone and the water at that hour is as close as Miami gets to European beauty — which was, of course, exactly what Merrick intended.