The historic Pan American Airlines terminal on Dinner Key in Miami will remain the city's primary city hall after a vote today to preserve the building's 70-year legacy.
The terminal, with its marine white and blue facade and ceiling artwork depicting astrological symbols and aeronautical history, used to serve as a launch site for Pan Am's seafaring planes. The property was sold to the City of Miami in 1946 and converted into the seat of government in 1954.
With the creation of a new city government building at Miami Freedom Park that's due to open in 2028, the fate of the Coconut Grove city hall was up in the air.
Pan American World Airways is looking to relaunch after the company went under in 1991, and the company's CEO recently told the Miami Herald that he was interested in buying city hall back from Miami if they were to sell it.
City Commissioner Damian Pardo, however, closed the book on that discussion by sponsoring an item to keep government meetings where they are.
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" This is the civic space. It's kind of like our ancestral home in the city of Miami. It represents Allapattah, Overtown, Flagami, Little Havana all of us. This is really what it's about, it's our history," Pardo said at a Thursday city commission meeting.
While the majority of his colleagues agreed, the move met with pushback from Commissioner Miguel Gabela who worried aloud if residents would think the city is being frivolous with taxpayer dollars.
" The problem is that we just spent money on a supposedly new city hall that some of us approved about two or three years ago. And I, for one, do not wanna give the impression of, 'How many city halls are these commissioners gonna have?' you know?" Gabela said.
Gabela also pointed out that Coconut Grove is far from central in the City of Miami, and that the majority of regular public attendees at commission meetings are people who live in the neighborhood.
Pardo retorted that the city can create new uses for the government center at Freedom Park, and that preserving the historic city hall is worth the $290,000 it costs to maintain the building annually.
Commissioners voted 4 to 1 in favor of keeping government meetings at 3500 Pan American Drive, with Gabela as the sole "no" vote.
