Miami-Dade Court Rejects Veto to Save Abandoned Coconut Grove Playhouse

According to the Miami Herald, Miami-Dade Circuit Court panel has just ruled against a 2019 veto from Mayor Francis Suarez, which nixed the demolition of the famed Coconut Grove Playhouse. The county announced plans to remove the historic theatre, which has not been in use since 2006, to make room for a new theatre space.

"We have all worked together the last 12 years on this and we all are the reason our Playhouse is still standing. So rest assured we sure will NOT be giving up now. It is of utmost importance we all contact the County Mayor, Commissioners and other State and local officials," writes an advocate for the shuttered venue. "Tell them to stop planning to demolish something integral to who we are as a city. The Coconut Grove Playhouse belongs to us, not to the politicians and the developers."

The Coconut Grove Playhouse was a theatre was originally constructed as a movie theater called the Player's State Theater. It opened on January 3, 1927, as a part of the Paramount chain. It was used for a variety of shows until closing in 2006 and has not been used since. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2018.