Celebrating 90 Years of Banyan Trees on Coral Way
events, press,
Published on
04/06/2026
04/06/2026
Celebrating 90 Years of Banyan Trees on Coral Way
Air view of Miracle Mile and Coral Way in 1937. The Banyan trees in the median of Coral Way were planted Aug. 1936 into 1937. Note that Coral Gables’ Colonnade Building at the corner of Miracle Mile and Ponce de Leon Boulevard is in the foreground.
(Image credit: Miami Dade Public Library System Digital Collections, Gleason Waite Romer Photographs)In her latest byline for Miami’s Community Newspapers, Megan McLaughlin, Historic Preservation & Planning Director at Plusurbia Design, explores how Coral Way was intentionally designed as a multimodal corridor long before that language became standard in urban planning.
From its origins as a connector between Downtown Miami and Coral Gables to the planting of more than 1,200 banyan trees during the WPA era, the piece highlights how infrastructure, landscape, and transit once worked together to shape everyday life.
Nearly a century later, Coral Way still reflects those early planning decisions, offering shade, walkability, and a strong sense of place that continues to define the surrounding neighborhoods. By examining how past investments shaped successful places, preservation and planning professionals can draw lessons that inform more resilient, people-centered communities today.
Read more here.
