The Coral Gables Police and Fire Station is a historic site in Coral Gables, Florida. Completed in 1939 as a Works Progress Administration project, it was designed by Phineas Paist. In 2003, steps are taken to preserve the building and its legacy and by 2011, it is reopened to the public as the Coral Gables Museum.HistoryPolice and fire stationDesigned by Phineas Paist of the firm Paist and Steward, the building was built by the Works Progress Administration from 1938 to 1939 and includes a number of distinctive examples of Depression Modern sculpture. Paist was significant as the first registered architect in Miami and as the principal architect for the planned community of-Coral-Gables-. The structure is one of two W.P.A. municipal buildings in Coral Gables and survives in a relatively unaltered state.Completed in 1939, the Old Coral Gables Police and Fire Station replaced a smaller interim facility located on the southwest corner of Salzedo and Alcazar. As a W.P.A. project, the City of Coral Gables provided the land and the Federal government the labor and 71.7% of the construction cost. The Police and Fire Station is of architectural distinction through its use of native keystone (oolitic or coral rock) in contrast to the concrete block construction of the Public Service Building. The architect of the building was responsible for some of the most distinguished buildings in Coral Gables, including the Douglas Entrance, City Hall, Christian Science Church and the Granada Plaza Fountains. For the exterior sculpture of the building, the W.P.A. commissioned Jon Keller (professional name, Theresa Keller maiden name). Keller was also responsible for works of Stephen Foster at the North Florida Memorial, a bust of John Gorrie (inventor of refrigeration) and two 13-foot statues at the Doral Beach Hotel on Miami Beach.
