Hundreds of flags now fly over Giralda Plaza
Valid votes in the mayor's race nearly doubled, but Lago's share barely moved. Plus a museum gallery upgrade and two new Miracle Mile shops.
Hundreds of American flags now hang over Giralda Plaza, where the city will hold its first Salute to Veterans on Wednesday morning. Also this week: valid votes in the mayoral race nearly doubled in the first November city election without changing much about the result, a grant to refit the museum's main gallery, a $39 million office purchase on Le Jeune Road, two new boutiques on Miracle Mile and a free Chopin recital at Granada Church on Sunday.
Look up on the 100 block of Giralda Avenue and the floral umbrellas are gone. Hundreds of American flags now hang above the pedestrian plaza between Ponce de Leon Boulevard and Galiano Street, the third overhead installation this year after the handwoven textiles of Cielo Tejido and the umbrellas of Giralda in Bloom.
The display came out of the city's planning for the nation's 250th anniversary. Mayor Vince Lago pushed for American flags downtown, and on June 2 the commission voted 5-0 to authorize patriotic displays and have the city manager prepare a budget and plan.
The flags will frame the city's first Salute to Veterans, from 9 to 11 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 11, on the plaza. Commissioner Richard Lara sponsored the ceremony, which officials hope becomes an annual tradition. The keynote speaker is Dr. Harold "Hal" Silberman, a 101-year-old Gables resident who served in World War II as a communications and decoding officer aboard the battleship USS Arkansas. The Coral Gables Senior High JROTC honor guard will present the colors, and the program includes live music and family activities.
Baptist Health buys a $39 million office building on Le Jeune
City National Bank has moved all 900 of its employees out of its former executive offices at 2855 Le Jeune Road and into a leased building next door at 2701 Le Jeune. The building it left behind now belongs to Gables-based Baptist Health South Florida, which bought the four-story property from the bank for $39 million, according to Coral Gables Magazine.
The magazine describes the purchase as part of Baptist Health's continuing expansion. The report does not say how the health system plans to use the building.
Two new boutiques open on Miracle Mile
Linen Drama, at 215 Miracle Mile, sells clothing made in India from European linen, some of it hand embroidered. Women will find dresses, blazers, kurtas and coordinated sets, with dresses running $150 to $325; men's shirts and kurtas generally cost $150 to $175. The shop is open 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on weekends.
At 290 Miracle Mile, Cabana Chic, founder Helena Solly's online resort-wear brand, has opened its first physical store. It landed the space through the city's Pop-Up Retail Space Program, chosen from eight applicants for a six-month lease. Racks hold maxi dresses, matching sets and cover-ups, including Trina Turk pieces and hand-painted CÉCIE hats designed in Miami.
Twice as many mayoral votes, almost the same Lago vote share
Participation in the mayor's race rose in every one of the city's 16 precincts, from a 59.5 percent increase in Precinct 608 at the Country Club of Coral Gables to 202.7 percent in Precinct 633 at Wesley United Methodist Church, according to a Gables Gazette precinct analysis. Citywide, valid votes for mayor went from 10,054 in April 2025 to 19,904 on Nov. 3. Those mayoral votes equal about 65 percent of the city's 30,594 registered voters, up from roughly 29 percent. The Gazette notes that this measures participation in the mayoral race, not overall turnout, which also counts ballots with no valid vote for mayor.
The larger pool of mayoral votes barely moved the result. Mayor Vince Lago took 56.8 percent, compared with 55.5 percent in 2025, and finished first in all 16 precincts. Nikki Whiting won the open Group V seat with 56 percent, and Nestor Menendez unseated Commissioner Melissa Castro by 121 votes.
The Gazette also found that the failed four-year mayoral term drew a smaller share than Lago himself in every precinct, while cautioning that the returns cannot show why individual residents voted as they did.
A $250,000 grant to refit the museum's main gallery
New flooring, an upgraded air-conditioning system and a new security system are headed for the Carole A. Fewell Gallery, the Coral Gables Museum's main exhibition space, ahead of a major December exhibition. The work is funded by a $250,000 Knight Foundation grant, with a matching contribution from the city, Coral Gables Magazine reports.
The magazine ties the upgrades to Masterpieces in Private Hands, an exhibition of 40 to 60 works from major Miami private collections planned for Miami Art Week and Art Basel in the first week of December.
A free Chopin recital at Granada Church Sunday
- When
- 2026-11-08 · 3 p.m.
- Where
- Granada Church
- Address
- 950 University Drive
- Price
- Free; advance registration recommended
Paul Ji, a semifinalist at the 2025 National Chopin Piano Competition in Miami, opens the Chopin Foundation's free Chopin for All season in Coral Gables on Sunday. Raised in France, Ji recorded for Warner Classics at 16 and graduated from Yale this year with a degree in music and philosophy.
The first half centers on three Chopin works from 1841: the Ballade No. 3, the C minor Nocturne, Op. 48, No. 1, and the Fantasie in F minor, plus an earlier waltz. After intermission come Debussy's Images, Book I, Beethoven's Waldstein Sonata and Chopin's Andante spianato and Grande Polonaise. Admission is free, and advance registration is recommended. The series returns to Granada Church on Dec. 6 with pianist Oliver Moore.