The Barnacle Historic State Park

This beautiful house with a whimsical name dates to a quieter time. The Barnacle, built in 1891, offers a glimpse of Old Florida during "The Era of the Bay." Situated on the shore of Biscayne Bay, this was the home of Ralph Middleton Munroe, one of Coconut Grove’s most charming and influential pioneers. Munroe’s principal passion was designing yachts. In his lifetime, he drew plans for 56 different sailboats. As a seaman, naturalist and photographer, Commodore Munroe was a man who cherished the natural world around him. A walk into the park passes through a tropical hardwood hammock. In the 1920s, it was representative of the original landscape within the city of Miami. Today, it is one of the last remnants of the once vast "Miami Hammock." Visitors enjoy sitting on rocking chairs on the spacious porch used as a gathering place or on a bench under a tree for solitude. Read Less