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Dade Heritage Trust
Historic Preservation Center
190 Southeast Twelfth Terrace
Miami, Florida 33131

April 2, 1999

By FAX 305-376-8950

The Readers' Forum
The Miami Herald
1 Herald Plaza
Miami, Florida 33132

To the Editor:

Dade Heritage Trust, Miami-Dade County's largest historic preservation nonprofit, has worked for 27 years to preserve landmarks of our community's past to enrich the texture of our city's present and future.

Our projects have included restoration of the Cape Florida Lighthouse, Miami's oldest structure, preservation of the Wagner Homestead, Miami's oldest house, River Day in Lummus Park to promote Miami's oldest park, the Miami City Cemetery Task Force, to secure and beautify Miami's most historic cemetery, and efforts to save the 2000-year-old Miami Circle. During the six weeks of our Dade Heritage Days, we focus on historic sites and neighborhoods from one end of the County to the other.

Generally, our benchmark for judging structures "historic" is 50 years. However, in the case of Stiltsville, those eight leggy houses that seem to wade in the waters of Biscayne Bay, we have made an exception. Despite the fact that the individual structures in Stiltsville are less than 50 years old, we feel that the colorful origins of the community itself-which dates back to the 30's-makes Stiltsville a wonderfully interesting component of Miami's marine history.

The Stiltsville houses have fascinated countless tourists and boaters for generations. To have them torn down by the National Park Service will be a real loss to the salty cultural history of Miami and Biscayne Bay.

Sincerely,

Becky Roper Matkov
Executive Director