National Register of Historic Places Program
Weekly Highlight: William Jennings Bryan House
Miami-Dade County, Florida
The National Register of Historic Places is the official list of the Nation's historic places worthy of preservation. Authorized by the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966, the National Park Service's National Register of Historic Places is part of a national program to coordinate and support public and private efforts to identify, evaluate, and protect America's historic and archeological resources.
![[photo] of highlighted property](2012/WilliamJenningsBryan250.jpg)
William Jennings Bryan (1860-1925) was a brilliant orator and
statesman, considered by many as one of the greatest speakers
of the 20th century. A two-time Democratic Congressman from
Lincoln, Nebraska, he was nominated for the office of the presidency
by the Democrats in 1896, 1900, and 1908. He lost these national
elections to Republican candidates William McKinley in 1896
and 1900, and William Howard Taft in 1908. Bryan served as Secretary
of State under President Woodrow Wilson from 1913 until 1915,
when he resigned in disagreement with President Wilson’s policies
that led to U.S. involvement in World War I. He was still at
the height of his political career that William and his wife
Mary Elizabeth built a winter house in Miami in 1913, which
they named Villa Serena. Following his retirement from national
politics, they made Villa Serena their permanent place of residence,
where he made a contribution to the development of Miami, touting
the virtues of south Florida, promoting tourism and the development
of Coral Gables and contributing to the founding of the University
of Miami. A populist, pacifist, prohibitionist, anti-imperialist
and man of strong moral and religious convictions, Bryan became
known in his later career when, as a fervent opponent of Darwinism
and the teaching of evolution in the nation’s schools, he served
as a prosecutor during the famous 1925 Scopes Trial in Tennessee.
The trail pitted Bryan against Clarence Darrow, who defended
teacher John Scopes. Bryan won the case and Scopes was found
guilty, although the State Supreme Court later reversed the
decision and Scopes went free. William Jennings Bryan died five
days after the trial ended.
The William Jennings Bryan House is a two-story, Mediterranean
Revival residence, built of reinforced concrete and faced in
smooth stucco. Built on a two-acre plot of land, the house has
a U-shaped ground plan, four two-story corner towers, arranged
in symmetrical wings around a central courtyard. The house is
among the last of the remaining waterfront mansions that once
lined Miami’s Brickell Avenue in the early days of the 20th
century, when the area was known as “Millionaires Row.”
To read the full file the William Jennings Bryan House.
To see more photographs of National Register properties go to our photostream on Flickr.
See our Weekly List (with previous highlights)