Upper Buena Vista is an old neighborhood with a new bohemian vibe. Located south of Little Haiti and north of the Miami Design District, in the 1890's it was a small village, with the homesteads of cracker immigrants William Gleason and E.L. White from Georgia and North Carolina. Along with Lemon City and Little River, Upper Buena Vista is one of the oldest settlements in Miami.
Many of the homes here date to Florida's land bloom years of the 1920's when the first subdivisions were built. Tampa developer and architect David P. Davis partnered with pineapple plantation owner Theodore V. Moore to develop two investment properties in Buena Vista. Davis designed both buildings but he only paid for one while Moore paid for the other. Designed in a masonry vernacular style, Davis' building became the Buena Vista Post Office with neoclassical design elements. Moore's building was built in an L shape around the post office. The south portion of the building was completed in 1922 and the north portion was completed in 1926. Moore gave up his pineapple plantation for commercial development. In the 1930s, he opened the T.V. Moore Furniture Store in his building and both the Buena Vista Post Office and Moore Furniture Building anchored the growing neighborhood.
On August 4, 1924, the new town of Buena Vista was incorporated only to be annexed by the City of Miami the next year. At that time the post office ceased operation. The building as since served a variety of purposes through the years including a city hall, municipal courthouse, tire store, insurance office, restaurant, and clothing store. In 2017, the building sold for 8 million dollars. There is a sign on the building that lets you know that this summer it is going to be the luxury Swiss watch maker, Patek Philippe. The Moore building is now an event venue. There is a historic marker detailing the history of the buildings in front of the post office. read more