Coral Gables Venetian Pool
We performed detailed restoration of several elements at the Venetian Pool, a National Historic Landmark in Coral Gables Florida. We worked on repairing cracks and losses in the decorative terrazzo plaza, re-construction of the cast stone and Talaveras tile fountain, the pool itself and other elements at the site. The pool was built at an abandoned quarry that had provided the local Keystone to the Mediterranean influenced houses and public buildings in “The City Beautiful” as Coral Gables was called then. Built in the 1920’s to feel like Venice, the pool features grottos, bridges and barber poles like one would see at Piazza San Marco. The site features a lovely courtyard with a terrazzo deck with undulating colors from blended paste and various stone aggregates.
We restored the terrazzo by in-filling losses with 5 different pastes and 8 different aggregate colors and sizes. We also reinforced the deck, upderpinned, sealed and waterproofed the fountain, and replaced lost or damaged cast stone to match the historic. The original tiles were carefully filled and in-painted. We also matched a skip trowel finish on new masonry walls to match the original historic appearance.