The Tree Guru’s House

The oldest house in our neighborhood

The two-story 1909 folk house is made from Dade County Pine and was originally designed with a pyramidal roof. In the early 1920s a shed roof porch was added around three sides of the house, creating an overhang which keeps the house under shade. The house has two bedrooms, two baths, & a traditional floor plan with broad arches separating the rooms’ functionality. It provides a little over 3,000 sq. feet of living space; the lot measures 10,144 Sq. Ft. The handsome house has a parlor, library, and a front and back staircase. It rests on wood pilings creating space underneath for ventilation. The central dormer roof has been altered to increase the height of the ceiling and make the room more usable. Other than the porch, dormer, and Porte Cochere, few adaptations have been made to the original house. To my knowledge, this 112-year-old Southern Prairie house is the oldest occupied house in the historical Ocean View Heights subdivision in Miami. It is remarkable that only two families have lived in it.

Initially the house was used as a Boarding House. Common in those days as hotels were few, and there were plenty of single men, all laborers who arrived in Miami to work, earn money, and return back home. Mary Thomas applied for a license for a boarding house in 1908 and paid $7.50 for it. Boarding House Matron was a respectful job for a single woman in the South and she provided one meal a day and laundry services for her boarders. Mary’s father owned other income properties in Miami. He died suddenly without leaving a will and Mary petitioned Miami Dade courts to grant her father’s estate to her, which the Judge did.

In 1918, Joseph Spence Rainey and his wife Jennie purchased the house on Kirk Avenue, now called Kirk Street. Kirk Avenue was to run all the way to Silver Bluff and was destined to become a wide avenue from South Dixie Highway leading into South Bayshore Drive. But the road was only expanded from Tigertail to Bayshore, after neighbors with typical Grovite passion, petition to leave their quiet street alone. The city then expanded S.W. 22 Avenue.

Joseph Rainey was born in Belfast, Ireland and came to the U.S. at age 3. He was raised in Mandarin, a suburb of Jacksonville, Florida. As a young man he was working for the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture as a farm agent, stationed in Ft. Lauderdale. He was promoted and transferred to Miami to start the County’s first Agriculture Department, a job he performed with enthusiasm from an office in the Miami Courthouse. As the County’s Agriculture agent, he promoted farming, husbandry, horticulture, scientific research, and other organic endeavors. He was a naturalist, preferring natural fertilizers, an educator and civic minded. He was a trustee at Silver Palm Elementary, initiated the very first 4H clubs and was responsible for kick starting the Dairy industry in Miami Dade. He argued that having cows here, made more sense than transporting milk all the way from Jacksonville. Mr. Rainey also brought us the very first Dade County Fair (1923), held in Lummus Park in Miami Beach. Along with all the agriculture exhibits, he convinced the American Automobile Association to bring down the latest model cars to the fair. It was a tremendous success and from there he continued to proudly manage the event every year until 1932.

In 1921 the Miami News published this blurb in the local section:

County Agricultural Agent J.S. Rainey has begun construction on an elaborate rock porch addition to their pretty home on Silver Bluff. This, combined with other improvements planned to take place in the near future, will add to the already pleasing effect of the house and grounds, in Silver Bluff. Mr. and Mrs. Rainey and the baby are now in Jacksonville but expect soon to return in order to superintend personally the work being done on the Rainey place.  

Mr. Rainey passed away in 1958, and his wife remained in the house for the next 30 years.

Our Neighborhood

By 1924, Ocean View Heights “Where the Breeze is Always Blowing” was branded, platted, and marketed by boom time realtors like C. Dan Wallace. The subdivision, located between Coconut Grove and Silver Bluff was close to “millionaires’ row” becoming a niche neighborhood. Wallace, a young aggressive businessperson promised a quick 1,000% profit return for the lots. You could buy the lot, or you could buy shares of the lot. He sometimes held the mortgages and his print ads claimed there was an “extensive building program underway” for the neighborhood. In 1925, the Miami Herald touted his successes:

Among other developments that Mr. Wallace has headed besides the Hub., since entering the realty field here are: Webster Terrace, Commercial Silver Bluff,  Ocean View Heights, Gratigny Plateau and Grapeland Boulevard Company and Wallace Park.

But as we all know the 1926 Great Hurricane and the Great Depression (1929-1933) changed things and slowed the growth of Ocean View Heights and the dreams of many developers and get- rich- quick schemers. In 1932, C. Dan Wallace was clubbed in his bed and had his skull smashed by someone who broke into his downtown office/apartment at night. He was struck several times resulting in a crack skull and brain concussion. The assailant is believed to have called Wallace earlier in the day and left a message:  “I’m going to teach Wallace a lesson.”  This incident marked the end of Mr. Wallace’s real estate career.

In 1986, newlyweds Bob and Eileen Brennan purchased the home from the widow Mrs. Jennie Rainey, who they never met because by then she was frail and bedridden. Eileen, a nurse at Jackson Memorial Hospital, and Bob, a local horticulturist, loved the house immediately. They were not aware of the previous owner’s history but knew it had an earthy vibe they both liked. Bob and Eileen raised their three children Talia, Louis, and Bobby here. Bob, the Tree Guru, was a much beloved local figure known as the resident arborists at Fairchild Botanical Garden. He was a Scoutmaster for the Boys Scouts of America helping many young men, including both his sons to become Eagle Scouts. His passion to help others a family trait. His father was also a community servant, and put considerable energy into making the waterfront usable for safe recreational boating and public access. A channel leading out to the bay from Coconut Grove bears Mr. Brennan’s name. The City of Miami dedicated Nov. 17^th Bob Brennan Day in observance of his conservation efforts. To our neighborhood, the Tree Guru was also Santa Claus, a role he relished, never breaking character in his very authentic Santa outfit. Bob passed away 5 years ago, and he is sorely missed. Eileen has been teaching adults and kids how to swim at Venetian Pool since 1992. Working with children is something she really enjoys.

I am struck at the similarity in characters between Rainey and Brennan, both Irishmen attracted to the same house. Different generations but equally committed to their community, as educators, and lovers of the natural world. The newly built spec house next door is a 6,000 sq ft. modern monster listed for $3.8 million. The new house sits only three feet away from the Tree Guru’s house. A sign of Miami’s bizarre zoning laws. The disrespect that investor/developers show towards our neighbors is shameful.

Fortunately the house today is bordered by mature palms, fruit trees and exotics all growing protectively around the house providing needed privacy. Eileen says she is not going anywhere. This is her forever green home. She is surrounded by all the things she loves.

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