A primary focus of the Woman’s Club of Coconut Grove is preserving and protecting its historic building constructed in 1921 by noted local architect Walter C. DeGarmo. DeGarmo designed this building to take full advantage of its site overlooking Biscayne Bay. A twelve-foot-wide porch with broad arched openings wraps around three sides of building, which is constructed of native oolitic limestone. The building was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 1975.
The building still serves as the headquarters for one of South Florida’s oldest woman’s clubs, known today as the Woman’s Club of Coconut Grove. The club’s ability to maintain the building and grounds depends upon rental income and fundraising efforts. These funds do not include any major capital improvements or renovations.
The McFarlane Society was established as an ongoing source of support for the clubhouse. The Society is named for Flora McFarlane, the first woman homesteader in Coconut Grove and the Founder and first President of the Woman’s Club of Coconut Grove. The members of the Society are dedicated to preserving and maintaining the Woman’s Club headquarters located at 2985 South Bayshore Drive, Coconut Grove, FL as a historic landmark.
