The Coral Gables Museum has received a gift of $400,000 from the Anthony R. Abraham Family Foundation, it was announced recently by Arva Moore Parks, museum acting executive director.
“The donation will fund children’s programming, exhibits and activities in the Anthony R. Abraham Family Gallery, formerly the space within the museum that housed fire trucks and equipment when the building functioned as the City of Coral Gables Police and Fire Station,” Parks said.
Although Anthony Abraham came to South Florida in 1951 to retire, he soon opened Anthony Abraham Chevrolet at LeJeune Road and SW Eighth Street. It became the largest Chevrolet dealer in South Florida. Proud of his Lebanese roots while becoming a passionate American, he installed a huge illuminated American flag at the dealership that became a local landmark.
Anthony Abraham has left his mark on Coral Gables, South Florida and beyond. He has lived for almost 50 years in the same house on South Alhambra Circle where he and his late wife, Genevieve, raised their five children. The Abraham’s annual Christmas decorations attracted thousands of families to their home.
The most important facet of Anthony Abraham, however, is his belief in giving back. A variety of institutions, especially those who helped children and the poor, benefi ted from his largesse. His children continue his strong belief in helping others.
Renaming the Coral Gables Museum Firehouse Gallery the Anthony R. Abraham Family Gallery is a fitting way to honor this singular man as he celebrates his 100th birthday. The newly rehabilitated Abraham Family Gallery will serve as the museum’s children’s classroom and the major activity space for the City Trekker Summer Camp that inaugurated its second year on June 13.
The Coral Gables Museum celebrates the civic arts of architecture, city planning, landscape architecture, historic and environmental preservation and history — the elements that define Coral Gables. It is a true public/private partnership between the City of Coral Gables and the Coral Gables Museum Corp., a private, not for profit 501(c)(3) corporation. It will open its first major exhibitions in October.
For more information on Coral Gables Museum, visit online at www.coralgablesmuseum.org or call 305-603-8067.
