Coral Gables is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The city is located southwest of Downtown Miami. As of the 2020 U.S. census, it had a population of 49,248. Coral Gables is known globally as being home to the University of Miami, one of the nation's top private research universities whose main campus spans in the city. With 16,479 faculty and staff as of 2021, the University of Miami is the largest employer in Coral Gables and second largest employer in all of Miami-Dade County. The city is a Mediterranean-themed planned community known for its historic and affluent character reinforced by its strict zoning, popular landmarks, and tourist sights. History Coral Gables was formally incorporated as a city on April 29, 1925. It was and remains a planned community based on the popular early twentieth century City Beautiful Movement and is known for its strict zoning regulations. The city was developed by George Merrick, a real estate developer from Pennsylvania, during the Florida land boom of the 1920s. The city's architecture is almost entirely Mediterranean Revival style, mandated in the original plan, with an emphasis on Spanish influence in particular, such as the Coral Gables Congregational Church, donated by Merrick. The domed Catholic Church of the Little Flower was built somewhat later, in a similar Spanish Renaissance style. Early in the city's planning and development, Merrick shared his vision for Coral Gables as "a most extraordinary opportunity for the building of 'Castles in Spain'," as explored in Coral Gables historian Arva Moore Parks' 2006 book George Merrick's Coral Gables: Where Your 'Castles in Spain' are Made Real. Merrick's success in executing this vision for the city would catch the attention of Spain's King, Alfonso XIII, who awarded Merrick the Order of Isabella the Catholic for his support of Spanish culture in Coral Gables. By 1926, the city covered and had netted $150 million in sales, with over $100 million spent on development. That year also saw the opening of the Biltmore Hotel and Golf Course, a major landmark in city. Merrick meticulously designed the city with distinct zones. For example, he designed the Downtown commercial district to be only four blocks wide and more than long. The main artery, now known as Miracle Mile, bisected the business district. Merrick could boast that every business in Coral Gables was less than a two-block walk. The city used to have