The walls of Centennial Phase II now house a special collection of 1930s-1950s South Florida postcards from the Otto G. Richter Library.
Florida is too beautiful not to pay it tribute. Grove Residential College, Biscayne Residential College and Vista Residential College needed more than a view over Coral Gables — and what better way to see a place than through postcards?
In collaboration with Otto G. Richter Library, Housing and Residential Life invited South Florida into the corridors of every floor in Centennial Village with the Florida Postcard Collection.
“This is a collection of postcards that have been collected by Special Collections curators over the years, both by having postcards donated to us, and also by purchasing postcards when curators find small collections that would be useful additions,” the University of Miami said in a statement to The Hurricane.
Spanning the 1920s and through the 1990s, the full collection is housed inside the Kislak Center – a section of the ground level used for Special Collections and the University Archives. It can also be accessed online through the Richter Library’s website.
When Housing and Residential Life began searching for art to decorate the new buildings, the postcard collection spoke to them.
“The South Florida Postcards collection was large enough to supply unique prints for all three buildings – Grove Residential College, Biscayne Residential College, and Vista Residential College,” UM Communications said.
The postcards selected come specifically from the 1930 to1950 period, created by various artists employed by a large company. These pieces are from the Linen Era, known for vibrant, highly saturated colors and a fabric-like texture that brings life inside the new residential colleges.
Some parts of the collection show the University of Miami. However, they can be hard to find among the hundreds of postcards that were purchased and donated to the Richter Library. To make searching easier, archival staff created a finding aid organized by general theme or area..
This exhibition has been in development for years. Ever since Stanford, one of the original residential colleges, was demolished in Spring 2024, Housing and Residential Life was already planning the interior design of Centennial Village.
Then, the opportunity fell into their lap.
“Not long before Hecht Residential College and Stanford Residential College came down, [Richter Library] received a significant amount of new artwork,” UM Communications said.
With Gables Village under construction, it remains to be seen whether Housing and Residential Life will collaborate again with the University’s Interior Design team and the Richter Library.