One of Coral Gables’ Most Mysterious Buildings Opens Its Doors for One Afternoon Only with Renowned Henry Killam Murphy Expert. Sunday May 3 2026
Champagne Soirée marks 100 years of Henry Killam Murphy’s 1926 Chinese Village and 35 years of the Historic Preservation Association of Coral Gables
The 1926 Chinese Village — a compound of eight homes unlike anything else in the United States — turns 100 this year. On May 3, a rare private tour opens its gates to just 20 guests.
CORAL GABLES — If you’ve driven along Riviera Drive, you’ve probably slowed down to look. Behind a low stucco wall, a cluster of homes with curved ceramic roof tiles, latticed balconies, and the unmistakable silhouette of classical Chinese architecture sits tucked into one of Coral Gables’ quietest streets. They are the most photographed houses in Coral Gables. Most people still have no idea what they are.
This is the Chinese Village — eight homes built in 1926 and 1927 as a unified compound, commissioned by George Merrick and designed by Yale architect Henry Killam Murphy. It turns 100 this year. And on Sunday, May 3, for one afternoon only, its doors open to the public.
The Historic Preservation Association of Coral Gables (HPACG) will host its annual Champagne Soirée fundraiser at a private residence from 3:00 to 5:00 PM, celebrating both the Village’s centennial and the organization’s own 35th anniversary. Tickets are limited to 20 guests — a number that reflects the intimacy of the occasion as much as the scale of the space.
A neighborhood fixture few have seen up close
Murphy came to the Chinese Village project with unusual credentials. He had spent years practicing architecture in China, where he developed what he called Adaptive Architecture — a method of blending the forms and proportions of classical Chinese design with contemporary materials and construction. The results in Coral Gables are striking: a walled compound of homes joined by shared walls, each with sweeping tiled roofs, ornamental details, and a sense of enclosure that feels more Beijing hutong than anything you would expect to find in the continental United States.
Henry Killam Murphy circa 1920s
Only eight of the originally planned homes were ever completed. That they have survived intact for a century, in a city not always gentle with its architectural heritage, is something of a miracle.
The scholar who wrote the book on it
Boyuan Zhang, AIA
Leading the afternoon’s tour and lecture will be Boyuan Zhang, AIA, a Senior Associate at Robert A. M. Stern Architects in New York and the foremost expert on Murphy’s work. Zhang holds graduate degrees from both Yale and Tsinghua University and is a Henry Killam Murphy Scholar — his published research on the Chinese Village is considered the definitive account of how and why this improbable corner of Coral Gables came to exist.
For art lovers: a private collection on view
An optional VIP experience is available for an additional $150 per person, from 1:30 to 2:30 PM before the main event: a private whole-house tour of the owner’s Contemporary American Drawings collection, guided by a Whitney Museum of American Art acquisitions co-chair. Space is extremely limited.
Reserve Your Special Tickets!