Casa Rosita on Miami Beach

World renowned impressionist painter, Henry Salem Hubbell, and his writer wife, Rose, constructed a venetian residence along the Collins Canal on Miami Beach in 1924. They named this home Casa Rosita.

Cover: Casa Rosita in 1928 during a Venetian Serenade for the Elks Club. Courtesy of Florida State Archives.

Through the years, South Florida has been the home of many artists, poets, writers, and musicians of international fame, and many have contributed to the local community in a variety of ways. This was certainly true of Henry and Rose Hubbell who moved to Miami Beach in 1924 and adopted the area as their new hometown.

Casa Rosita, named after Rose Hubbell, was a residence constructed along Collin’s Canal in the Palm View subdivision of Miami Beach. The couple lived at two different homes along the canal, one at 1039 Eighteenth Street, referred to as Casa Rosita, the other adjacent to the first at 1818 Michigan Avenue, and both served as a place to live, work, and entertain. This is the story of a world-renowned American portrait painter, and his equally celebrated author wife, and their time spent in South Florida.

Henry and Rose Hubbell

Figure 1: Portraits of Henry Salem Hubbell and his wife, Rose Hubbell.

Henry Hubbell was born in Paola, Kansas, on December 25, 1870. Whether it was fate or just a coincidence, the district that Paola is located in is Miami County in Kansas. At the age of five, Henry moved with his family to Chicago where he graduated from high school early at the age of sixteen. He then went on to study at the Art Institute of Chicago to further pursue his interest in painting.

It was at the art institute that Henry met his wife, Rose Strong, who would go on to become a celebrated writer of children’s stories in her own right. The couple married in 1895, then relocated to Paris, France, along with their one-year-old son, Henry Willard, to continue their studies.

While in Paris, Henry studied under James McNeil Whistler, but turned down the opportunity to be Whistler’s understudy. He wanted to expand his exposure to other art forms when he traveled to Madrid, Spain, to study the art form of Velasquez.

His style of work was summarized in an article published in the Miami News on February 1, 1931:

“Asked of Mr. Hubbell’s chief characteristic as a painter, many critics say that it is subtle characterization by use of color. His early work is marked by a smoothness and handling of pigment after the manner of the Italian masters. Later we find him doing some character studies with the broad flashing stroke of a Chase or Sargent. But lately, he has developed a technique known as broken color, which enables him to study his subject at length, to catch this expression today, that expression tomorrow, until he has dedicated to posterity the best which the sitter has to give, and here we have struck Mr. Hubbell’s success as a portrait painter. He chooses to place the original of a portrait in the most advantageous light, to find a pose expressive of the general character of the person, while remaining true to his art and himself, to inscribe canvas that which is noblest and most inspiring in the character before him.”

During his time in Europe, Henry received honorable mention in the Paris Salon 1901, medal Paris Salon 1904, and in the same year a medal from the St. Louis exposition. Rose was his silent partner in selling his work while in Paris, where several of his notable private collections were sold to the French government including the notable paintings of “Child and Cat” and “Larkspur.”

By 1910, Henry and Rose decided to move back to America so allow Henry Willard to be educated in the United States. Henry took a job as a teacher, first at the Art Institute of Chicago, and then at the Carnegie Institute of Technology, where he became the head of the School of Painting and Decoration between 1918 and 1921. Carnegie Institute of Technology, where he became the head of the School of Painting and Decoration between 1918 and 1921. However, Henry became disinterested in teaching and wanted to return to a career of commissioned paintings and was open to relocating to a different part of the country to establish his studio.

By 1924, his son had moved to South Florida to seize the opportunity that real estate speculation and construction offered in the region during the building boom era of the 1920s. Willard established the firm of Hubbell and Hubbell in 1925 to serve as a general contractor for homes. His parents would follow him to Miami Beach, where they purchased two lots along the Collins Canal in the Palm View subdivision.

Casa Rosita

Figure 2: Casa Rosita in 1924 along the Collins Canal. Courtesy of Miami-Dade Public Library, Romer Collection.

When Henry and Rose first arrived in South Florida, they stayed in a new apartment building on Alton Road called the Covington Arms Apartments. In February of 1924, the Miami Daily News published that Henry Salem Hubbell will be constructing a “Venetian home and studio on the Collins canal two blocks north of the Flamingo Hotel. The home will be erected on the water’s edge so that the family may step from it into gondolas.”

On August 15, 1924, the Watson Corporation began constructing the Hubbell’s new winter home and studio at 1039 Eighteenth Street on Miami Beach. The design of the residence included a two-story reinforced concrete and hollow tile building with the first floor consisting of a large living room, dining room, kitchen and butler’s pantry, as well as a 20 x 32-foot studio allowing Henry to work from the residence. A notable feature of the home was the wide opening on the north which overlooked the canal and from which there were steps leading down to a boat landing on the shore of the canal.

By early October, an article in the Miami Tribune announced that the residence was nearing completion and shared that one of the most attractive features about the house was the screened patio which provided a beautiful view of the canal. The large living room and studio, which occupied most of the ground floor, opened up to the patio.

After Henry and Rose moved into their new winter home, an article in the Miami Daily News, published on January 1, 1925, elaborated on the layout of the residence:

“The entrance to the home is through a walled court screened overhead in a dome shape and covered with vines. One entrance leads into Henry’s studio, while another to the stairway, and a third opening is through a handsome iron gateway, where natural brick steps lead down to the water. In a nuke in the court stands a statue of St. Luke, the patron saint of artists. A narrow Juliette balcony opens into the studio from the first landing of the stairway. Old-fashioned carved stone decorative work is used over the entrance and antique wooden brackets give an interesting touch to the building. An unusual feature which gives the home a most individual appearance is the under-window paintings done by Mr. Hubbell.”

Although the architectural design for 1039 Eighteenth Street was attributed to Schultze and Weaver in contemporary publications, this author could not find any evidence that the plans of the home was provided by the noted architectural firm. However, the aforementioned Miami News article did state that the “Hubbell home was planned by Mr. and Mrs. Hubbell themselves, and their son, Willard Hubbell, who made the drawings and did much of the actual work of construction.” The residence required an investment of $20,000 to build.

Connection to University of Miami

Figure 3: Painting by Henry of Rose Hubbell at Casa Rosita in 1924.

Shortly after arriving in South Florida, Henry befriended George Merrick who got him interested in investing in the University of Miami. In addition to the grand plans for the university envisioned by Merrick, Hubbell suggested that the campus include a museum and art gallery to be included in the planning for the institution.

While Hubbell’s idea was not included in the scope for the university, Merrick was able to convince Henry to become a founding member of the board of regents. During the university’s early years, both Henry and Rose Hubbell were very supportive of the art and music schools for the university. They would often host music recitals and meetings to help with fundraising for the university during its formative years.

In June of 1927, they hosted an evening of chamber music by the University of Miami trio at their home at 1039 Eighteenth street. In addition, they would often hold musical teas for the Women’s Association of the University of Miami to help raise money for the music department at the university.

In March of 1928, the Hubbell’s hosted another musical tea for the Women’s Association when Henry debuted the portrait he painted of a fellow member of the board of regents, Ruth Bryan Owen. The tea served as both a social event and fundraiser for the art school.