in Palm Beach, which was based on a 30-60-90 degree triangle. Some of the surviving houses have been altered almost to the point of no return (including the Royal Road home). But a few gems endure and are lovingly cared for, including a grand mid-’60s Pace Setter in the Coral Gables neighborhood of Gables Estates and a groovy 1970s residence called Woodsong in Coconut Grove, which the British design magazine Wallpaper named one of the ten best houses in the world in 2005.

The Gables Estates house, which Parker completed and moved into with his wife and children in 1965, overlooks Biscayne Bay and the Atlantic Ocean from atop a stone plinth. As with the Royal Road house, persianas open the interior spaces to sea views and breezes, but can be shut up tight against a storm. Cantilevered balconies encircle the upper levels, and a section of the plinth that is supported by stone-clad columns shades outdoor recreational space. The columns allow a view to the ocean from the lower level entry court as well as space for rising waters to pass through during tropical storms. Perhaps the most poignant example of Parker’s exceptional sensitivity to nature is the orientation of the square columns: they are angled to present less resistance to surging floodwaters.

“I had a room for every kid in that house, and we had six by then,” he says. “They all had their rooms right on the bay.” When some of his children left home, Parker sold the house to James Ryder of Ryder trucking. “But Mrs. Ryder never much liked the house,” Parker says. “It was too much for her. She sat at my dining room table, which I had built out of coral keystone and mahogany. It was a beautiful table. But she tore her stockings on it, and insisted that Jim Ryder tear it out. It took him over a week with a crew of men with jackhammers to break that table out of the structure.” Parker does not bother to conceal his satisfaction at the thought of the sweat required to demolish his creation.

After selling the Gables Estates house, Parker created a very different sort of Miami home for himself and his family. Woodsong’s three separate wings are built of Honduran mahogany inside and out and surrounded by a forest of mature palms; a teak breezeway and a long, narrow swimming lane unify the buildings. Built after the advent of Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88  |  Page 89  |  Page 90  |  Page 91  |  Page 92  |  Page 93  |  Page 94  |  Page 95  |  Page 96  |  Page 97  |  Page 98  |  Page 99  |  Page 100  |  Page 101  |  Page 102  |  Page 103  |  Page 104  |  Page 105  |  Page 106  |  Page 107  |  Page 108  |  Page 109  |  Page 110  |  Page 111  |  Page 112  |  Page 113  |  Page 114  |  Page 115  |  Page 116  |  Page 117  |  Page 118  |  Page 119  |  Page 120  |  Page 121  |  Page 122  |  Page 123  |  Page 124  |  Page 125  |  Page 126  |  Page 127  |  Page 128  |  Page 129  |  Page 130  |  Page 131  |  Page 132