Miami Herald Logo

Four men build Noah’s Ark replica near Hialeah | Miami Herald

×
  • E-edition
  • Home
    • Site Information
    • Contact Us
    • About Us
    • Herald Store
    • RSS Feeds
    • Special Sections
    • Advertise
    • Advertise with Us
    • Media Kit
    • Mobile
    • Mobile Apps & eReaders
    • Newsletters
    • Social
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Google+
    • Instagram
    • YouTube

    • Sections
    • News
    • South Florida
    • Miami-Dade
    • Broward
    • Florida Keys
    • Florida
    • Politics
    • Weird News
    • Weather
    • National & World
    • Colombia
    • National
    • World
    • Americas
    • Cuba
    • Guantánamo
    • Haiti
    • Venezuela
    • Local Issues
    • Crime
    • Education
    • Environment
    • Health Care
    • In Depth
    • Issues & Ideas
    • Traffic
    • Sections
    • Sports
    • Blogs & Columnists
    • Pro & College
    • Miami Dolphins
    • Miami Heat
    • Miami Marlins
    • Florida Panthers
    • College Sports
    • University of Miami
    • Florida International
    • University of Florida
    • Florida State University
    • More Sports
    • High School Sports
    • Auto Racing
    • Fighting
    • Golf
    • Horse Racing
    • Outdoors
    • Soccer
    • Tennis
    • Youth Sports
    • Other Sports
    • Politics
    • Elections
    • The Florida Influencer Series
    • Sections
    • Business
    • Business Monday
    • Banking
    • International Business
    • National Business
    • Personal Finance
    • Real Estate News
    • Small Business
    • Technology
    • Tourism & Cruises
    • Workplace
    • Business Plan Challenge
    • Blogs & Columnists
    • Cindy Krischer Goodman
    • The Starting Gate
    • Work/Life Balancing Act
    • Movers
    • Sections
    • Living
    • Advice
    • Fashion
    • Food & Drink
    • Health & Fitness
    • Home & Garden
    • Pets
    • Recipes
    • Travel
    • Wine
    • Blogs & Columnists
    • Dave Barry
    • Ana Veciana-Suarez
    • Flashback Miami
    • More Living
    • LGBTQ South Florida
    • Palette Magazine
    • Indulge Magazine
    • South Florida Album
    • Broward Album
    • Sections
    • Entertainment
    • Books
    • Comics
    • Games & Puzzles
    • Horoscopes
    • Movies
    • Music & Nightlife
    • People
    • Performing Arts
    • Restaurants
    • TV
    • Visual Arts
    • Blogs & Columnists
    • Jose Lambiet
    • Lesley Abravanel
    • More Entertainment
    • Events Calendar
    • Miami.com
    • Contests & Promotions
    • Sections
    • All Opinion
    • Editorials
    • Op-Ed
    • Editorial Cartoons
    • Jim Morin
    • Letters to the Editor
    • From Our Inbox
    • Speak Up
    • Submit a Letter
    • Meet the Editorial Board
    • Influencers Opinion
    • Blogs & Columnists
    • Blog Directory
    • Columnist Directory
    • Andres Oppenheimer
    • Carl Hiaasen
    • Leonard Pitts Jr.
    • Fabiola Santiago
    • Obituaries
    • Obituaries in the News
    • Place an Obituary

    • Place an ad
    • All Classifieds
    • Announcements
    • Apartments
    • Auctions/Sales
    • Automotive
    • Commercial Real Estate
    • Employment
    • Garage Sales
    • Legals
    • Merchandise
    • Obituaries
    • Pets
    • Public Notices
    • Real Estate
    • Services
  • Public Notices
  • Cars
  • Jobs
  • Moonlighting
  • Real Estate
  • Mobile & Apps

  • el Nuevo Herald
  • Miami.com
  • Indulge

Latest News

Four men build Noah’s Ark replica near Hialeah

By Joey Flechas

    ORDER REPRINT →

April 13, 2013 11:12 PM

In the beginning, there was the great flood. Not the one in Genesis that cleansed the world of evil, but the rising waters that swamped the Gulf Coast during Hurricane Katrina.

As survivors and aid workers coped with the death and devastation, animals struggled, too. They foraged for food and wandered in search of a home.

Those images touched something deep inside Rodolfo Almira. He dreamed of creating a refuge for animals facing catastrophe. Then it came to him:

“Wouldn’t it be nice to do what Noah did?”

Sign Up and Save

Get six months of free digital access to the Miami Herald

SUBSCRIBE WITH GOOGLE

#ReadLocal

And why not right here on the rugged western frontier of Miami-Dade?

It could be a draw for tourists, a haven for God’s creatures, a testament to his faith and a place for reflection and learning.

So it came to pass that Almira and three other Hialeah men began building an ark just west of town, doing it from a biblical template, converting cubits — roughly the distance between the elbow and the tip of the middle finger — into modern measurements.

It rises on a five-acre plot surrounded by lakes that got their start as rock quarries, a moonscape where work boots quickly get caked with dust kicked up by the trucks that constitute most of the local traffic.

Six months into their quest, the lowest deck of the three-story wooden ark is nearly complete. Planks of wood jut out near the bow and stern. Wooden beams crisscross overhead. A donated, life-size elephant statue stands sentry in front of the ark.

Modern problems

Unlike, say, biblical times, you need permits and zoning approval to build such a thing. Code enforcement has dinged them with some violation notices.

Almira and his friends remain undeterred, committed to finishing the 500-foot-long structure, dubbed “Hidden Ark” and located at 16891 NW 122nd Ave.

High on zeal and short on cash, they estimate it will cost $1.5 million to finish the ambitious project, which they say will include a museum, a shop and a small zoo with goats, pigs, chickens and other small animals, as well as stray dogs and cats.

Almira, who makes his living installing natural stone in homes and businesses, first approached Reniel Aguila with the idea. Aguila, a truck driver, then pitched it to his friends Manuel Guerra and Osmar Oliva. Oliva, owner of a trucking company, didn’t need much convincing before donating $300,000 to start putting hammer to nail.

Despite no formal engineering training, Aguila drew up rough plans based on the instructions God gave to Noah in the Bible.

The men tried to raise money through an Internet-based fundraising campaign, but that hasn’t gone particularly well. As of Thursday, they’d snagged $644.

The four have crossed paths over the years through their work, but were never especially close until the ark project gave them common cause. Their families have been supportive.

“They told me to follow my dream,” Almira said.

Ararat to Kentucky

The story of Noah’s Ark has gripped the imagination of many over the years.

Former astronaut James Irwin, who once walked on the moon, made several expeditions to Mount Ararat in eastern Turkey hoping to find remains of the vessel, before leaving the search to others.

A Dutch man finished his own life-size ark last summer after having a dream 20 years earlier in which the Netherlands was flooded by the North Sea. The ark currently serves as a Bible-themed museum.

A Kentucky-based creationist group named Answers in Genesis has raised almost half of the estimated $24.5 million it will take to build an ark as the first phase of Ark Encounter, an attraction that would eventually feature a 510-foot long ark, a petting zoo and a replica of the Tower of Babel.

Almira sees his ark as a place where people of all faiths could pray or meditate, a space where animals could interact with guests, and an after-school program.

“It has nothing to do with any specific religion,” he said.

Aguila speaks fervently about the ark as a symbol of humankind’s salvation.

“It would be our dream to have the pope come to our inauguration,” he said, standing in the shadow of Luyanó, the elephant statue they named after a Havana neighborhood. In a way, Luyanó is the ark’s first animal rescue. It was donated by a local man who ran afoul of neighbors and Miami-Dade County officials by displaying the pachyderm in his front yard.

The ark builders have their own problems with bureaucratic authorities. The county has cited the ark builders for working without permits. Structures on the property include the ark, a wooden shed serving as an office and a metal storage container.

Aguila said they’ve appealed three $500 citations, but will pay if necessary. He said they intend to follow the law and meet all requirements.

“We just didn’t know,” he said. “We started building without knowing what we needed to do.”

The group has since consulted with Doral-based architectural design firm Building Permits Miami.

“I gave them advice because they had violations,” said architect Darly Leon, who thinks the permitting process could take six months to a year and construction could take up to two years.

The ark builders cannot be accused of thinking small. They are contemplating expanding beyond the current five acres, either by purchasing adjacent land or moving to a larger lot somewhere nearby. That would mean disassembling the existing hull, moving the lumber and rebuilding.

The four remain optimistic about their vision, which includes setting up cameras to allow Web-streaming from the ark.

Access to the stream would be available through a Hidden Ark membership, which was available for a brief time on the website www.hiddenark.com for $3.99 a month. (Told that raises still more zoning issues, they decided to no longer offer memberships. For now.)

Ultimately, Aguila envisions having people from across the globe join Hidden Ark, of assembling a membership roll so large that it would keep admission to the ark free and still cover the cost of the operation, including an on-site veterinarian and a restaurant.

“This isn’t just for the community,” he said. “It’s for the entire world.”

  Comments  

Videos

Honduran Immigrant Reina Gomez Ramírez, who has a rare blood disorder, can stay in the U.S. for one more year

Miami brothers sell some of the most expensive homes in the world

View More Video

Trending Stories

Federal prosecutors broke law in Jeffrey Epstein case, judge rules

February 21, 2019 02:51 PM

Americans arrested in Haiti driving around with an arsenal are flown to the U.S.

February 20, 2019 06:54 PM

Americans arrested in Haiti with arsenal of guns won’t face U.S. charges

February 21, 2019 04:06 PM

These players Miami Dolphins are discussing in team’s plans. These they’re not, probably aren’t

February 21, 2019 03:08 PM

He quit the NFL to save lives. Now this former FSU star is accused of sexual harassment

February 20, 2019 12:04 PM

Read Next

This Marlins pitcher has overcome these personal and professional hurdles to be here

Miami Marlins

This Marlins pitcher has overcome these personal and professional hurdles to be here

By Clark Spencer

    ORDER REPRINT →

February 21, 2019 03:12 PM

Miami Marlins reliever Nick Anderson spent three years pitching in the unaffiliated Frontier League, took a summer off to play amateur baseball and served jail time on a felony assault charge after hitting another person over the head with a baseball bat.

KEEP READING

Sign Up and Save

#ReadLocal

Get six months of free digital access to the Miami Herald

SUBSCRIBE WITH GOOGLE

MORE LATEST NEWS

These players Miami Dolphins are discussing in team’s plans. These they’re not, probably aren’t

Armando Salguero

These players Miami Dolphins are discussing in team’s plans. These they’re not, probably aren’t

February 21, 2019 03:08 PM
Anyone in Zion Williamson’s shoes would be wise to shut it down and await NBA riches

Greg Cote

Anyone in Zion Williamson’s shoes would be wise to shut it down and await NBA riches

February 21, 2019 12:33 PM
Suspect in deadly South Beach shooting surrenders, states shooting was in self-defense

Crime

Suspect in deadly South Beach shooting surrenders, states shooting was in self-defense

February 21, 2019 02:10 PM
The Latest: Lawyer call Smollett man of character, integrity

Latest News

The Latest: Lawyer call Smollett man of character, integrity

February 21, 2019 11:47 PM
Panthers’ lead swept away by Hurricanes in 3rd period

Florida Panthers

Panthers’ lead swept away by Hurricanes in 3rd period

February 21, 2019 10:59 PM
LaSalle boys’ soccer loses Class 2A championship match in penalty kicks

Miami-Dade High Schools

LaSalle boys’ soccer loses Class 2A championship match in penalty kicks

February 21, 2019 11:06 PM
Take Us With You

Real-time updates and all local stories you want right in the palm of your hand.

Icon for mobile apps

Miami Herald App

View Newsletters

Subscriptions
  • Start a Subscription
  • Customer Service
  • eEdition
  • Vacation Hold
  • Pay Your Bill
  • Rewards
Learn More
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Newsletters
  • News in Education
  • Public Insight Network
  • Reader Panel
Advertising
  • Place a Classified
  • Media Kit
  • Commercial Printing
  • Public Notices
Copyright
Commenting Policy
Privacy Policy
Terms of Service


Back to Story