The South Tampa News & Tribune
Legacy In The Making
staff/Jay Nolan
Kids play on playground equipment at Perry Harvey Sr. Park in Tampa. The park will be under construction in 2008 for improvments.
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Published: August 1, 2007
DOWNTOWN - A grove of trees planted as a quiet retreat to honor community activist Essie Mae Reed is on the drawing board. So is a statue of longtime longshoremen's boss Perry Harvey Sr., his arms outstretched.
A laser light guiding the way to the Jackson House, 851 Zack St., a former boardinghouse for black entertainers, is sought. And a timeline walkway honoring Tampa's black history tied to Central Avenue is a must-have as well.
Today, the dreams of the 16-member advisory committee spearheading the renovation of the city's Perry Harvey Sr. Park will come together as renderings for the $3.5 million project are unveiled.
'It's a legacy project,' said Steven Howarth, vice president of TBE Group, which is overseeing engineering on the park as well as for the adjacent Central Park Village project.
'This will change downtown dramatically,' he said.
'The park will really celebrate the incredible history that came out of the Central Avenue business district,' said Brad Suder, the city's project manager.
If the plans are approved by the community, the city, the Tampa Housing Authority and Bank of America, work on the 11-acre park could begin by fall 2008. The housing authority and bank are redeveloping the Central Park public housing complex into a mixed-use neighborhood and are paying for the park project.
Suder said Harrison Avenue will be extended and Central realigned. The skateboard park, known as the Bro Bowl, will be rebuilt in the north end of the park before the 1970s-era bowl is demolished.
The committee, which includes 14 black members and two Hispanics, has moved quickly. From its first meeting in December after two community meetings, the group has sorted through details of what it wants at the park, 1200 N. Orange Ave.
'They've made good progress,' Suder said. 'They've taken the responsibility very seriously, even taken it to heart.'
Other than explaining to the group a few times why a fountain isn't feasible (drought conditions), plus reminding them that the community rejected the idea, Suder said decisions have gone smoothly.
The timeline would begin in 1865, when Florida freed its slaves. Central Avenue's businesses and entertainment hub thrived from the 1890s to 1974, when Henry Joyner's Cotton Club was the last business to close. Among those the committee wants to honor are the early parish priests at St. James Episcopal Church on India Street and restaurant owner Moses White.
The committee, chaired by the city's recently retired community affairs director Fred Hearns, also found a way to commemorate Martin Chambers, a black teenager fatally shot by a white police officer in June 1967.
The nearby Kid Mason Recreation Center, named for a respected black businessman, would house a room with information and photographs about the shooting, which sparked three days of racial riots. The room, named for Chambers, would remain intact when Orange Avenue is widened to eight lanes and the Kid Mason center is relocated to a new building in the park.
The park, which opened in the late 1970s, was created at the recommendation of local youngsters who felt hopeless after the riots. They wanted a recreational area, more youth dances and other activities.
That's the spirit Harvey's daughter wants for the renovation. Dorothy Harvey Keel, a committee member, was an early advocate for the park housing an amphitheater where jazz performers and others could entertain. She also envisions educational opportunities, such as places for tutoring and historical displays.
Keel has fond memories of Central Avenue, such as dancing as a teenager at the Kid Mason center, 1101 N. Jefferson St., while Ike and Tina Turner performed at the nearby Blue Lagoon.
'We have a rich black history in this town and we fought hard for our rights,' she said.
Tampa poet laureate James E. Tokley, a committee member, also wants some liveliness at the park. He suggested a statue representing a longshoreman. Harvey was the 30-year president of the labor union, which is credited with providing well-paying jobs to Tampa's black population for decades.
Tokley said the longshoreman would be dressed in bib overalls, holding bananas (often unloaded at the docks) and would have wings. He said those early workers were almost supernatural.
'It was a miracle for black people in Tampa to overcome all the obstacles,' Tokley said.
The committee declared the bananas fine; the wings probably not.
IF YOU GO
WHAT: Perry Harvey Sr. Park mayor's advisory committee meeting
WHEN: 5:30 p.m. today
WHERE: Parks and Recreation Department administration building, 1420 N. Tampa St.
INFORMATION: Call Fred Hearns at (813) 866-5205.
Reporter Janis D. Froelich can be reached at (813) 835-2104 or jfroelich@tampatrib.com.
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