Ya gotta love the library for a number of reasons. Most recently, its online collection of historic photos provided a history lesson about Bayview Park — and proof that some things never change.
About a century ago, in the 1920s, a group of Key West Rotarians — only men were allowed in the club back then — posed for a photo at a large vacant parcel in the center of Key West.
It was a ground-breaking photo, marking the start of construction that would turn those six acres into Bayview Park. And of course, at least one of the men in the photo is holding the requisite prop shovel.
Such “grip-and-grin” photos — check presentations, ribbon-cuttings and ground-breaking shovels — apparently are as old as photography itself.
But at least the 100-year-old Bayview Park is in line for a major makeover, currently in the design and planning stages. And one group of residents wants those plans to include a splash pad water playground for kids, like the one at Truman Waterfront Park.
Nearly a dozen residents attended the Feb. 8 city commission meeting, carrying signs in support of the splash pad at Bayview Park.
One resident who lives next to the park thanked city manager Al Childress and his staff for listening to neighbors’ concerns about safety at the park and the number of homeless people who spend time there.
She explained that a man had exposed himself at the park 15 feet from her. “And kids couldn’t use the bathrooms because people were passed out in front of them,” Heather Jane Graub said, adding, “Homeless people have tried to move into my kids’ tree fort in our yard next to the park. But since then, the city has hired a full-time security guard and the changes have been incredibly positive.
“The next step is a splash pad,” she said. “When it’s sweltering hot outside, no one wants to play on the playground, but the splash pad will bring kids year-round for birthday parties and other gatherings. Thank you for taking steps to make this park better.”
Her comments were echoed by longtime resident Linda Wheeler, who pointed out, “The kids are having a ball with the splash pad at Truman Waterfront Park. And it’s so safe; it doesn’t require lifeguards.”
Although no vote was scheduled on the matter for the Feb. 8 meeting, the commissioners seemed receptive to the splash pad idea.
Improvements and upgrades to Bayview Park — bounded by today’s Truman Avenue (it was Division Street until the 1940s), Jose Marti Drive, Virginia and Georgia streets — were among the priorities residents listed when surveyed in 2021 for the city’s strategic plan. (Duval Street, Mallory Square, the Martin Luther King Jr. Community Pool and Frederick Douglass Community Center also made the list.)
Construction could begin in October, according to the city’s website, although a plan has not been finalized.
The park includes tennis courts, softball fields, basketball courts and a playground. The open green space hosts annual events like the Seafood Festival and Mango Fest. Peaceful demonstrations and Pride celebrations have filled its lawn for decades, and the Southernmost Boys & Girls Club provides after-school and summertime supervision to more than 100 kids a day in its new building at the park.
