DUNEDIN — The greenspace that encompasses the site of old City Hall has officially been named Grand Oak Park to pay homage to the giant oaks that once lined Main Street, which was called Oak Street prior to 1912.
City commissioners on Jan. 22 unanimously agreed the new pocket park’s name will inform and remind visitors of the majestic oak trees that once created a shade canopy along Oak Street, stretching all the way to the waterfront. Commissioners also approved a $454,000 contract to build restroom facilities there.
“When local government separated from Hillsborough County and became Pinellas County in 1912, a new county road was built throughout the county, and for that reason many of the trees were forcefully taken down by county employees to build a new county road,” Historical Society Museum Director Vinnie Luisi wrote in a 2020 edition of the Beacon.
Oak Street’s evolution from a tree-lined dirt path with a majestic array of trees, into a brick road 114-years ago, met with vocal and physical opposition from women of the town. They tried to protect the oak trees from being chopped down by sitting on the boughs and on chopping machines. Then, one evening the town manager told the women the workers had gone home for the night, so they too left, only to find the trees chopped down by morning.
Robert Ironsmith, director of economic and housing development, told commissioners that staff researched a suitable name and contacted Luisi “regarding the relationship of the new park to past land uses and Dunedin history.”
He explained “while the site was previously the home for a Dunedin library and City Hall, the overarching dominant connection cited was a tie-in with how Main Street used to be called Oak Street. With a grand oak tree highly visible in the park, and its relationship to Main Street formerly known as Oak Street, the renaming of this area to ‘Grand Oak Park’ appears to be a-natural.”
Ironsmith advised commissioners that staff thought the name Grand Oak Park would be a fitting tribute to the street’s history, since the park has the only grand oak remaining from that era.
Another name considered was Municipal Services Park, “but that name didn’t seem too catchy,” Ironsmith said. Commissioners instantly agreed.
Commissioner Jeff Gow said he wonders if the city missed an opportunity to interact with residents by not asking them their ideas for a name.
City Manager Jennifer Bramley said staff did consider that option, but there have been some “disastrous” outcomes from holding a naming contest, like when a contest was held to name a British research ship and the No. 1 suggestion was Boaty McBoatFace.
Bramley said staff also pondered: “Do you name it after someone, many who have passed away, how do you decide?” It was decided paying tribute to the history of Oak Street and its majestic trees was the best idea.
Walker noted “not only is the name fitting for the area, but also the history of the area ties it all together for me.”
Ironsmith said a QR code at the park will allow visitors to learn all about the history of the grand oaks that once adorned Main Street and the women who tried to protect them.
Mayor Maureen Freaney said she loves the name choice, and was “so glad we’re not calling it Old City Hall Park.” She observed “the name seems so obvious, it defines the site, that tree has always defined the site.”
Ironsmith said design plans for this area are coming to fruition.
The park is being designed “to serve as a respite for a walkable community and function as a small venue for casual gatherings and special events. This site was seen as a unifying element tying the future Gateway development to the east with the greater downtown to the west. Green space retention, public art, grand oak preservation, and a restroom facility were envisioned goals for this site.”
The Downtown East End Plan’s plan of providing restroom facilities at the eastern entrance to Main Street is about to become a reality as well, with commissioners awarding the purchase and installation of a Grand Oak Park restroom facility to Public Restroom Co. for $454,679.
A small, prefabricated restroom, with two individual unisex and one family stall, will be installed at a corner of the park in about seven or eight months.
Commissioners were told the restrooms would be locked at night to prevent loitering, like the one at the Railroad Museum, and serviced by park staff. It will also take the burden off nearby businesses, who are often faced with visitors asking to use their restrooms.