The improved walk, honoring chamber donors, is just one of the newest enhancements to downtown Dunedin.
By MEGAN SCOTT
Published November 10, 2003
DUNEDIN - Walk through downtown Dunedin and you'll cross paths with several stars: Vivien Skinner Grant, Gladys Douglas, Cecil Englebert, and more.
But forget about getting an autograph from them. Or a picture, for that matter.
These stars are in the new Walk of Stars, a path next to the Dunedin Chamber of Commerce leading to the Shops at Douglas Village. Both the chamber and the shops will celebrate the new Walk of Stars at 8 a.m. Friday in the east courtyard.
"We have all these beautiful granite stars that have names engraved," said Lynn Wargo, president of the Dunedin Chamber of Commerce. "Beautiful things are happening downtown."
In 1992, the chamber put up the original walk of stars, a three-tiered monument, to recognize people who had given money to the Chamber of Commerce. It was 4 feet tall and had a 20-by-20-foot base.
But it impeded pedestrians once the Shops at Douglas Village opened on Broadway, and over time, skateboarders wore the structure down.
Earlier this year officials decided to flatten the monument. Now the 70 stars are embedded in the sidewalk.
"We chose to redesign the monument and put all the stars into the ground in the same footprint where the monument was," said Dan Massaro, a principal with Collman and Karsky Architects. "I drew a picture. I laid the stars out. It looks gorgeous."
The new star walk cost about $11,000 and was funded by philanthropist Gladys Douglas Hackworth and the city. Hackworth was responsible for the Shops at Douglas Village, which was built a couple of years ago and includes eclectic boutiques and a coffee shop.
Many of the businesses in the outdoor shopping center are new to Dunedin and hope the design increases foot traffic. Signs will be posted near the star walk directing pedestrians to the shopping strip.
"It's going to be marvelous when it's finished," said Della Robinson, who owns Rose Garden, a boutique selling women's clothing. "It will direct people from Main Street back here to where we are on Broadway. It will be wonderful."
The walk of stars is one of the newest enhancements changing the face of downtown Dunedin. Brick has been laid on Railroad Avenue near the Pinellas Trail.
Kathy Carlson, co-owner of Chic-a-Boom Room and Kelly's on Main Street, is combining the patios behind her restaurant and lounge and putting in a bar and awning pavilion. The work should be completed by early next year.
"I can't even tell you how fantastic it's going to be," Carlson said. "We're putting in fiber optic lighting. We're putting a deck up that will double as a stage for when we do have live music. It's going to be spectacular."
One thing you won't have to worry about is finding a parking space downtown. In a couple of weeks, visitors will be able to use the parking lot at First United Methodist Church every day but Sunday. There are also 12 new angled parking spaces on Honey Lane.
Officials are hoping merchants use those spaces leaving the street in front of their shops open for customers.
Still, there's more work to be done, everything from painting garbage bins to building Dunedin Station Square, a complex of shops and restaurants.
"There's some really wonderful stuff happening," Wargo said. "Dunedin continues to evolve in a very tasteful and a very charming way. We have a lot of different entities trying to make these things happen."
If you go
The Dunedin Chamber of Commerce and the Shops at Douglas Village will celebrate the new Walk of Stars at 8 a.m. Friday, in the chamber's east courtyard. For information, call 733-3197.
