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MICHAEL CANNINGThe parks director's work at the convention center sparked a beautification movement.
Downtown proper's first park opened in 1987. The half-acre on the northwest corner of Franklin and Tyler streets remains a beleaguered oasis amid the economically depressed north end of downtown.
Tampa native Herman C. Massey was a longtime Tampa Parks Department director. He joined the department as a laborer in 1936 and quit in 1943 to go into business for himself. He returned to the parks department in 1954.
In 1963, he became assistant parks superintendent. Soon after, he was appointed parks superintendent when S. Frank Neff resigned. Massey left an indelible mark on the city by supervising the landscaping of the new Curtis Hixon Convention Center in 1964.
His success with that project helped spark a city beautification movement that endured through his retirement in 1978. Among other things, he oversaw landscaping on Seventh Avenue in Ybor City, Bayshore Boulevard, Nuccio Parkway, Rogers Park in East Tampa and at the public library on Ashley Drive.
Massey also led a campaign to save the gatehouse at Plant Park, the parks department's first office.
He was a member of the Florida Nurseryman's and Grower's Association, and the National Parks and Recreation Association. He owned Massey Fuel Oil for 20 years.
He died in 1980 at age 62.
- Source: Tampa Parks and Recreation Department, Tampa-Hillsborough Public Library.