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Honor court's military bearing to be restored

With a federal grant, the city will create a fully revamped memorial.

By GRACE CHENG
Published July 20, 2005

LARGO - The Largo Military Court of Honor will get a much-needed makeover soon.

The city will spend $209,400 for an all-out renovation for the James S. Miles and Richard A. Leandri Military Court of Honor at Central Park, whose cracked tiles, broken plaques and scuffed wall will make way for new, sturdier-built materials.

The city received a federal grant of $198,400, and has requested an additional $11,000 from the fiscal 2006 budget for the project.

The condition of the pavers at the site, which are etched with the names of local war veterans dating back to the Civil War, was so bad a group of volunteers took black Sharpies to them to make the names visible.

"After awhile that got kind of tedious," said Joan Byrne, director of recreation, parks and arts for the city.

Byrne said the new pavers will be cut with lasers that turn the brick into glass, which will make them much more permanent. The city is still accepting names of veterans for the court.

The low white wall that curves around the memorial, its facade scuffed with the marks of skateboarders, also will be replaced.

"You know how attractive that (curved wall) is to skateboarders?" Byrne said. "Kids will be kids, but if you make it attractive, then it's going to be used that way."

Byrne said the new design will incorporate a more vertical wall to deter skaters.

The new Court of Honor also will be reconfigured so it opens out toward the interior of the park instead of its current position facing the street. Assistant City Manager Henry Schubert said that way, audiences at ceremonies and services held at the court can gather in the center field rather than around the adjacent pond, which faces East Bay Drive.

Byrne said the design of the memorial will remain essentially the same, with a few minor modifications. The city met with veterans groups to discuss their plans. The veterans groups said they approved of the current design.

"All the elements of the current court remain," Byrne said. "But we wanted to talk to the people that had the most emotional attachment to it."

Byrne said the city plans to start construction on the project soon after Veterans Day and hopes to be finished in time for Memorial Day next year.

The court was built in 1995, at the same time Central Park was built. Byrne said the city's limited budget at the time prevented the city from using more durable materials for the court.

[Last modified July 20, 2005, 00:57:15]