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Letter to the editor

To play and remember

By EMILY NIPPS Times Staff Writer
Published September 21, 2007

DOWNTOWN - The city is at the center of perhaps one of the most passionate debates ever to take place over a Tampa park. On one side local black leaders and families say Perry Harvey Sr. Park should be redeveloped as a tribute to the area's remarkable black history. On the other side, skateboarders, most of them white, insist that the city rebuild them a skate park, preserving a pastime that has taken place in the park for nearly three decades. - A year ago, city officials heard pleading and protests from both sides. They compromised. Perry Harvey would honor local black history and include a skate park. The issue was settled, or so they thought. Now, two months before design plans are to be presented to the City Council, the debate still thrives. During a meeting last week some even shed tears, objecting to the city's plan to spend $300,000 on the skate park. - They have talked and talked, trying to find middle ground. But judging by their comments, city officials, skaters and black history advocates may still have a hard time coming together on this. Here's a sampling of their thoughts:

The old Perry Harvey Sr. Park

History: Site of the former Central Avenue black business and entertainment district that began in the 1890s. It is believed that Ray Charles made his first recording in that area, and songwriter Hank Ballard was inspired to write The Twist (later covered by Chubby Checker) after seeing some teens dancing there. It was also the site of the Cotton Club, Lincoln Theater, Apollo Ballroom and other lively gathering spots for the black residents who could not frequent white establishments.

What happened: Integration in the 1960s led to the decline and eventual closing of the businesses on Central Avenue, and then the block was demolished to make way for urban renewal and housing projects in the 1970s.

The skate bowl: After spotting some kids skateboarding in a parking lot in Sulphur Springs, a white city parks employee thought it was an inner city sport and hired a pool company to pour a concrete skate bowl in Perry Harvey Sr. Park. Built in 1978, it became extremely popular with white kids from outlying Tampa suburbs - they were the ones catching on to the California craze - but not with the black children who lived in houses surrounding Perry Harvey.

Other features: Aging basketball courts, covered picnic spots, playground. The site has been criticized for incidents of violence and drug dealings.

Cost: $3.5-million. Size: 11 acres

Where the money goes: More than $1-million is projected to go toward historic features, such as plaques and statues honoring local civil rights leaders, educational kiosks and memory bricks. The skate park, which will be in the north end of the park, is projected to cost $300,000.

Other features: A $200,000 amphitheater and stage area, two playgrounds, two multipurpose ballfields, renovated restrooms and sidewalks.

[Last modified September 20, 2007, 07:10:45]