Historic Virginia Key Beach (HVKBT)
Driving Directions:
Take US1 North or I-95 South & follow the signs for Rickenbacker Causeway & Key Biscayne
Rickenbacker Causeway Toll is $1.50 (no SunPass)
Cross the High-Span Bridge onto Virginia Key
You will pass the SeaQuarium (on the right).
Turn left at the last Stoplight on Virginia Key, just before the Bear Cut Bridge
See the attached map with driving directions at the bottom of this page (VKBeach_Map.jpg).
http://www.virginiakeybeachpark.net/home.htm
Historic Virginia Key Beach Park
4020 Virginia Beach Drive, Miami 33139
Miami, Florida 33149
Office: 305.960.4600
Fax: 305.960.4620
vkbpt@miamigov.com
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History & Background of Virginia Key Beach:
At least as far back as 1918, Virginia Key Beach was known as the "Colored Beach". Excluded by the racist segregation policies of the South, African Americans were informally allowed to use the space.
Miami's interior becomes blistering hot in the summer. In the era before air conditioning, a place where people could enjoy cool water and the sea-breeze was essential. There was scheduled boat service from a dock on the Miami River in the morning, and a return trip in the evening. Anyone who "missed the boat" would spend the night on the island!
Virginia Key became an important part of the culture of black Miami. Sunrise worship services and baptisms were held. The Dance Circle was the site of parties that stretched into the wee hours. Dance moves debuted there before setting trends across the US.
This arrangement remained informal through WWII. In 1945, a group of very early civil rights activists conducted a "wade in" at Haulover County Park's "Whites Only" beach. They were protesting that they had no place where they were legally allowed to swim, congregate, and beat the heat of Miami.
It is possible that they feared losing the beach that they had informally used for so many years. Rickenbacker Causeway was to connect Virginia Key and Key Biscayne to Mainland Miami. Construction had been put on hold during WWII so materials could be used for the war effort, but resumed after the war. Awareness that powerful forces might want to take public property away from a disenfranchised minority may have motivated them to take action.
Rather than being arrested (and creating negative publicity for Miami), the powers that be formalized the arrangement on Virginia Key.
Over the decades, many major figures who lived in or visited Miami enjoyed Virginia Key. In addition to entertainers of national stature, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. brought his family there.
The County transferred ownership to the City of Miami in the early 1980s. The Deed contained a restriction, that it had to be operated as a Public Park. The City almost immediately shut it down, citing costs.
It was neglected for a decade. Politically connected developers wanted to build a hotel on the site. The City wanted to privatize it, citing the dilapidated condition that City policies had created.
A coalition of historic preservationists and environmentalists protested. After a design Charrette, the Historic Virginia Key Beach Trust (HVKBT) was formed with the missions of preserving the landmark and the rare habitat, and educating the public about these treasures. The Park re-opened in 2008.
In 2009, the City of Miami terminated public funding for the HVKBT.
Sam Van Leer, Executive Director of Urban Paradise Guild, has served on the Nature and Environment Committee of the HVKBT since January, 2009.
He has trained and led large groups of students conducting Intensive Stewardship there. Together, we removed many thousands of Invasive Exotic Plants from sensitive Habitat Restoration Areas.
In September, 2009, he photographed a rare Sandhill Crane there. These birds have not been recorded at this site before. A photo is attached.
On 10/18/2009 & 10/24/2009, Urban Paradise Guild planted 3,100 paspallum and sea oats on and around the new dunes.
Two types of endangered plants were planted on the dunes and wetlands as well.