ST. PETERSBURG – Children flooded the playground at Dell Holmes Park Saturday moments after city officials cut the navy blue ribbon.
The 20-acre park is the largest of its kind in Midtown, featuring picnic shelters, grills and a fitness trail in a place once home to drug activity. Now the park boasts the only boundless playground in the city, which gives access to handicapped children.
St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Baker looked on as children rushed to the playground and the smoke from the ceremony’s cookout filled the park air. He said he envisioned the park as a place everyone could go. For example, he pointed to the children fishing on the pier and the adults hitting golf balls on the driving range.
St. Petersburg Parks Director Clarence Scott said he hoped that all the city’s residents would use the park, not only those of Midtown.
“It really gives you an opportunity to really showcase the jewels you have in the community,” Scott said.
Former Midtown resident Carrie Norris said she would like to use the park for birthdays and reunions because there is so much to do.
“You know, get the grill going, and just have a nice little time out here,” Norris said.
Located at the southern tip of historic 22nd Street, Baker called the park a southern anchor for the Midtown initiative, the city’s quest to revive Midtown. To get to the park, one must drive through the heart of Midtown, giving the area greater exposure to those outside the community.
The opening ceremony followed a dedication remembering long-time St. Petersburg Parks Director Litdell Holmes Jr., who lost his battle with pancreatic cancer in 2003 at the age of 58.
The park that bears his name required more than $1.4 million, taking a part of Midtown that had a reputation of drugs and violence and transforming it into a place for families and children to share.
Midtown Deputy Mayor Goliath Davis described Holmes in his dedication speech as, “a giant of a man, both in his statue and his persona.” Holmes refurbished many parks in the city as parks director.
Holmes’ daughter, Ivory Holmes, spoke at the ceremony and shared stories about her father and what the park means to the community. The festivities Saturday, she said, would take his breath away.
“He would be really happy to see how things turned out, and that we really appreciate him,” she said.
Paul Mueller is a reporter for the Neighborhood News Bureau, a program of the Department of Journalism and Media Studies at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg. He can be reached at 727-327-2129.