Changes

Jump to navigation Jump to search

Admiral Mason Park

231 bytes added, 19:12, 28 January 2018
no edit summary
'''Admiral Mason Park''' is a 5.5-acre [[City of Pensacola]] park located in the [[Hawkshaw]] area along [[Pensacola Bay]], at the intersection of [[9th Avenue]] and [[Bayfront Parkway]].
From the 1950s [[1956]] to the early 80s{{date uncertain}} [[1974]] it was the site of a baseball stadium also called Admiral Mason Park. The ballpark was named in honor of [[Charles P. Mason]], a Vice Admiral in the [[United States Navy]] and two-time [[Mayor of Pensacola]]. After the stadium was demolished, the land was partitioned to create the adjacent [[Veterans Memorial Park]]. The remaining undeveloped space is used informally for soccer and other sports, and for overflow parking during festivals and events in the [[Seville Square Historic District]]was later redeveloped as a landscaped park which continues to bear Mason's name.
==Ballpark==
[[Image:Admiral Mason Park.jpg|thumb|right|Admiral Mason Park, [[1959]]]]
<!-- will try to get permission [[Image:AdmiralMasonSenatorsProgram.jpg|thumb|right|Program illustration for the [[Pensacola Senators]] at Admiral Mason Park]] -->
Admiral Mason Park was a 2,000-seat baseball stadium situated on the waterfront site with the address 100 South [[9th Avenue]]. The park is best remembered as the home of various Pensacola-based minor league baseball teams including the [[Pensacola Dons|Dons]] and [[Pensacola Senators|Senators]]. The Dons were owned by [[Fred Davis]] and started playing at the park in [[1957]].<ref>[http://www.alabama-florida-league.com/nafl_-_articles_Pensacola_Baseball.htm Deep South Class D Baseball]</ref> The team became the Senators, after major league affiliate the [[Wikipedia:Washington Senators|Washington Senators]], in [[1961]]. The park was a popular destination, but occasional odors from the nearby [[Main Street 9th Avenue Wastewater Treatment Plant]] prompted the nickname "Stinko Stadium" from some patrons.<ref>J. Earle Bowden. "It's spring and the feeling is baseball." ''Pensacola News Journal'', March 31, 2001.</ref> After the league folded in [[1962]] for refusing to accept black players, Admiral Mason Park languished for almost two decades more than a decade before ultimately being demolishedin [[1974]].
In January [[1991]] the [[City of Pensacola]] appropriated 5.5 acres of the former stadium's site for the planned "[[Wall South]]" memorial, a half-scale replica of the [[Wikipedia:Vietnam Veterans Memorial|Vietnam Veterans Memorial]] in Washington, D.C. While the city retains ownership of the land, park maintenance and day-to-day operations are wholly the responsibility of [[Vietnam Veterans of Northwest Florida]]. This site has since become known as [[Veterans Memorial Park]] and is now home to several other monuments.
 
==Demolition==
Derelict and standing in the path of planned Shoreline Drive (which would become [[Bayfront Parkway]]), the city-owned Admiral Mason Park baseball stadium was condemned in [[1970]] and demolition began on [[July 10]], [[1974]].<ref>"Ball Park Demolition Begins." ''Pensacola News'', July 10, 1974.</ref>
==Urban wetland==
[[Image:AdmiralMasonPondProposal.jpg|thumb|right|Artist's rendering of the retention pond proposed by the [[Hawkshaw Village]] developers]]
In [[2007]], the developers of the [[Hawkshaw Village]] project offered to construct a drainage pond at Admiral Mason Park that would provide stormwater retention and treatment to a 40-acre area, including the project's site at [[9th Avenue|9th]] and [[Romana Street|Romana]] and the proposed [[technology park]] north of [[Aragon]]. The pond would include have included a water feature, similar to [[Wikipedia:Lake Ella|Lake Ella]] in Tallahassee. Construction is was estimated to cost $690,000, and developers have had pledged an additional $300,000 in landscaping and amenities to make the location more attractive.<ref>"Hawkshaw Village." ''Pensacola News Journal'', October 21, 2007.</ref> However, the proposal will first need to be approved by project was ultimately scrapped, with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, which is not expected until March [[2008]], Hawkshaw developers citing a poor economy and then a failure by the [[Pensacola City CouncilBay Area Chamber of Commerce|Chamber of Commerce]]to fund a portion of the wet retention.<ref>"Hawkshaw Village changes OK'd by development panelEast canceled." ''Pensacola News Journal'', October 24January 1, 20072009.</ref>
==References==

Navigation menu