Miami Circle site may soon open as park

The Miami Circle, the 2,000-year-old Native American site that taxpayers shelled out $27 million to buy 10 years ago, may finally open to the public under a frugal state plan that would create a low-key park around the ancient landmark.

The $750,000 plan calls for a paved promenade around the 2.2-acre site at the mouth of the Miami River, a drop-off circle for school buses and cars, modest landscaping and lighting and a few interpretive signs.

The circle itself -- a carving in the limestone that archaeologists believe supported a structure with ceremonial uses -- will remain invisible for now because the state has neither a plan nor the money to display it yet. Instead, stones would mark the circumference of the circle, which is protected under several layers of fill.

There is a hitch, however. The state and the Historical Museum of Southern Florida, which manages the site under contract, are at least $250,000 short of the amount needed for park construction. Circle supporters say they are confident the shortfall can be made up by pooling contributions from local and state agencies eager to see the project completed. The goal, said Spencer Crowley, a Miami attorney spearheading efforts to complete funding and get permits for the project: an August groundbreaking with completion by the end of the year.

On Friday, Crowley said, the Florida Inland Navigation District, which finances shoreline improvements and had already invested $750,000 toward rebuilding a collapsed seawall at the site, approved an additional $125,000 grant for the project, provided sponsors succeed in raising a matching amount. Crowley represents Miami-Dade on the district board.

(Via Miami Herald)