'Mother of Miami' statue unveiled

The Miami Herald reports: It's only fitting that the statue honoring the Mother of Miami would stand adjacent to a children's playground, overlooking the world-renowned seaport she envisioned when South Florida was nothing more than a vast swampland with a few patches of orange groves.

The 10-foot-tall bronze likeness of Julia Tuttle was unveiled yesterday at the southern end of Bayfront Park, on the 114th birthday of the city she created.

Tuttle stands proudly, head held high, eyes gazing upward with a look of satisfaction as her right arm clutches a basket of oranges and her left extends a handful of orange blossoms.

"She is at the very moment of ensuring the foundation of the city by offering Henry Flagler proof that orange blossoms grow here and were not destroyed in the freezes,'' said sculptor Rob Firmin. "She is looking to the future.''

It is said that Tuttle's orange blossom gift secured Henry Flagler's commitment to extend his railroad to Florida's southernmost territory.

During an 1875 trip to visit her father's home in present-day Miami Shores, Tuttle began to formulate a grand vision for a metropolis in the South Florida swampland. She moved to Miami in 1890, purchasing 644 acres on the river.

Six years later, her vision became a reality after a pool hall meeting garnered the 300 signatures required to apply for the city's incorporation.

As a woman, Tuttle couldn't vote. But Miami historian Arva Moore Parks said it was her 644 acres of land, and her plan, that made Miami a reality.

"It rose as if by magic. Here's the magician,'' Moore Parks said.