Pinecrest Gardens, Botanical garden in Pinecrest, Florida.
Pinecrest Gardens is a 20-acre park at the corner of Southwest 111th Street (Killian Drive) and Southwest 57th Avenue in Pinecrest, Florida. It is divided by ecology into Upper and Lower Gardens: the Upper has dry meadow gardens, a former pine rockland ecosystem and display plantings, while the Lower holds hardwood hammocks, tropical plantings and a native cypress slough. Streams run along the pathways, with turtles and koi.
Parrot Jungle, a theme park, opened on this site in 1936 and operated here until it moved to Miami's Watson Island in 2003. The Village of Pinecrest bought the property in 2002 and turned it into a municipal park. On 17 October 2011 it was listed in the National Register of Historic Places as the Parrot Jungle Historic District, not as a National Historic Landmark.
The geodesic dome amphitheater, built in the early 1940s, seats 530 and stands in front of the original Parrot Bowl, now called Hammock Pavilion. The park also hosts an annual fine arts festival and MagiCamp, and can be rented for private parties and receptions.
The park sits at the corner of Southwest 111th Street (Killian Drive) and Southwest 57th Avenue (Red Road) in Pinecrest. Its ecology splits it into Upper and Lower Gardens: dry meadow and former pine rockland on the higher ground, hardwood hammocks, tropical plantings and a native cypress slough below. Streams run alongside the pathways, so expect uneven, waterside walking.
The 1940s geodesic dome amphitheater, seating 530, stands in front of the original Parrot Bowl, now called Hammock Pavilion. Visitors often walk past it without noticing that the park's original mosaic pathways and birdcages from the Parrot Jungle years survive along the trails.
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