Former member Lamar Louise Curry, upon her death, bequeathed $200,000 to our club, requesting that we use it in partnership with the City of Coral Gables to beautify prominent areas with flowers for many to enjoy. The triangular plot of city land in front of Venetian Pool at 2701 De Soto Boulevard was chosen by our club and the City to turn into a flowering park, and this spot was officially named on October 9, 2018 the Lamar Louise Curry Park, by the City Commission.
Design plans are reaching completion. Our Curry Park Committee is working with the City and its landscape architects to plan an oasis filled with the flowering trees and shrubs Miss Curry loved. The City is also investing park funds, ensuring a very special place which will complement the historic Venetian Pool next door. Completion of the park is scheduled for late 2021.
Who was Miss Curry?
Lamar Louise Curry was a teacher, historian, storyteller and philanthropist who left her mark on South Florida in many ways. She was a beloved member of the Coral Gables Garden Club for 42 years and contributed generously to the club’s projects. Other beneficiaries of her philanthropy were Miami’s Bayfront Park, College of the Ozarks, Historical Museum of South Florida, University of Miami Women’s Guild, Marathon Garden Club, United Methodist Church and Children’s Home, Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden, and many others. As a teacher, she was loved for her ability to make history come alive. In her classroom, history wasn’t just a set of dry facts, rather, it was a series of stories about real people and the events in their lives. When she died in 2012 at the age of 105, Miss Curry’s broad range of influence included both her generous giving in her lifetime and the profound effect she had on her students and all who knew and loved her.
