Landscape Information
Originally a theme park known as Parrot Jungle, this 20-acre park was designed and established in 1936 by entrepreneur Franz Scherr to capitalize on Miami’s burgeoning tourist industry. Located in a pre-settlement cypress slough on a rare hardwood hammock, the park incorporated the site's existing topography and plant material as a backdrop for bird habitats and animal performance venues. Scherr created a meandering trail to weave through lush vegetation, open lawns, and more formal gardens, and used local coral and limestone for an entrance station, restaurant pavilions, and parrot cages. Around the park he co-mingled native pines with imported talipot palms, rubber trees, and banana plants. A banyan tree planted in 1947 occupies the center of the park, while a succulent garden, constructed in the 1960s, dominates terraced land between Swan Lake and the Meadow. Two acres of cypress slough and a three-acre remnant of tropical hardwood hammock are also preserved. Patterned brick walkways connect many of the historic landscape features, including an outdoor theater, an exhibit area, and an amphitheater.
In 2002 the Parrot Jungle theme park relocated to nearby Watson Island and later renamed Jungle Island. A year later, following the development of a master plan designed by architects Rodriguez and Quiroga, the former Parrot Jungle theme park site was reopened as Pinecrest Gardens, a city cultural arts park that retains much of the original architecture and plantings. It was listed in the National Register of Historic Places in 2011 as part of the Parrot Jungle Historic District.
