What do you guys think about the museum idea? I'm not convinced about the design, but it sure as hell beats what is there now (nothing!)...
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Posted on Tue, Sep. 04, 2007
Bayfront museum, garage get support
By MATTHEW I. PINZUR
With an outpouring of emotion for one of the seminal moments in Cuban-American history, the Miami-Dade County Commission on Tuesday overwhelmingly supported the notion of building a museum and parking garage on a small piece of bayfront land earlier promised as park land.
The site behind AmericanAirlines Arena, known as Parcel B, would host a Bay of Pigs museum on top of a parking garage -- a move that commissioners said would acknowledge the community's history while building for its future.
''Obviously the area has changed dramatically from what it was in the past,'' said Chairman Bruno Barreiro, fretting that nearby development was leaving the arena without sufficient parking. ``I think we might hamper and will hamper the arena if we do not really consider an additional parking structure with amenities on that site.''
A decade ago, voters were promised a soccer field, palm trees and a baywalk on the 4.5-acre parcel. Development has stalled, though, and the area is sealed behind a locked fence.
County Mayor Carlos Alvarez has voiced support for the commission's vote, which calls for a feasibility study to be completed by early December.
Some activists, including the Urban Environment League, have opposed any plans for building on Parcel B, one of the last pieces of open bayfront land in the city.
''A parking lot on the waterfront is even more offensive than something like this museum that would be a worthy project,'' Ernest Martin, the league's vice president, told The Miami Herald last week.
Commissioners, however, evoked images of a signature building that would draw tourists and locals alike.
''This is a very beautiful thing that will look good on the bay,'' said Commissioner Natacha Seijas, who said it could compare to Sydney's signature Opera House in Australia.
Some said it could maintain a park-like atmosphere with the right landscaping.
''You could design these things nowadays with a lot of greenery around the edges and borders, a very friendly pedestrian use,'' Barreiro said.
Two commissioners, Dennis Moss and Katy Sorenson, supported the study but said they might prefer it in another location. Other said the bayside site was crucial.
''It's going to be very close to the water and the history of Cuba is so close to the water,'' said Commissioner Rebeca Sosa. ``Recognizing the Bay of Pigs veterans is something long due in this community.''
The museum project is sponsored by Brigade 2506, the organization of veterans of the failed 1961 invasion of Cuba, which marked a turning point in the history of Miami and Cuban exiles.
The group operates a small museum in a Little Havana house and has been working for years on plans to establish a bigger, more expansive exhibit space, said Executive Director William Muir Celorio.
A number of Bay of Pigs veterans were in the audience; one survivor, Commissioner Javier Souto, recused himself from the otherwise unanimous vote.
Commissioners also urged the museum to share resources with existing institutions such as the University of Miami and the Historical Museum of Southern Florida.
''It's ours, not as the Cuban community, but the community that represents Dade County: diversified, strong and always together,'' Seijas said. ``This is another time for us all to join and I know it'll be a beautiful thing.''