Jimmy Buffett Asks the Citizens of Margaritaville to Support Miami Marine Stadium
by Sarah Heffern on October 6th, 2009One of the places listed on our 2009 11 Most Endangered List, the Miami Marine Stadium, is getting a boost from a big name — Florida music icon Jimmy Buffett, who has recorded a public service announcement in support of saving the similarly-iconic modernist site. A recent Miami Herald article shared the story:
Singer-songwriter Jimmy Buffett has publicly endorsed preservationists’ efforts to restore and reopen the city-owned Miami Marine Stadium on Virginia Key, the site of many a Parrothead’s fondest — if also foggy — memories.
…
It’s a symbol of everything that’s great about Florida — boats, music, water and great Florida fun,” a smiling Buffett says as a live version of Margaritaville from the stadium show plays in the background. “The stadium deserves a future.”
Given the enthusiasm of the Parrotheads I know for all things Buffett, this seems almost guaranteed to bring a great deal of new support to the site — which, we hope, will inspire Miami officials to make the right choice and save the stadium.
The PSA is available via the Miami Herald or on YouTube.
Outside of Margaritaville, pressure to save Miami Marine Stadium is also growing: Today, the World Monuments Fund added Miami Marine Stadium to its 2010 Watch List. The press release announcing the list notes “this year’s Watch reflects a growing understanding that heritage cannot be preserved in isolation, but rather must be addressed as part of a broad physical and social context.”
I have a feeling that “social context” is just what Jimmy Buffett might have in mind.
Sarah Heffern is the content manager and blog editor for PreservationNation.org.
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October 29th, 2009 at 10:32 am
[...] Hilario Candela, the architect of Miami Marine Stadium (one of 2008’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places), is a soft spoken but passionate man. A 28-year-old Cuban immigrant when he designed the Stadium, he recently worked with Jorge Hernandez (National Trust trustee and professor of architecture at the University of Miami) and his graduate students to develop creative plans to reopen the Stadium as the centerpiece of a revitalized Virginia Key. With luck and the continuing efforts of Friends of Miami Marine Stadium, I think this story will have a happy ending. Support is widespread—just a few weeks back, Jimmy Buffett called on all parrotheads to help save the stadium. [...]