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When the family traveled, FJD always enjoyed visiting gardens. Kew Gardens
in London and the Tuileries in Paris were two of his favorites. It was only natural that his personal interest
in gardens should also serve a public need, and that's the story of City Park. FJD really had a complete and unselfish
devotion to his city and state, and he completely distinguished his service to both from the self-interest of career
politicians. The city inherited from the estate of John McDonogh the land that became City Park. In 1891, the very
year of his marriage, FJD backed the creation of the City Park Improvement Association which appointed him and
other prominent reform-minded citizens to be founding trustees or commissioners of the park. City Park historians,
Sally K. Evans Reeves and William D. Reeves, recognize the primacy of FJD's role as the park's "preeminent
leader for over fifty years." Beginning with his role as notary for the Association's charter on August 13,
1891 until his death in 1946, FJD lovingly watched over the growth and development of the park as if it were one
of his own children. Indeed, as his youngest child Ruth explains, City Park was truly his oldest and first child.
She remembers his going to the park every Thursday morning to watch and see what was necessary to do in this vast
area. When he found that the oak trees had been damaged after a hurricane, FJD hired a tree expert to see that
the trees received the attention they needed and were properly patched and restored. This same procedure was followed
with trees that were aging. Ruth recalls that, although the board originally met at FJD's office, in later years
it met at the park on Sunday afternoons. Meeting there gave FJD another regular opportunity to inspect the lush
environment for necessary maintenance and improvements. The greenhouse was built and, Ruth adds, it "developed
wonderfully." It contained exotic plants from many countries as well as local varieties, and it became
a principal mecca for city dwellers and tourists. Later, the lovely rose garden was masterfully laid out and cultivated,
adding its luster to the botanical aesthetic.
FJD's political and fiscal astuteness also helped put the park on a sound financial path. As the Reeves noted,
at first it was difficult to find adequate funding for improvements such as lagoon excavation and lavish plumbing
and planting, and the Park Commissioners spent a great deal of time and effort lobbying the City Council and the
State Legislature. After several years, the most politically adept Commission members, Judge Anthony Sambola and
FJD, drafted a legislative bill that proposed a state law that would require the city "to provide annual funding,
and that the state clarify the Association's legal right as a private agency to receive public monies." After
more intensive lobbying by the Commissioners and other friends of the park, the bill passed into law in 1896. Again,
FJD's expertise was decisive, and his drafting the act may have been among the inspirations that led him back into
the political arena as a reformer, this time to serve his city directly.
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