| Bayfront Park | |
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 Bayfront Park and Plaza in February 2020, with the Ferris Wheel under construction | |
 Interactive map of Bayfront Park | |
| Type | Municipal |
| Location | Downtown,Miami,Florida,United States |
| Coordinates | 25°46′30″N80°11′10″W / 25.775°N 80.186°W /25.775; -80.186 |
| Area | 32 acres (13 ha) |
| Created | 1925 |
| Operated by | Bayfront Park Management Trust |
| Status | Completed |
| Public transit access | Bayfront Park (Metromover station) |
Bayfront Park is a 32-acre (13 ha) public,urban park inDowntownMiami,Florida onBiscayne Bay.
The park began construction in 1924 under the design plans of Warren Henry Manning and officially opened in March 1925.[1] Beginning in 1980, it underwent a major redesign by Japanese-American modernist artist and landscape architect,Isamu Noguchi. Today, Bayfront Park is maintained by the Bayfront Park Management Trust, a limited agency of the city ofMiami, Florida.
Bayfront Park is bordered on the north byBayside Marketplace and theKaseya Center, on the south by Chopin Plaza, on the west byBiscayne Boulevard and on the east byBiscayne Bay. Bayfront Park is host to many large events such as the New Year's ball drop, Christmas celebrations, concerts, the Bayfront Park Amphitheater, the Tina Hills Pavilion, as well as boat tours around Biscayne Bay.
Seven blocks north is Bayfront Park's partner park, the 30-acre (0.12 km2)Museum Park, location of thePérez Art Museum Miami andPhillip and Patricia Frost Museum of Science.
In June 2020, the park's Ponce de Leon and Christopher Columbus statues were vandalized, though it was announced that they would not be removed.[2]
On February 15, 1933,Chicago MayorAnton Cermak was shot three times in the chest and mortally wounded while shaking hands with President-electFranklin D. Roosevelt in front of Bayfront Park by assassinGiuseppe Zangara. Along with Cermak, who died of his wounds 19 days later, four other people were hit by the gunman, one of whom also died.[3] A serious debate has ensued as to whether Zangara had been actually trying to assassinate Cermak, presumed to have been killed by accident, instead of Roosevelt, however no firm evidence has been found out to prove this theory.
A bronze statue ofChristopher Columbus was placed in the park in 1952, donated by the city'sItalian-American community.[4] The statue itself was sculpted by Count Vittorio di Colbertaldo of Verona, one ofBenito Mussolini’s hand picked ceremonial bodyguards known as the “Black Musketeers.”[4][5][6] Colbertaldo doubled as the Musketeers's sculptor, producing statues which commemorated the organization.[7] On June 10, 2020 the Columbus statue at Bayfront Park was vandalized with red paint, attempting to symbolize spilt blood.[8] The action was carried out by individuals protesting themurder of George Floyd andpolice brutality.[8]
A second Columbus statue, by Colbertaldo, was installed atCoit Tower inPioneer Park inSan Francisco, in 1957,[9] and removed in June, 2020.[10]
The Challenger Memorial is a monument located on Southwest corner of Bayfront Park dedicated to the crew of theSpace Shuttle Challenger, which exploded shortly after takeoff on January 28, 1986. The memorial was created by the Japanese-American artistIsamu Noguchi, and was dedicated on the second anniversary of the disaster, January 28, 1988.[11] The 100 feet tall spiraling steel sculpture is shaped as a towering double-helix.
The triangle shaped plaque at the base, made of granite, has the following engraved poem byMichael McClure inscribed, as well as the last names of the crew who died.[12]
Bayfront Park holds the city's annual "America's Birthday Bash" onIndependence Day, which attracted over 60,000 visitors in 2011. The park also hosts the city's official New Year's Eve party that annually hosts over 70,000 visitors. Visitors are encouraged to take public transport for events at Bayfront Park as parking can be scarce and expensive. The nearestMetrorail station isGovernment Center. From there a connection to theMetromover is available with three stops near the park,Bayfront Park,First Street, andCollege/Bayside.[13]
It has been the site of theUltra Music Festival, anelectronic dance music event. In 2018, Miami's commissioners barred the festival from being held downtown, citing complaints surrounding noise and the behavior of attendees, resulting in a relocation toVirginia Key.[14] The festival returned to the park in March 2022.[15]
The park hosted the hip-hop music festivalRolling Loud in 2017. Performers includedKendrick Lamar,Future,Lil Wayne,ASAP Rocky,Travis Scott,Young Thug, andMac Miller.[16]
The Bayfront Park includes an amphitheater with capacity of 10,000 people, in where several cultural events have been held. On pop culture, notably, the Bayfront Park amphitheater was stage for country pop singerShania Twain during herCome On Over Tour in early 1999,[17] with two shows featuring guestsBackstreet Boys,Elton John and Canadian dance groupLeahy. ACBS television special was filmed throughout the concerts.[18]
A series of motorsports events took place on the temporary street circuit at Bayfront Park between 2002 and 2003.
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