Elizabeth Virrick Park

This is a park located in west Coconut Grove. It is named in honor of poverty activist Elizabeth Virrick who was born in Winchester, Kentucky in 1897. She studied architecture and interior design at the University of Wisconsin and Columbia University before moving to Miami in 1925 with her husband. During a meeting at the Coconut Grove Civic Club in 1948 she met Pastor Theodore Gibson. Through him she learned about the impoverished living conditions of the community's African American population, many of them Bahamian. Together Gibson and Virrick formed the Coconut Grove Citizens Committee for Slum Clearance to improve sanitation, access to clean water, and garbage pickup in Coconut Grove. Virrick raised money to replace outhouses with plumbing. She then expanded her crusade to other low income African American communities. She tried to stop the I-95 expansion into Overtown which devastated that community. She was more successful with halting the I-95 extension into Coconut Grove. After WWII Verrick continued to work for the betterment of her community. In the 1960s, Virrick was working on President Lyndon B. Johnson's Great Society, a program that promoted fair housing, increased job opportunities, and social service programs.

Elizabeth Virrick's name adorns many buildings throughout Miami. The 3.5 acre park that bears her name was designed by architect Kenneth Treister. It is on a parcel of land that borders the historic black and white sections of Coconut Grove. This park was the result of work by Treister, Virrick and Miami City Commissioner Alice Wainwright who also has a park named after her. The park opened in 1963 and in 1970 a pool was added. In 2002 the park was renovated and a new community center was added that was designed with the assistance of Kenneth Treister. In 2006 a library branch was added. In 2017 historical marker F-967 was added to the park. The marker details the many accomplishments of Elizabeth Virrick and it is located near the Coconut Grove Wall of Fame.

Today park amenities include the library, basketball courts, restrooms, grills, and picnic tables. The community center provides after school, teen, and camp programs. It has a gymnasium and computers and hosts events for the community. Plans have been in place since 2010 to replace the outdated pool. Right before Covid, funding was getting finalized for an Olympic sized pool that will help children in the community learn to swim. The pipework underneath Elizabeth Street would need to be restructured which will hold up the project. The community has eagerly been waiting for the pool for many years now. I am sure that if Elizabeth Virrick was still alive she would be fighting for them to get it.