In 1961, attorney Alice C. Wainwright became the first woman elected to the Miami City Commission. Four years later, she was Miami’s first woman vice-mayor. All her life, Wainwright was a fierce advocate for environmental issues, and worked alongside other South Florida environmentalists such as Marjory Stoneman Douglas. In 1969, Wainwright helped found the Friends of the Everglades, and wrote the organization’s charter. She was also the coordinator of the National Audubon Society’s southeast Florida chapter. Wainwright played a major role in numerous environmental actions in South Florida, including the acquisition of Big Cypress National Preserve and the extension of the Everglades National Park’s eastern boundary. This park was dedicated to Wainwright as part of the 4 million dollar “Parks for People” bond issued by the City of Miami in 1972. It was designated a nature preserve with the intent of protecting part of Miami’s natural landscape, a tropical hardwood hammock, in Wainwright’s honor. Other fragments of the once widespread native landscape, and plants can also be seen in Simpson Park and Sewell Park.
Slide toward Today to fade the historical sheet and see the modern map underneath.