Crandon Park - History

History

The land Crandon Park occupies was once part of the largest coconut plantation in the United States, operated by William John Matheson and his heirs. In 1940 the Matheson family donated 808.8 acres (327.3 hectares) of their land to Dade County (now Miami-Dade County) for a public park. In return, county commissioner Charles H. Crandon promised that the county would build a causeway to Key Biscayne. World War II delayed construction, but the causeway opened in 1947.

At one time Crandon Park also included a zoo, occupying 48 acres (19.4 hectares) of the park. The first animals in the zoo, including some lions, an elephant and a rhinoceros, had been stranded when a circus went out of business in Miami. Some Galapagos tortoises, monkeys and pheasants were added from the Matheson plantation. Other animals were added, including a white Bengal tiger. In 1981 the Crandon Park Zoo was moved from the park to a location south of Miami, and became the Miami MetroZoo, later renamed the Miami-Dade Zoological Park and Gardens.

Since 1987, a major professional tennis tournament for both men and women has been held annually in Key Biscayne at the Tennis Center in Crandon Park. Currently known as the Sony Ericsson Open, the event was formerly the Lipton Tennis Championships from 1985 to 1999, the Ericsson Open in 2000 and 2001, and NASDAQ-100 Open from 2002 to 2006.