The park on Royal Palm just west of 441 is dedicated to 60's actress/singer Catherine Louise "Kaye" Stevens (July 21, 1932 - December 28, 2011). She was known professionally as Kaye Stevens and she was arguably Margate's most famous resident until 2004 when she lived for over 33 years on Lakeshore drive. She once joked on TV to Johnny Carson that the entrance and exit signs to Margate were back to back and whenever she would appear on game shows she would say hello Margate!
The Kaye Stevens Park has a long history in Margate and some it was quite colorful. The park was first dedicated to her in 1972. There was some uproar in 1984 when the park was stripped of her name over an incident with her poodle Penelope Red. According to her a park official cursed at her and told her that she wasn't allowed to walk her dog in the park because dogs made a mess. Kaye complained to the city commission and in retaliation they took her name off the park. When a new city commission took office in the 1990's the Kaye's name was restored to the park, In 2008 the city of Margate looked into renovating it at a cost of $100,000 but many in the city thought that was a waste of tax payer money for fixing what was essentially a neighborhood park. The cost of the renovation grew and the first contractor hired was exposed for having done shoddy construction work forcing closure of the park temporarily. In 2014 the project was scaled back and finally completed. In 2015 the city opted to spend $35,000 on the bronze Kaye Stevens statue that sits at the edge of the park and which faces Royal Palm Boulevard. Under the statue is a quote from Kaye about how she thinks Margate is a great place for families.
With the finished renovations the park has four parallel parking spots, a 1/5 mile walking trail along the lake, covered picnic pavilion, and swing benches. On my visit I saw many birds and iguanas enjoying the lake front. It may have taken more money and effort than the Margate City Commission originally anticipated but the area now serves as a lovely tribute to a woman who who was a long time resident and who tried to get the word about the town she loved wherever she went. Kaye Stevens brought a little bit of Hollywood glamour to Margate Florida. read more