Memorial Park, Boca Raton, FL, July 2025. (Photo: Boca Daily News)
Amidst the controversy over Boca Raton’s advancement of a plan to redevelop a 31-acre parcel of land downtown to create a new city government campus along with residential, commercial and recreational development, a more routine question arose: what does Memorial Park, which would see its facilities dispersed to other parts of town as part of the project, actually memorialize?
A few residents at city council meetings said it honored American service members who fought in World War II. Another said it honored all city residents who lost their lives in service to their country. But realistically, no one knew for sure. A plaque near the softball fields honors a youth sports organizer, however that was installed long after the park opened. The pending question led City Manager George Brown, who himself is known for holding a keen interest in the city’s history, to turn to the Boca Raton Historical Society for an answer…