Among the first permanent settlers in
South Florida were
grocers Charles and Isabella Peacock who arrived in
Coconut Grove encouraged to establish a hotel. Their hotel, built in 1883, was called Bay View House and was the first hotel on mainland Florida south of
Palm Beach. Later renamed the Peacock Inn, it was where the first community gatherings in Miami were held. Some visitors to the inn stayed in the area and this was the beginning of Coconut Grove, South Florida's first mainland community. Closing in 1902, the Peacock Inn building became the Lake Placid School until the school moved to
Pompano Beach in 1925 The building was torn down in 1926. Later the property became a city park. After the hotel closed in 1902
Ralph Munroe established
Camp Biscayne nearby so there would be a place for visitors to stay. The city of Miami purchased the private property in 1934 for $63,500 ($ in 2015 U.S. dollars) and established it as the public Coconut Grove Bayfront Park, renamed in honor of the aforementioned Peacocks in 1973. Considered the Miami equivalent of the
Greenwich Village neighborhood of
New York, during the 1960s the park and surrounding Coconut Grove area became notable as a center for
hippies and the
youth counterculture, hosting several
be-ins and concerts during the latter part of the decade. Nearby
Dinner Key hosted a now-infamous
Doors concert where lead singer
Jim Morrison allegedly exposed himself in 1969. Park amenities include a baseball field, basketball court, tennis court, playground, peacock aviary, and
skatepark. The adjacent Kenneth M. Myers Park, which hosts the
Coconut Grove Sailing Club, is jointly administered by the city with Peacock Park. The Dinner Key Marina complex is located immediately along the shore of the park. ==Gallery==