Collection ASM0598 - Evelyn Frink scrapbook

Evelyn Frink, wife of former Miami Beach mayor Herbert A. Frink, was a member of the Miami Beach Woman’s Club and the Miami Beach Tropical Garden Club. Inspired by a Garden Club exhibit at a state convention, Mrs. Frink and the presidents of the four garden clubs, Tropical, Miami Beach, Palm-Hibiscus and Mt. Sinai, led a successful campaign for the construction of the Miami Beach Garden Center and Conservatory.

Time line:

1958: Formation of the Garden Center Committee, under the chairmanship of Evelyn Frink of the Tropical Garden club with representatives from the other garden clubs.

1959: Voters approve the $150,000 bond issue for the construction of the Miami Beach Garden Center and Conservatory that will occupy 6 acres of land north and west of the Miami Beach Convention Hall.

1960: Mrs. (Evelyn) Herbert Frink and The Garden Center-Conservatory Committee are awarded the “Miami News Community Service Award”.

1961: The City Council and the Garden Center Committee approve the plans for the construction of the Miami Beach Garden Center and Conservatory.

1962: Mrs. (Evelyn) Herbert Frink is awarded lifetime membership to the Florida Federation of Garden Clubs.

1962: Opening of the Miami Beach Garden Center and Conservatory at 1900 Garden Center Drive.

1963: As early as January, the Center features a number of events open to the public: classes in flower arrangement and holiday decorations, nature documentaries with “color and sound” as well as guest speakers from the National Audubon Society.