Discovery
on Duck Key in Florida Keys
Duck
Key's
Arched Venetian Bridges
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Bryan
Newkirk Jr., the son of Lucille and Bryan Newkirk,
developers of Duck Key and Robert Gene Otto are credited
with designing Duck Key's arched Venetian bridges that
grace the canals after travelling through Europe at the
father's direction to look for ideas.
The
bridges with their columned ballustrades and matching
stonemason-carved railings were originally topped with
concrete ornamental urns, pineapples, and baskets of
fruits. The beautiful ornamentals seem to get damaged and
" lost " from time to time. The Duck Key Property Owners
Association replaced 23 of 64 bridge ornamentals in 1972.
In recent years homeowners have put pineapple ornaments
on several of the bridges. Three of the four gracefully
arched bridges which cross canals of Duck Key have a
variety of pineapple ornamentation on bridge
ballustrades.
Pineapple
Ornamentation
Pineapple
ornamentation is a traditionally greeting symbol of
welcome. You will find pineapple ornamentation over the
entrance to home doorways and at the entrance gate to
Hawk's Cay.
Entrance
Gate to Hawk's Cay Resort with Harbor Village Villas
in background.
Bryan's
Garden
Before
the building of the Villas of Hawk's Cay Village
strollers could find adjacent to the resort's employee
housing vestiges of a garden built as a memorial to Bryan
Newkirk Jr., son of Lucile and Bryan W. Newkirk,
developers of Duck Key and the Indies Inn in the 1950s.
Bryan contracted polio and died in 1955. Work on Duck Key
came to a halt while the Newkirk family grieved and gave
serious thought about selling Duck Key. Upon reflecting
on all the work their son had done and the vision Bryan
had for the island's future, the Newkirk's decided to
continue building.
Lucile
Newkirk and Robert Gene Otto, a well known Key West
artist who was interested in architecture and tropical
plants, designed the garden and placed a small altar
there with a plaque that read:
The
kiss of the sun for pardon
The song of the birds for mirth
One is nearer to God's heart in a garden
Than anywhere else on earth.
An
altar remains in the garden, but the plaque is no more.
CLICK
ON THE LINKS BELOW for information on the Duck Key
community, its architecture,Venetian style bridges,
trees, and efforts at beautification.
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Duck
Key Online
386 East Seaview Drive
Duck Key, Florida 33050
305-289-1872
