ATLANTIC BEACH, Fla. — A sign hangs in the intersection of Dewees Avenue and Coquina Place in Atlantic Beach, welcoming folks to Marvin’s Garden.
One neighbor says when the sign went in, it caused a bit of a stir
“He did jump out of the second story window one time, trying to get to another dog in heat, and he would chase the police cars on the beach," said Martin.
Lots of folks in the neighborhood knew Marvin, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they liked Marvin.
“It’s kind of a joke that it became called Marvin’s Garden," said Lynn Coalson. "He must have been very territorial.”
Long before toys and tires swings filled Marvin’s Garden, Marvin himself used to patrol the small triangle where two roads intersect.
“He used to growl," said Coalson.
Some of Marvin’s behavior could be excused – he was a dog after all – owned by Sandy Martin, who admits, he wasn’t a favorite in the neighborhood.
“He did jump out of the second story window one time, trying to get to another dog in heat, and he would chase the police cars on the beach," said Martin.
Martin says another neighbor put up a sign where Marvin would often lay, waiting for her daughter to finish babysitting.
That sign read Marvin’s Garden, and the name, just kind of stuck.
“Most of the parks in Atlantic Beach are named after people who made some kind of positive contribution or influence on the community, which, Marvin didn’t," said Coalson, who lives across the street from the park.
Martin couldn’t agree more, which is why she and a few neighbors are proposing to change the name to Ashby Park, after Garnett and Eleanor Ashby, who lived at the end of the Dewees Avenue for more than 50 years.
“All the neighbors came right through their side yard and down the stairs to the beach for years," said Martin. "Two of our kids have been married in their front yard.”
Garnett Ashby designed the Kona Skate Park and Eleanor Ashby spent more than 20 years with Leadership Jax.
Coalson runs an outdoor preschool that spends several days a week at the park.
She’s looking forward to the possible new name, reminding her every time she goes to the park of her old neighbors, the Ashbys.
“They were just a wonderful, giving, delightful family to know," said Coalson.
The Arts, Recreation and Culture committee approved the name change, so now it just needs city commission approval before we can officially start calling this place Ashby Park.