Flagler College Chancellor and Walled Garden Creator WILLIAM L. PROCTOR is now our city's Representative in the Florida Legislature
Letter: Unhappy with fence around garden
Greg Pieper
St. Augustine
Publication Date: 11/17/01
Editor:
Astonishing! Amazing! Atrocious! And Pink! Very Pink. After more than a year in production and incorporating a cast of hundreds (itinerant musicians and artists, concerned citizens, interested tourists, the prerequisite angry mob, the mayor and City Commission, the city manager, phantom archeologists, and a behind the scenes crew of stealthy and uncertain origin), the long awaited "Dr. Proctor's Pink Prison" is nearly ready for dress rehearsal. A few more interior props (a few flower beds, some ornamental shrubs, a little decorative title to play on the Spanish motif, returning the city's missing sculpture of Isabella to its designated pedestal, etc.), and opening night is just around the corner.
Once a pleasant and welcome garden oasis for ambling tourists to gather a moment's respite from window shopping on the St. George Strip Mall, "Dr. Proctor's Pink Prison" (or is it Pink Elephant?) will soon open its padlocked wrought iron gates exclusively as a clubhouse wherein the idle rich may socialize. Commoners may be allowed to observe festivities from outside the pink prison walls.
During production the big event was cleverly camouflaged as an archeological excavation, including a large sign posted proclaiming the intent. And the deception really worked. City Manager Bill Harriss was certainly taken by the expertly executed hoax. Having initially given Dr. Proctor's project a limited period of time to show evidence of an archeological dig, Mr. Harriss no doubt became too busy with other city management business to follow through on his initial threat to remove that insulting fence surrounding the Spanish Garden. City management must be very time consuming.
And so the show goes on. Dr. Proctor's accomplished career as president of Flagler College has earned him wide acclaim and accolades from many admirers. It's a shame that as president of the St. Augustine Foundation he would design to taint that legacy with such obvious contempt toward the people of this city.
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