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Watson Island is a neighborhood and man-made island in Biscayne Bay, in Miami, Florida, United States. Immediately east of the CBD and Omni neighborhoods of Greater Downtown Miami, it is connected to the mainland and South Beach, Miami by the MacArthur Causeway. ==History== The island was deeded to the city in 1919 with the restriction that it only be used for public or municipal purposes. The city gave it to the state and the state deeded it back to the city with similar restrictions - both in the 1940s. In 1979 the city attempted to circumvent this prohibition by claiming that the underwater land surrounding the island is a preserve and Watson Island need not be protected as per the deed, as a park, or for public ownership and use.〔() -URL retrieved Aug 17,2013〕 The island had a name change from Causeway Island to Watson Island, named for John W. Watson, Sr., who was Mayor of Miami 1912-1915 and 1917-1919. In 1932 Watson Island was considered for the site of Miami's Pan-American Exposition, a World's Fair and "International Merchandise mart." By the end of the 1940s, however, the site of the Exposition, now called Interama, was moved North to where Oleta River State Park is today. The Goodyear Blimp base in Florida was located on Watson Island for many years. Vestiges of the old base still remain such as the imprint of the mooring circle and a paved path for a small tram that would transport passengers to the airship.〔(FYI Miami Island Namesake ) - URL retrieved June 25, 2006〕 Grand plans to develop the island started in 1979, with a planned amusement park, Diplomat World. Residents formed "Save Watson Island, Inc", a neighborhood group opposing the use for anything other than a park. They had public demonstrations and because of the demonstrations and a variety of other reasons, the amusement park was never built.〔 Another development included one from the late 1990s, culminating in 2003 when Jungle Island relocated to Watson. There has been continued controversy stemming from Jungle Island's inability to meet the financing terms it had made with the local municipalities when the move was approved. Local elected officials had and continue to bail out Jungle Island with tax dollars. The Miami Children's Museum also relocated to the island, in 2004. The State of Florida offered a site in the Island Gardens project on Watson Island to host the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) Permanent Secretariat.〔(Proposal to host FTAA Permanent Secretariat ) - URL retrieved June 25, 2006〕 As of March, 2006 the Florida Department of Transportation was planning to construct a tunnel from the Port of Miami on Dodge Island under the main shipping channel to the MacArthur Causeway on Watson Island.〔(FDOT Port of Miami Tunnel Project ) - URL retrieved June 25, 2006〕 On May 24, 2010, construction began on the Port of Miami Tunnel and was comepleted on August 3, 2014. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Watson Island」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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