Hughes Park

DO NOT GO AT NIGHT!
This place needs security or needs to close much earlier. I went here with my partner and a car blocked us in. The person moved and proceeded to follow us for awhile.
It’s also really hard to find the entrance as the parking is connected to a church of some type.
The park itself is quaint, small, and nice. It has a short walking path, playground, and basketball court.

Fun playground but lots of young kids were unsupervised. I only saw 2 parents and the rest were all toddlers to elementary age kids there without parents. One kid fell off the swings and no one was there to help so I helped the kid get up.
Also a group of older teens came by and started arguing and started fist fighting so we left right away. Started to feel unsafe

Hughes Park is located in Pearl City, a historic neighborhood just north of downtown Boca Raton. The neighborhood was plated on May 30, 1915, a decade before Boca Raton was incorporated. The neighborhood was created when Thomas M. Rickards, Henry M. Flagler’s agent decided to return to North Carolina and sell his land holdings. Rickards hired his successor George Ashley Long to survey and sell the property. Long created a three block subdivision and began selling lots along the Florida East Coast Railway tracks north of the railroad tracks and it became Pearl City. Alex Hughes was the first person to buy a lot. He moved to Pearl City from Deerfield Beach in 1914. Hughes helped the first schools and churches get built for Pearl City residents and he became a community leader. Hughes Park was named in his honor in 1972. There is a plaque in the park detailing his achievements. His step daughter said that he was really proud to have a park named after him. Eventually the neighborhood spread eight more blocks to the north. Residents of the neighborhood were the blue collar African Americans employed at resorts, farms, and in construction. Many people worked at Butts farm growing green beans or at the Boca Raton Resort once it was built.

The 3.2 acre park has amenities that include a gazebo with picnic table, landscaping, a paved path, a playground, and restrooms. In the park in 2017 Tashane Mario Chantiloupe shot to death a Boca Raton man, “Gus” Byam who was a witness against him in an attempted murder case. During my visit the gazebo was occupied by a homeless couple. I like the history of Pearl City and the park is beautifully landscaped but you don’t get the safest feeling walking around here.

Great playgrounds for various ages, especially toddlers. Limited parking and needs to be cleaned

A nice park to let the little ones running around, they have three different playgrounds in one big area so if your kid wants to explore the bigger playgrounds they have the freedom to do so.