Your view of Paradise?
Wednesday evening a group of about 35 folks gathered in Paradise Park to discuss the future of the park.
Those gathered represented a veritable cross section of Fan life, young and old. At the meeting Donna Joyce–current President of Friends of Paradise Park–gave a quick history of the Park and then solicited input from the residents who showed up. A few tidbits:
- The park was built in 1973 based on a design by noted landscape architect Carlton Abbot. It is a classic example of the Modern style.
- The park is named for the tree in the center of the park–Paradise Tree.
- The city owns the park but apparently lacks the resources to do any maintenance beyond emptying trash cans and painting over graffiti.
Various ideas for increased use of the park were discussed; everything from an annual yard sale to raise funds for the park to regular music shows to movies shown in the park.
All of this got us thinking, what would you like to see Paradise Park used for?
Paradise Tree
“a veritable cross section of Fan life”
Yes, from old white people to young white people, and everything in between. It’s like a rainbow!
I want to see movies!
Erik! Thank you! I had no idea anyone took a photo of the meeting and I am so glad you wrote it up here as well! Much appreciated!
Paradise Lost, now Found! It was a terrific turnout of folks who have likely never been in the park at the same time and I hope that we will see a lot more of that with planned events/programming/creativity in the park. I hope that everyone is as excited as I am about proceeding in this way. The community makes the park.
Just a word about public parks in general…each park in Richmond faces similar difficulties and the Parks & Rec dept is very willing to assist community activity but its resources have been cut to bare bones over time and there are 175 parks/recreation facilities that they tend to. I urge everyone to please play a part in keeping public parks great and vibrant outdoor public spaces to exercise, relax, enjoy, get away from daily grind, find inspiration.
Please find us on Facebook and let us know what kind of programming you’d like to see in the park and how you’d like to participate in the future of Paradise! Donna