If you’ve driven down Jefferson Street in the last six months, you couldn’t help but notice the mounds of dirt, yellow ‘do not cross’ tape and orange signs stating the park was closed.
These were all signs of the park renovation which began last spring through a partnership of green|spaces, The Lyndhurst Foundation, the City of Chattanooga and the neighborhood of Jefferson Heights, along with a generous donation from County Commissioner Warren Mackey. After researching the needs and desires of the Jefferson Heights community, the partnership hired the firm of Barge, Waggoner, Sumner and Cannon Inc. to develop plans for the new park.
This location once housed Jefferson Street Elementary School — later named the William J. Davenport School — which holds very fond memories for many locals who attended school there, including the 1,000 or so who revisit the park for a reunion each July. After the school closed in the early 1970s, it was later removed from the site, and the land became a park.
In fitting with the community redevelopment, the park is being redesigned to better meet the needs of the Southside community and the annual reunion group. Prior to its closing last spring, the park was utilized as a place to gather and create a community reflective of the diverse neighborhood. Whether it was a movie night, a barbeque or a pickup kickball game, everyone was always welcome and the numbers grew as neighbors met.
Those same needs will be met in the new design. The park will include a sand volleyball court, a soccer field with goals, community garden beds, a pavilion, several sculpture locations and of course, a picnic and playground area. The first phase of the project, which was completed last spring, included the curbs and gutters. It was quickly followed by the second phase, including a maze of interior sidewalks. The final phase is the pavilion, sculptures and landscaping, which will hopefully be in place just in time for spring's arrival this year.
Christian Rushing, an urban designer who along with Collier Construction was awarded the winning design of the pavilion, shared a few thoughts about the design of the park.
Q: What facilities will the pavilion contain?
Rushing: It will have two bathrooms, each with composting toilets and reclaimed fixtures. There’ll be storage for tools and equipment and a rainwater storage tank that collects water from the roof and uses it for irrigation. Of course other aspects of the pavilion include providing a shade covered area, four performance areas of various sizes and a plaza with a hearth.
Q: How do you see the pavilion being used?
Rushing: I tried to design something that could accommodate everything from performances for hundreds of spectators to a quiet place of solitude with equal grace. The structure can be used for the projection of movies, for music and theatrical performances and for neighborhood gatherings. It can also be used as a place for parents to simply sit in the shade while they watch their children play on the playground.
Q: What most excited you as the designer on this project?
Rushing: A few things really. First, using all of the material from the former pavilion structure to preserve the history and memory of the park, not just in a sentimental or nostalgic way, we're celebrating our collective past while projecting a common future. Secondly, being able to work in a productive, collaborative way with a number of people and entities that I like and respect, and finally, when all is said and done, my two boys and I will be able to walk across the street and play in the park.
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