Between the Peristyle and Storyland, City Park’s new Goldring/Woldenberg Great Lawn is attracting visitors even before all the concrete is poured in the flower beds. A jogger passes a young family walking down the brick path while an older woman relaxes with a book in one of the more than 20 porch-style swings surrounding the park’s new open green space.
The Great Lawn is a proud addition to the list of accomplishments made at City Park in the last few years, helping to overcome the $43 million of damages the park suffered in Katrina.
“The park has turned a massive dose of lemons into an abundance of fine-tasting lemonade,” said Robert Becker, City Park’s CEO.
A master plan approved months before Katrina struck provided a useful blueprint for rebuilding. “City Park 2018″ details a vast array of improvements to be made by that year, the 300th anniversary of the founding of the city of New Orleans.
The past few years have seen a vastly improved Big Lake area, three miles of new bike paths, the planting of over 2,000 trees, one new and one refurbished football stadium, and many other improvements.
Major projects planned for the next several years will include a new golf course and clubhouse, a children’s Splash Park, an addition to the Botanical Garden Conservatory, and an Environmental Education Center.
This year, visitors will see the opening of the much anticipated dog park, “City Bark,” around March 27, and completion of the new tennis courts by the end of the fourth quarter.
The park has raised $68 million so far of the $125 million needed to carry out the master plan. Between the improvements the park has already made and the exciting things to come, City Park’s thousands of visitors have a lot to celebrate.
The Greater New Orleans Foundation administers three funds for City Park, including its endowment fund which will ensure the beauty of the park for countless generations.
Volunteer photographer Charlie Leche took these pictures of City Park. More of Leche’s work can be viewed at www.charleslechephoto.com.
