A significant piece of African American history in Charlotte has been restored and updated as a venue for a new generation in Uptown. On Tuesday, December 14, County Commissioners and several community partners joined to cut the ribbon on a new, enhanced Pearl Park.
Partners for Parks Board Members Al Brown and Alvin Woods joined the parks community celebrating the event.
“It was well-attended on this beautiful day in the park!” exclaimed Partners for Parks Treasurer Al Brown.
The 11-acre park has an incredible history tied to the former Brooklyn and Second Ward neighborhoods demolished during urban renewal in the late 1960’s. It sits on the first land purchased by the City of Charlotte in 1943 specifically for African American Charlotteans to use as a Victory Garden during World War II, according to local historian Tom Hanchett.
In its heyday, the park was home to practice fields for the Second Ward High School “Tigers” football team, the marching band, community festivals, and parades, in addition to being a neighborhood park for Brooklyn, Second Ward, and even nearby Cherry neighborhoods. After Brooklyn was demolished for urban renewal, and Second Ward high school was closed during desegregation, the park suffered one more blow when I-277 cut it off from the remaining communities it served.
The $4.75 million restoration project includes pickleball courts, a basketball court with Second Ward High School blue surfacing, a playground with fitness equipment, restrooms, a performance pavilion and event lawn, and a lighted multi-use field. They’re nestled into a restored flood plain and creek bank that connect to public parking and, via sidewalk along Pearl Park Way, to the Little Sugar Creek Greenway across the street.
Interpretive panels share the park’s history, while a public art piece, “Brooklyn Stories” by sculptor Cliff Garten, continues the narrative of Brooklyn and Second Ward through a two-column, laser-cut stainless steel and bronze backlit sculpture. The columns are inscribed with stories and quotes from Brooklyn neighbors, and aligned on the axis of the former Pearl Street that brought them to the park, and for which it is named.
The restored park is a community effort among a number of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County agencies, along with Second Ward High School Alumni Association, Charlotte Mecklenburg Black Heritage Committee, Historic Landmarks Commission, and historian Hanchett. Pappas Properties and the local Realtor Association, who tore down and rebuilt their Charlotte office tower as part of the park’s new configuration, were generous neighbors in the process as well.
The artwork is a collaboration between the Second Ward High School Alumni Association, Levine Museum of the New South, and the Arts & Science Council, along with Mecklenburg County.
Make sure to take a stroll over to the renovated park and look for new wildlife in the restored creek next time you’re walking the Greenway in Midtown!
News You May Be Interested In
Join us for a VIRTUAL event about new greenways
Join us for this free virtual event as we hear from Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation staff about their plans to provide more…
Partners for Parks’ ‘Pick 10’ Makes an Easy TD for 10 Kids and Luuuuuke
It’s a very Merry Christmas indeed for a handful of children on a Dick’s Sporting Goods shopping spree, thanks to ProCamps,…
North Regional Recreation Center Gets Closer to Opening Day
The opening of the North Regional Recreation Center is getting closer! The new facility, on Old Statesville Road in Cornelius,…
Partners for Parks Pitches In at Lincoln Heights Community Garden
We all know fall is that time of year when we take a break from the sunshine and extra-long (and fun!) days of summer to spruce up…
Mecklenburg County Cuts Official Opening Ribbon on Stevens Creek Nature Center
After a year of COVID-related delays, Stevens Creek Nature Center is officially open to the public! We introduced you to the…