A touch of orange and yellow graces Alliance’s Central Park this autumn. Turning of the leaves is expected and adds a contrast to the still green grass though the change I’m thinking of has been years in the making. A bright orange fence and yellow construction equipment arrived at the sunken gardens a few weeks ago to start a renovation project that will see the return of dozens of pillars along the pathways.
Keep Alliance Beautiful supports and encourages community beautification and improvement. When people think of KAB, litter pickups or yard improvement contests may come to mind. However, I believe larger endeavors are also essential to community beautification. The Central Park portion of the city’s parks system has roots in the Great Depression Works Progress Administration. Local residents have continued to support the preservation and improvement of the fountain from that era and are now seeing another major project — the sunken gardens — come to fruition.
White pillars highlighted the sunken gardens for decades, lending depth and an Old World atmosphere. As time passed the concrete structures began to show wear and damage. Determining it was not feasible to perform repairs, the City removed the pillars while continuing to maintain the stone-lined gardens. Returning the gardens to their former glory was deemed too costly based on the department’s budget.
More than two years ago the Pillars for the Park group formed with the goal of raising funds for the garden’s improvement and renovation. Led by Tami Cox Swearingen, the determined group scheduled innovative events and activities to raise nearly $500,000. The City’s Shanna Brown helped with the writing of the grant that raised the $482,000 to complete the required funding. Local company KL Wood is the contractor.
Through fundraising, the majority of the money comes from people who really want the new and improved sunken gardens to be a reality. A community must have support from its residents to maintain key public features. This ownership ensures long-term support and preservation of amenities for future generations.
When I was a child, the sunken gardens with its climbing vines was an interesting diversion from the park’s playground. We ran along the paths and jumped down the walls then traced different patterns along the walkways between the flowers. I remember finding eggs among the stones of the walls during Easter hunts, and playing in the gnarled trees beside the gardens. Then it seemed like a place that would be there forever.
People who have lived in Alliance longer than I can recall other changes to Central Park. There was a small zoo, band shell and swan ponds. I do not know how or why those particular features came to pass. What has been important to me in my lifetime has been the City’s continued investment in the parks system. Throughout the current pandemic I have witnessed what has to be record use of these green areas, from people enjoying a walk along the Snake Creek Trail to disc golfers seeking a lower score on the expanded course at Laing Lake.
The sunken gardens will take shape in the coming months with completion expected in June 2021. This is an exciting example of community-driven investment that everyone will have the opportunity to watch as they walk by on the trail or the grass along the fence. Perhaps watching the pillars rise again will inspire the next big idea for the parks and neighborhoods of Alliance.