#10 - Pack Square Park

#10- Pack Square Park

   Pack Square Park is called Asheville’s front yard and a place where history meets the future. The history of our park is old – in 1901 George Pack gave the city some land on which to build a courthouse.  The terms of the gift required the county to demolish the old courthouse, build a new one and keep the rest of the land a public park forever.  Over the years there have been many dreams and visions of renovating this public space, but cost and disagreements over what it should look like kept anything from happening.

   Finally, in 1999 when a water leak under the old large fountain led to erosion underground and problems for surrounding roads city leaders and local activists got serious about redoing the six and a half acres of land.  In 2000 the Pack Square Conservancy was established as a nonprofit agency responsible for designing, building and funding the park.  They held 24 separate workshops to get citizen input and develop a community vision of what the park should look like. Not surprisingly, it took five years to reach agreement and come up with funds to start the work!

   Another four years went by as the park was closed off area by area as the work progressed (or didn’t according to local business owners.)  Since this park is located right smack in the middle of downtown it was a huge eyesore to both locals and tourists alike. Businesses located around the area had to contend with temporary fencing, closed streets and sidewalks and conditions that made their stores and restaurants virtually inaccessible for a good part of those four years.  The initial estimate in 2004 to complete the park was $12.5 million but by 2007 rocketing construction costs bumped that up to an astronomical $20.5 million!!

   Today we have an incredibly beautiful space to enjoy the outdoors during a lunch break, walk the dog, people watch, or have a picnic on a nice day. It is a space that serves as a perfect complement to my favorite building, City Hall. The park is divided up into three distinct areas.  Roger McGuire Green is located directly in front of the government buildings, Reuter Terrace located mid-park, and finally Pack Square the most historic section of the park.  Each section has its own unique features and functions as well as its own artwork and in future posts I will highlight each one.    

The grand opening of the park was held on May 28, 2011 featuring our local jazz sensation, Kat Williams in concert.  Since then we have seen Tai Chi classes, Shindig on the Green, the Beer City Festival, Church Services, the Symphony and a wide variety of other events being held in this wonderful new space.  For more than a century this park has been a dream of the citizens and city planning agencies. Now it is reality and it was worth the wait!

“It was easy to take the plunge into a park of national significance,” “Why? Because the people behind it, the people of Asheville, had a vision in the very beginning and they wouldn’t let go of it. They wanted a great park. Nothing short of that would do.” Fred Bonci