- Just a few steps away from our lovely townhome community, The Towers at Mattie Rose, sits the oldest public park in North Carolina—Independence Park.
- The park used to be the home of Charlotte Water Works and acted as the city’s retention pond.
- Once a part of The New Deal, Memorial Stadium (1936) was built as a result of the Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.), a program started by Roosevelt to spur the economy during the Great Depression. The stadium was dedicated by FDR in September 1936 during a rainstorm. 30,000 people attended. Just as FDR began to speak, the clouds parted and the sun shined, prompting FDR to say: “My friends, I notice there is a rainbow in the sky.” [Source]
- The park was designed by renowned landscape architect, John Nolen in his early years out of college.
- Charlotte Observer founder D. A. Tomkins is responsible for bringing this park to Charlotte and oversaw the operation of its establishment.
- In 1949 Independence Blvd was constructed and named after Independence Park. The road went through a large portion of the of the park.
- Independence Park had Charlotte’s first children’s playground, built in 1914.
- The Arhelger Memorial is essentially unchanged from the original build out from 1931. This memorial commemorates Lillian Arhelger, a twenty-one year old physical education teacher who fell to her death on June 21, 1931, in an attempt to save a young child from falling over the Glen Burnie Falls.
- Currently, the park facilities include:
- Memorial Stadium (undergoing a major overhaul)
- Ball fields and a historic stone grandstand
- Tennis courts
- Playground
- Basketball courts
- Sand volleyball
- Table tennis courts
- Rose gardens
- Azalea gardens
- Walking paths
- Picnic areas
- You’d be surprised what else it has in store. The park is currently undergoing a 2 year renovation plan that will revamp and revive the collective 22 acre parcels. The plan is outlined below.
