FROM GREY TO GREEN
Community Park AT FAIR PARK
The cornerstone of the 2020 Fair Park Master Plan Update, the Community Park will mark a major step in delivering a long-awaited commitment to transform Fair Park into a more inclusive and accessible space for the community and to put the “Park” back in Fair Park.
The design of the Community Park is shaped by extensive community input that prioritizes amenities and programs that reflect the needs of our surrounding communities, including:
Expansive green spaces
Community stage
Interactive water features
Multiple playgrounds
Fitness equipment and dedicated fitness loop
Native gardens
Shaded picnic areas
Dog park
Project Manager: Fair Park First and Norman Alston Architects
Lead Architect: Studio Outside
CMAR: The Beck Group
What Stood Before
Stories from the Community Park site
The history of Fair Park cannot be told without the people and places that came before. Beginning in the 1960s and 1970s, an estimated 300 predominantly Black family homes were seized and bulldozed to create parking lots for the fairgrounds. The site of the new Community Park was part of this displacement and once a thriving community with a story lost to time. Fair Park First is seeking these stories of what stood before - the homes, the neighbors, the impact, and what future generations should know about the community that stood there.
We acknowledge that the land that makes up Fair Park was taken through a history of broken promises, forced removal, and systemic erasure. We acknowledge that discussing forced relocation and systemic segregation can be deeply exhausting. Please share only what you feel comfortable sharing.
A true community park can only exist through its community’s stories, voices, and support. What is shared here will help inform the current design, signage, and built environment, while also laying the groundwork for future programming, art installations, and other activations.