- Byrd Park
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Byrd Park William Byrd Park, New Reservoir Park 
Boats on Fountain LakeType Public Park Location Richmond, Virginia Area 200 acres Created Operated by City of Richmond Open Year-Round Byrd Park is a public park located in Richmond, Virginia, USA north of the James River and adjacent to Maymont. The 200-acre (0.81 km2) park includes a mile-long trail with exercise stops, monuments, an amphitheatre, and three small lakes: Shields (sometimes spelled Sheilds), Swan, and Boat Lake. Boat Lake (also called Fountain Lake) has a lighted fountain at its center. Visitors can rent pedal boats there in season. The park includes tennis courts, Little League baseball fields, and a children's playground. The historic roundhouse and Poplar Vale Cemetery are also located in the park.
Contents
History
In 1873, the city of Richmond began the creation of a new municipal waterworks system, in order to replace an earlier one which had become insufficient for the growing city. In 1874, a site was chosen upriver to the west of the city, and from 1875 to 1888, the land acquired and the reservoir was constructed. The pit used for building up the earthen berms became what is now Fountain Lake, itself fed by the reservoir. In 1884, the New Pump-House was completed at the base of the hill, drawing water from the defunct James River and Kanawha Canal and pumping it up to the reservoir. The large tract of parkland surrounding the reservoir was descriptively named New Reservoir Park, with the equally aptly named Boulevard serving to house the water main leading from the reservoir to the thoroughfare of Broad Street, simultaneously providing access to the park.[1]
By 1907, the park had been renamed William Byrd Park, and by 1914 plans had begun for the construction of two additional lakes: Shield's Lake and Swann Lake.[1]
The park's Christopher Columbus Monument, erected in 1922, was controversial at the time of its construction because it honored Italian-Americans in a climate of increasing anti-immigration sentiment. [2]
The Carillon
Virginia War Memorial Carillon
Location: 1300 Blanton Ave., Richmond, Virginia Coordinates: 37°32′27″N 77°29′2″W / 37.54083°N 77.48389°WCoordinates: 37°32′27″N 77°29′2″W / 37.54083°N 77.48389°W Area: 3 acres (1.2 ha) Built: 1928 Architect: Cram & Ferguson Architectural style: Colonial Revival, Georgian Revival Governing body: State NRHP Reference#: 84000053
[3]Added to NRHP: October 04, 1984 The World War I Memorial Carillon, built in 1926, is a memorial to those who died in that war; it contains 56 bells. The Carillon is played on occasions such as Veterans Day, Memorial Day, and July 4th and is also used for hosting wedding receptions, parties, meetings, and other such gatherings.
Events
Dogwood Dell Amphitheatre has annual summer concert and theatrical events, including a concert by the Richmond Concert Band concluding with the 1812 Overture including cannon-fire, the carillon, and a fireworks display on the 4th of July. Events and shows for children are frequently scheduled at the Ha'Penny Stage just beside the Carillon.
In May the park hosts an annual "Arts in the Park" festival, a festive two day event in which over 400 artists and artisans display and sell their work. The park holds an annual Summer Festival of Arts in June through August which hosts plays, concerts, children events, and other family activities. The Summer Festival of the Arts celebrated its fiftieth season in 2006. The second Saturday in June brings out Richmond's annual "It Starts in Park Festival" which is designed to encourage healthly living and family fun for the summer months just as the school children are getting close to their summer vacations. The Carillon is also home to the City's live Christmas Nativity pageant now held (weather permitting) on December 23, after over 60 years of holding it on Christmas Eve.
The park was nominated in 2006 to the National Register of Historic Places and the Virginia Landmarks Register.
References
- ^ a b Potterfield, T. Tyler (2009). Nonesuch Place: A History of the Richmond Landscape. The History Press. pp. 105–122. ISBN 978.1.59629.415.8.
- ^ Wilson, Richard Guy (2002). Buildings of Virginia: Tidewater and Piedmont. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 265–266. ISBN 0-19-515206-9.
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 2009-03-13. http://nrhp.focus.nps.gov/natreg/docs/All_Data.html.
External links
- Byrd Park on Richmond (VA) Park Search website
- Byrd Park Civic League
- Byrd Park - Richmond (VA) website
- http://www.vahistorical.org/onthisday/3228.htm
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- National Register of Historic Places in Virginia
- Virginia Municipal and County Parks
- Byrd family of Virginia
- Virginia Registered Historic Place stubs
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