This interactive water feature at Romare Bearden Park in Charlotte, North Carolina's Uptown Third Ward incorporates cascading waterfalls (Freeport Fountains) and dramatic RGB color-changing LED effects, a striking focal point against the city skyline.
Photo: Alex Grichenko

Charlotte, North Carolina's Center City vision plan, adopted in 2000, cited the need for large-scale public parks and green space as key components to improving the downtown urban experience. Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation's goal was a park that would be Charlotte's own "Central Park" – a large green space to serve as a central gathering place for social engagement and recreation. Other inspirations were Bryant Park, in NYC, and Post Office Square in Boston.

The park was funded through $9 million in 2004 voter-approved bonds and private donations. The design evolved from community workshops and stakeholder meetings conducted by the Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation Department over a one-year period. Several hundred people attended the workshops. It was important for the park to enrich the quality of life in downtown Charlotte by highlighting its history and southern culture.

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The historical, cultural reference for the new park quickly became native-born artist and writer Romare Bearden (1911–1988). As a young man he moved to New York City and graduated from NYU in 1935. He served in the U.S. Army in Europe during WWII. In 1950 he moved to Paris to study art and philosophy at the Sorbonne.

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Throughout his childhood, Romare frequently visited Mecklenburg County, home to Charlotte. Editor's note: Mecklenburg and Charlotte both derived their names from Sophia Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (1744–1818), the wife of King George III of England. Among her accomplishments was expanding Kew Gardens. Kew Gardens has the world's largest collection of living plants, more than 30,000 different kinds of plants and a herbarium of over seven million preserved plant specimens.

Bearden's artistic mediums were oils, collages and even cartoons. His artwork particularly focused on colorful depictions of the life of blacks in the South; a common theme was black musicians.

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Landscape Architect and Art Meet
The landscape architect developed a master plan and designs drawn from Bearden's life experiences, memories, southern traditions and methodologies used in his art. The master plan created "rooms' within the park, each distinct, yet connected and expressing Bearden's life experiences and works through land forms, plant palette and architectural details experienced and observed in each room.

The park features two gardens, a courtyard of dining tables with chairs on a bed of crushed granite, a formal event green field, a play area with interactive digital chimes and several water features, including water walls.

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The master plan by LandDesign expresses native-born artist and writer Romare Bearden's (1911–1988) life experiences and works through landforms, the plant palette and architectural details. The landscape architects created two large gardens named for two Charlotte women prominent in Bearden's work, Maudell and Madeline, and other distinct "rooms' (Childhood Muse Plaza, Paris Memory) that channel his artworks.
Rendering: LandDesign

The landscape architect led the park project team, providing visioning, master planning, park design, branding, signage, wayfinding, public art, engineering, construction documents and permitting.

The public art side of the park design was a collaboration with Seattle artist Norie Sato, whose artistic touches helped channel Bearden's artistic spirit. Sato was born in Japan, but moved to the U.S. with her family when she was four. She received a MFA from the University of Washington in 1974.

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Romare Bearden's artistic mediums were mainly brightly colored oils and collages that particularly focused on depictions of the life of blacks in the South. The colors on the water walls are produced by 12-volt 30-watt color-changing LEDs, and are DMX controlled. The bright colors are emblematic of the artist's vivid use of color.
Photo: Joel Lassiter

Childhood Muse
Bearden's playfulness is expressed in the "Childhood Muse Plaza', the park's showcase area where children interact with the water fountain and musical art forms and play elements.

The two large gardens are named for two Charlotte women prominent in Bearden's work, Maudell and Madeline. These are southern-style gardens designed to be in full bloom during the height of summer.

Madeline's Garden allows for year-round annual beds and bold swaths of popping color throughout the seasons. "Paris Memory' is a formal, tree-lined path paralleling Church Street. It is reminiscent of a Parisian park, a tribute to Bearden's art study days in Paris in the '50s, including a shaded area with tables and chairs. A kiosk offers beverages, light snacks, news and information to park users.

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The decorative fountain is 489 sq. ft., with a water level of 1.5 ft., for a total of 5,487 gallons. Eleven cascade jets produce 34 gpm each, for a total of 374 gpm, with a filtration rate of 440 gpm.
Photo: Joel Lassiter

A large event lawn, "Big Moon Green', is designed for informal use, but can accommodate event crowds of 3,000 people. The lawn hosts everything from Queen City Earth Fest (Earth Day activity), to free fitness classes, "Get Fit in 15' (Bootcamp, Zumba, Yoga, et al.) and various family activities.

A pavilion and stage flanked by trellises are perched on a slightly elevated point of the park. Here, live bands (e.g., RomareFest, Music Box Lunch Series) perform on a regular basis. People set up their folding chairs out on the formal oval lawn to listen, or just relax on the grass.

The central walk is in the shape of a spine, traversing the park from the southwest corner to the northeast border. Water, art and a sloping site allow this to be a central focus of the park. The "Spine' leads pedestrians from Church Street to the Charlotte Knights Ballpark.

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Native materials for the park include 700 tons of North Carolina granite, 400 tons of bluestone and 10,000 plants and trees incorporated into the site design. Salvaged bricks were reused throughout the park for seatwalls and raised planting beds.
Photo: Alex Grichenko

Team Success
In addition to the landscape architect (Land Design, Inc.) and the water feature designer and installer (Freeport Fountains), hundreds of people and dozens of organizations played a role in making Romare Bearden Park a success and a source of pride for the community. Mecklenburg County, Mecklenburg County Park & Recreation, the city of Charlotte, Wells Fargo, Spectrum Properties, Mass Mutual, the Arts and Science Council and Charlotte Center City Partners represent some of those key players who had the vision to bring the park to life.

Team List
Romare Beardon Park
Owner
City of Charlotte, NC, and Mecklenburg County
Kevin Brickman, Planner, PLA
Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation Department
Charlotte, NC
Landscape Architect
Land Design, Inc.
Water Feature Designer and Installer
Freeport Fountains