New Gateway Entrance Plus Gardens, Amphitheater, Play Spaces And Fountains

October 16, 2004
By MELISSA PIONZIO, Courant Staff Writer

A contingent of city residents and activists has unveiled a detailed plan that aims to make the century-old Pope Park safer and more accessible.

The plan addresses concerns from residents, park users and community groups that the 71-acre park needs more attention, said Nancy Macy, president of the Pope Hartford Designated Fund and vice president of the Friends of Pope Park.

Recommendations of the Pope Park plan include: the provision of safe road crossings and entries into the park from surrounding residential areas; a redesign of the intersection of Sigourney and Russ streets; the re-creation of historic gardens; the development of a historic path system; the creation of an amphitheater, play spaces and spray fountains; a new vehicular entry and expanded parking; and the incorporation of a filtration system for storm water. The plan also calls for the closing and removal of Pope Park Drive and an upgrade in overall maintenance of the park.

"It's wonderful for Hartford, wonderful for the community," Macy, a resident of the nearby Frog Hollow neighborhood, said of the plans. "I think parks are essential to the city."

The plan also was prepared in response to the Hartford Parks Master Plan, compiled by the city in 1992, which made recommendations for improvements in 32 of the city's parks. The project is a collaboration of the Friends of Pope Park, the Pope fund and the Knox Parks Foundation. The Parisky Group has been responsible for staffing the project, carrying out fund development, working with the city, hiring the architects and overall marketing, said the company's president, Flora Parisky.

Steve Mirsky, president of the Friends of Pope Park and another Frog Hollow resident, said the plan would better connect to the area the people who live and work in the city.

"I think it's a super idea; it's a long time in coming," he said. "It will help residents to access the resources that are there now and to access the park without dodging cars."

Money has been procured for the first phase of the project, which will include a new gateway entrance to the park at the intersection of Park Street and Park Terrace, complete with decorative iron fencing, park benches and landscaping. The city has provided $150,000, and an additional $400,000 was given to the project by the state legislature. The city council voted to accept the plan more than a year ago, and construction of the first phase is scheduled for spring 2005, Macy said.

"It's easy to plan. It's harder to get things done," Hartford Mayor Eddie A. Perez said. "It's nice to have people who care about spaces like Pope Park, not only to think about what they could be, but what they were historically and to tie that together."

The land for the park, which was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, was provided by Col. Albert Pope to be used by the people who worked in his bicycle factories and lived in the area. Pope's great-grandson, Albert A. Pope, and a cousin, Leavitt Pope, both serve as board members of the Pope Hartford Designated Fund.

"The plan gives validity to the park," Macy said. "It preserves it, but it also adds to it to meet modern day needs."