In the afternoon light Downtown Raleigh is viewed from Dorothea Dix Park on Tuesday Oct. 31. The park was purchased by the City of Raleigh in 2015." />
Amy Gahan
In the afternoon light Downtown Raleigh is viewed from Dorothea Dix Park on Tuesday Oct. 31. The park was purchased by the City of Raleigh in 2015.
As one soaks up the sun at Dorothea Dix Park, there is natural beauty all around along with a great view of Raleigh’s skyline. There are many open fields perfect for lounging and no shortage of dogs to pet as one wanders through the park, which is one of Raleigh’s newest community projects that is still in the planning process after being purchased by the city in July 2015.
One of the most interesting aspects of the park is the history behind the land that parkgoers walk on along with the historical figure it’s named after.
The recreational park was not always a place for leisure activity — it was originally home to North Carolina’s first mental health hospital, Dorothea Dix Hospital. The hospital, which opened back in 1856 can be attributed to founder Dorothea Lynde Dix.
Kate Pearce, the project manager for the park, said Dix was a remarkable character that was very effective in her mission for mental health reform, and her utmost passion led to the creation of 32 mental health hospitals in the U.S.
Pearce said that due to the park being the spot of a previous mental health hospital, there is a stigma that the park is working to overcome in order to make it a place people want to visit on a Sunday afternoon.
“We’re doing a lot of projects to welcome the public back to this space,” Pearce said. “This was a space that people didn’t necessarily want to go to because it was a mental health hospital. People came here for very specific reasons — it was to get help. So how do we change both the physical and the perceived barriers of inviting people back to this park? That’s why we’re doing all the programs.”
There are many events happening at the newly formed park, such as the double-feature movie screening that took place on Oct. 21 bringing in a crowd of roughly 2,500 people. Another movie screening, “Spaceballs,” will take place on Nov. 18. The park has much planned for the spring season as well — in May, the park will be doing an interactive neon art installation from the local artist Nate Sheaffer.
“All of this is really to get people to come here and experience how beautiful this place is,” Pearce said. “The more people that come here and understand the potential of this place, the better we are in helping its future. “
Grayson Maughan is a park planner for Dorothea Dix Park and talked about the various ideas for the future of the park and the timeline of the process.
“We’re in the early stages of the master plan process,” Maughan said. “We anticipate it being a little less than two years to have a master plan to guide the development of the park. How long it takes to fully build this out and develop it as a park is very long term. But, we hope when we get the master plan we have things to start implementing.”
Maughan has heard a range of innovative ideas for the park, such as the addition of a Ferris wheel or sports arenas. The great part about the planning process is that Raleigh residents of all kinds are encouraged to participate in it through events or volunteering.
“There’s a lot of people in Raleigh that have never been out to the park which is a big reason why we’re having the events out here,” Maughan said. “We want people to come out and experience the park. We want them to get introduced to it and see how incredible it is. … We do hope that State students and people of all generations will participate in the master plan process. That can be through public meetings or work groups. We also have an online engagement tool that can be linked through the website. It’s similar to a social media platform where people can put out ideas and other people can comment on it. That would be a great way for students to be involved.”
For anyone looking to get more involved in the planning process of Dorothea Dix Park, there is a community meeting on Nov. 16 at Hunt Library. In addition, more information about the park and upcoming events can be found on the park’s website, dorotheadixpark.org.
For anyone looking to relax or take a study break, Dorothea Dix Park acts as an easily accessible place to walk around and soak in Raleigh’s undeniable beauty.