Fowler Park and Pool
Our staff is coordinating the restoration and operation of Fowler Park and Pool, a centrally-located, magnificent neighborhood resource that had fallen into disrepair in recent decades. The park, which includes basketball courts, open fields, and a swimming pool, provides our staff with great space to initiate relational work with young people.
In 2007, over 300 people gathered to erect a new, state-of-the-art playground as the result of a collaborative effort among the Junior League of Pittsburgh, which has a substantive track record of training and deploying volunteers for community-improvement projects, and KaBOOM!, a ten-year old national nonprofit organization that provides resources, training, challenge grants, and publications for communities that wish to plan a new playspaces. Our neighborhood’s young people and parents helped design the playground components, and participated alongside Junior League members on the build day. This new playspace provides wonderful, imaginative, new equipment for hundreds of urban families, and is easily the most colorful, enticing component of the transformation of Fowler Park and Pool from a place to be avoided to a destination enjoyed and owned by the community.
This year, we are focusing on a corner of the park that remains undeveloped and is somewhat hidden from eyesight, and therefore, is a preferred place for illicit activity. We've added a gazebo, an oudoor amphitheater, stone walkways, and plan to install commissioned artwork, all as part of a Peace Garden which will provide space for concerts, celebrations, weddings, and community gatherings. The Peace Garden will be a place that encourages personal, relational, and societal peace, non-violent conflict resolution, and community conversations. It will be accessible to anyone who desires to find a quiet space for reflection and inspiration.