Community Invited to Guide Development of Walton Street Park and Pool
Walton Street Park and Pool are enduring spaces and evolving examples of community pride and perseverance.
Asheville Parks & Recreation has allocated $500,000 for the improvement of recreation features in Walton Street Park.
Simultaneously, Asheville City departments have been working closely with neighborhood stakeholders and organizations to discuss ways to honor the historical significance of Walton Street Pool and Pool House. The pool is the longest-serving public pool established for Asheville’s Black families and community members, filling a void left by the closure of Mountain Street Pool in the East End neighborhood around 1935. In 1948, Walton Street Pool opened in the southwest corner of the park.
Based on neighborhood feedback, the most-requested recreation features are picnic areas and a covered shelter, a basketball court, a multipurpose field, and asphalt surfaces for biking, skating, and walking. Similar to the recent redevelopment of Linwood Crump Shiloh Community Center and Recreation Complex, enhancement of the recreation offerings may be a multi-year process as additional funds become available. Southside residents also indicated they wish to pursue historic designation by including the park on the National Register of Historic Places and as a Local Historic Landmark.
“There is a special connection many Black Asheville residents have to Walton Street Park and Walton Street Pool. It was one of the few public spaces Black people could go to recreate during segregation,” according to D. Tyrell McGirt, Director of Asheville Parks & Recreation. “Like Southside itself, Walton Street Park and Pool are enduring spaces and evolving examples of community pride and perseverance. Asheville Parks & Recreation values the input of neighboring community groups, as well as those connected to the Walton Street Park and Pool history. The department will use that feedback to guide the investment efforts in updating these treasured spaces.”
“Historic designation, whether it’s in the National Register and/or Local Landmark designation, means recognizing and honoring the cultural and historical significance of a place that allows us to tangibly connect to our past, as well as to carry that legacy into the future,” according to Alex Cole, Urban Planner for Historic Preservation in the City’s Planning and Urban Design Department. “While Local Landmark designation would require that any changes to the pool and pool house follow a formal design review process, neither designation is intended to prevent reimagining how the pool and bathhouse can be used in the future.
The community survey is open through Sunday, September 11, 2022. More information can be found on the City of Asheville website for Walton Street Park, www.ashevillenc.gov/projects/walton-street-park.
