A.L. Davis Park

A.L. Davis Park, formerly known as Shakespeare Park, is located at the corner of Washington Avenue and LaSalle St. in Central City, New Orleans. Directly across the street from the former Magnolia/C.J. Peete Public Housing Development, the park holds extensive historical and cultural significance within the context of the neighborhood and the city. In recent years, the park has lost value as a community amenity due to lack of funding, maintenance and an associated growth in crime.

The majority of the current A.L.Davis Park is an un-programmed open grass field. In order to support the comprehensive neighborhood development surrounding the park it is important to develop an infrastructure that allows for and invites specific recreational and civic functions. The goal is to make the park user-friendly, accessible to the surrounding community and aesthetically pleasing in order to divert crime and violence. This comprehensive effort is being led by longtime neighborhood residents who hope to build on the park’s important history in the neighborhood. The design process has included numerous community meetings and outreach efforts, and the program distribution tries to incorporate many requests and suggestions by the community in regards to activities and infrastructure for the park.

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