As Charlottesville residents awaited the warm weather that will bring spring flowers and blooming dogwoods back to local parks, the city did its part last week to make cyberspace a little greener.
A new Web site (http://parks.ci.charlottesville.va.us/#CityParks) posted last week on the City of Charlottesville's government page will allow local residents and park lovers worldwide to browse the attractions of area parks.
"We hope that the Web site will increase visitors to the parks," said Pat Plocet, Charlottesville parks and grounds division manager. "We hope that it will entice people from outside the city to visit the parks and entice people to tell us what they like and what they don't like about the parks."
Web surfers can find pictures of the city's 23 parks with lists of amenities, attractions and driving directions.
For example, Riverview Park located on Chesapeake street near the eastern city limits boasts picnic facilities and frontage on the Rivanna River that can be used for waterside jogging or fishing.
The site also lists future events at area parks, including the 43-year-old annual Dogwood Festival.
"We're trying to link up the Web site with other local organizations and events that use the city parks," Plocet said. "We want to keep it current."
The site also includes brief histories of the parks, some of which are tied to the history of the city itself.
University alumnus Paul Goodloe McIntire, who endowed the University's Commerce School and art and music departments, donated the land that has become Lee and Jackson parks to the city in 1918 and later donated Belmont Park.
But in an era of segregation, the deed for the parks stated the "property shall forever be maintained as a park and playground for white people."
But when McIntire donated the land for the green space that now bears his name in 1925 as an all-white park, he also underwrote the purchase of Washington Park to give Charlottesville's black residents a place for recreation.
Now one of Charlottesville's most popular parks, Washington Park is located at the intersection of 10th Street and Preston Avenue in the center of the city. The park contains outdoor basketball courts, a large outdoor pool and a recreation area.
Washington Park is located near the childhood home of Charlottesville's favorite son Dave Matthews, and in 1998, he donated a new playground and picnic area to the park.
All city parks ended their segregation polices several decades ago.
"Charlottesville is known throughout Virginia as a city of parks," said City Councilman David Toscano. "We are committed to adding more green space and spend more per capita on the upkeep parks than most other cities in the Commonwealth"
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