HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — The City of Huntsville continues to grow but not without honoring the past.
Wednesday afternoon marked the official opening of Legacy Park, a portion of a project that reimagines the former J.O. Johnson High School.
James Gossett, Huntsville's Parks and Recreation Director, says, "Legacy Park is a place where memories will be made, where family and friends will celebrate milestones or music will play under the entertainment pavilion and where children will enjoy hours and fun at the playground."
Legacy Park, a $4.6 million park, sits adjacent to the Johnson Legacy Center, is phase three of reimagining the former J.O. Johnson High School campus.
Sharona Drake-Henderson, the founder of Heard First and a Huntsville resident, says, "we still are paying homage to the past, to Johnson high school, to things that have happened here. But this is the future, and that's what we're celebrating here today."
District 1 Council Representative Devyn Keith, shares, "everybody else who came from this location has gone out and made an impact inside of this world. And the legacy continues with developments such as this…"
The park is home to a large green space, a modern playground, different pavilions, and the city's second National Fitness Campaign Fitness Court, with a mural done by Jamal FRESKO Turner.
Turner explains that the mural, "depicts hands that come from all walks of life, that come together to build a community and create a legacy."
Eric Leverock, a Huntsville resident, says this park is not only a place to bring his kids and play soccer, "it's good for the community to have places to go, to communicate and to grow as a community."
It's a place to call home, "there are all different cultures here represented today and I think this is what the new Huntsville looks like. I think this is what the north side of Huntsville looks like. That's just a snippet of what the future is to come." Drake-Henderson said.