A ribbon cutting ceremony in Reading’s Centre Park has marked the culmination of a 10-year community effort to refurbish and beautify the public green space.
“You’ve often heard the saying, ‘It takes a village to raise a child,’” Councilman O. Christopher Miller, who represents District 6, which includes the park at 725 Centre Ave., said at Friday’s ceremony. “Well in this case it took a neighborhood to raise a fountain.”
Renovations to the park in the historic district that bears its name include the installation of a replica Victorian-era fountain and period-appropriate lighting fixtures, both complementary to the late 19th and early 20th century architecture that predominantly makes up the district.
The $1 million improvements were funded by a combination of American Rescue Plan Act grant money and city capital improvement project funds.
Getting the project off the ground was not easy, Miller said, noting it took over a decade of planning, meetings, discussions and fundraising.
Neighbors held fasnacht sales and other fundraisers to finance the conceptual plans that were later refined by Barry Isett and Associates of Wyomissing.
Construction was completed by Flyway Excavating Inc., Mount Joy, Lancaster County, in cooperation with the city’s public works department.
New landscaping involved planting more than 1,400 flowers, trees and shrubs, including a total of nine American elm and black gum trees that replaced the six surviving lindens of nine planted in a circle at the heart of the park more than 45 years ago.
The loss of the shade-providing lindens was difficult for some of the longtime residents of the area, several of whom recalled when three of the mature trees were destroyed by a wind storm several years ago.
Periodically replacing older trees with young ones is important from an ecological perspective, said Bethany Ayers Fisher, city sustainability manager.
“Young trees capture more carbon as they are growing,” she said, “and so they’re also helping to produce more oxygen.”
By transferring the carbon into their growing roots systems, she said, the young trees are helping to reduce the affects of carbon on climate change.
“A lot of our trees in the city were planted by people who did not get to enjoy their shade,” Ayers Fisher said. “By planting these new trees, we are also planting for the next generations to enjoy their shade.”
A diverse selection of native tree species was planted to enhance the park’s aesthetics and benefit the environment, she said.
“The birds and the bees, and everybody else, they’re going to be happy,” she said. “The squirrels will love it.”
The park has a rich history dating to 1941 when Charles Essig, acting on the wishes of his father, Reading philanthropist William Essig Sr., bought the estate of Reading brewer John Barbey and gave the land to the city for use as a public park, Mayor Eddie Moran noted.
Last renovated in the late 1970s, the park was adopted by Centre Park Historic District Inc., an organization dedicated to promoting architectural preservation and enhancing neighborhood living.
“The revitalization of Centre Park has been a long-term vision brought to life through the hard work and dedication of the Centre Park Historic District,” Moran said.
Speakers, including City Council President Donna Reed, acknowledge the contribution of the late Frank Denbowski, a former city managing director, who helped secure funding for the project.
She also acknowledged the work of former Councilman John Slifko, who died in 2019, and former council President Jeffrey S. Waltman Sr., who died in 2022. Both lived in the Centre Park neighborhood and worked to bring the project to fruition.
“After 10 long years and several city administrations, we’re here to celebrate this beautiful, beautiful park,” Reed said.
Source: Berkshire mont
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