It didn’t take long for downtowners to adopt a new one-acre urban community park between King and Meeting streets as if it had always been there.
Early Wednesday morning, just four days after the grand opening of American Gardens adjacent to the Gibbes Museum of Art and Charleston Library Society, several pairs of people, some with dogs, strolled along the narrow park.
Nearby, a neighbor who said she has watched what’s been happening for weeks, exclaimed, “Isn’t it wonderful?” Another woman with a cup of coffee read at a nearby table in the morning sun. Park workers installed a merry-go-round behind a portable hedge. A large Fraser fir stood anchored for Christmas festivities where days earlier more than 300 people joined to welcome the gardens.
“This is such a gift to the community,” one bystander observed. The gift, worth an estimated $11 million that came through the leadership of Beemok Hospitality Collection founder Ben Navarro and his wife Kelly, protects a historic parcel at 174 King St. that might have become condominiums otherwise.
The gardens have a French-inspired feel with gravel-lined paths along an allee of 68 crepe myrtles, more than 100 magnolias and eight live oak trees. Two four-tiered fountains anchor the ends of the gardens, which includes a large grassy area perfect for picnic lunches. A cafe is expected to open on King Street soon. Already, a coffee stand offers a hot morning beverage for early visitors.
Navarro, the local billionaire and philanthropist who wasn’t able to attend the ceremony, said in a statement that the new park was dedicated to the American dream.
“This park honors that dream which my father so believed in,” he said. “And despite all of our challenges as a nation, it stands as a testament to the fact that we live in the greatest country on earth.
“Our hope is that this new park will bring together the citizens of Charleston and become a place to celebrate all that we have in common as members of one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”
Charleston Mayor William Cogswell said during the Nov. 15 opening that the park was a place that showcases the best of the Holy City.
“It gives family and friends a place to slow down, talk, listen and appreciate the joys of nature and place and, perhaps, most importantly, the joys of being together.”
Former Mayor John Tecklenburg, also on hand to celebrate, tipped a hat to Dominion Energy President Keller Kissam, for facilitating the process to turn the land, once owned by his company, to Beemok through the city.
The park will have seasonal programming throughout the year, Beemok said. After Thanksgiving, it will transform into a Christmas village as “a glowing winter wonderland adorned with twinkling lights, a 30-foot Fraser fir and a whimsical carousel for guests of all ages.”
Help keep the City Paper free.
No paywalls.
No subscription cost.
Free delivery at 800 locations.
Help support independent journalism by donating today.
