Charlotte Park

Let’s talk about Charlotte Park.

In the 1950’s, this neighborhood saw the development of the Ford Glass Plant. It was the largest glass manufacturing plant in the world at the time, and to this day, remains the only glass manufacturing plant in North America that received raw material and delivers a finished product. When build, this plant was incredibly important- streets in the neighborhood were named after Ford cars- Thunderbird, Sunliner, etc- and over 5,000 jobs were created, with a $15million payroll budget, at its opening in 1958. This whole neighborhood really came up around this new industry. Henry Ford Jr himself visited the factory, and was presented with the keys to the city by Mayor Ben Briley.

The land for Charlotte Park was purchased in 1968, and the opening day was in 1981. $7,000 was given by the federal government, and $23,000 was given by the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Metro Nashville Parks raised and additional $40,000, and purchased the 25.6 acres site in 1968. It has a playground, baseball fields, basketball courts, and tennis courts. There’s a community center that was used for movies, contests, and classes in the 1970’s and 1980’s, but like the community center at Richland Park, it was shuttered by the mid-1990’s.

During the recession in the early 2000s, Ford sold the glass plant, which is now owned by Carlex Glass, which manufactures glass for many different car companies. The park itself is a little worse for wear, and overgrown. But it does have great walking paths and is largely quiet.

Name: Charlotte Park

Address: 6031 Deal Ave, 37209

History: 2 out of 5

Walkability: 4 out of 5

Kid Like-ability- 3 out of 5

Date Night-ability- 2 out of 5

Charm: 2 out of 5