Richland Park
Updated: Jul 15, 2020
Richland Park sits on Charlotte Pike with 10.69 acres. It's an oldie but a goodie. First, a bit of history:
In 1887, the city of Nashville was outgrowing it's space downtown, and there was a plan to expand. The area we now call "Sylvan Park" was referred to in town hall meetings as New Town. A train was built to bring people from the city proper to this area. The Nashville Land Improvement Company worked to develop the area and sell homes in the area, and donated this park to the city of Nashville in 1907. This park was the landing strip for the train, where prospective land buyers would be greeted with parades and fireworks. Metro parks planted shrubbery and added a playground to create a community center, and it worked. Picnics and plays were put on and the park was embraced quickly. In 1932, a community center was added. In 1961, the library was opened. In 1985, the city added a ball diamond, tennis courts, and a pool (the pool has since been filled and the ball field is now just a backstop). This park was an important part of Nashville history, and really was the birthplace of this neighborhood. Today, it does host a few events, like the farmers' market.
This is a park I went to quite a bit as a kid. It was not uncommon to do some shopping at the Southern Thrift, and cross Charlotte to the park. Especially to the library, as this is where I had my first library. There is a lot of shade from trees around, and lots of greenery. A master plan was developed in 2008 to improve the health of the greenery and add more trees and shrubberies and benches, "to be implemented as funding becomes available." It's still in progress. The playground itself is teensy tiny, and the "ballfield" is an open area just waiting for a stray ball to go into the street. The noise pollution from busy Charlotte is also pretty loud. There's also a weird abandoned building that was the changing room for the pool, looking sad and desolate. But the tennis courts were BOOMING. It's pretty, it's shady, and it's centrally located.
Name: Richland Park
Address: 4711 Charlotte Ave, Nashville, TN 37209
History: 4 out of 5
Walkability: 3 out of 5
Kid Like-ability- 3 out of 5
Date Night-ability- 3 out of 5
Charm: 3 out of 5
