CLEVELAND, Tenn. — The Johnston family asked Wednesday that the downtown park it gave to Cleveland in 1937 be restored to its original purpose as a passive green space.
Such a change would have significant impacts in the popular park.
“The Cherokee Chieftain,” a giant wooden statue, would have to be moved, likely to the Museum Center at Five Points. A gazebo and a concrete stage, partly built with federal and state grant money, would have to be razed.
Events commonly held at the park, including the May Evening Shade concert series and the annual Veterans Day ceremony, would need new venues.
The family does not want the park returned, Chris Stuart Jenkins told members of the Johnston Park Advisory Board on Wednesday. Her mother, Joe Stuart, was an heir to the Johnston fortune until her death in 2009. Mrs. Jenkins now represents the family.
But they do want the original intent for the downtown block to be honored, Mrs. Jenkins said.
“I was very close to my mom and for the last very many years she was very unhappy about Johnston Park,” she said. “The first time I remember her taking issue with the park was 20 years ago when I first moved here. We were riding downtown and she said, ‘This park is a mess. I hate to look at it.'”
A controversy rose last year when state Rep. Eric Watson planned his annual “Singing In The Park” at Johnston Park. The park’s advisory committee asked Rep. Watson, a Cleveland Republican, to find another location.
JOHNSTON PARK TIMELINE1937: Park donated to the city to memorialize John Tucker Johnston and Mary Tipton Johnston.1979: City gets $230,000 to build amphitheater, other features.1995: Evening Shade outdoor concerts begins.2004: Planners estimate $447,000 cost to return park to its original state.Source: Johnston Park Advisory Board
Rep. Watson never received permission from the city to hold the gospel singing there, board Chairwoman Christy Griffith said Wednesday.
But board members and the city Parks and Recreation staff felt the repercussions. Hundreds of others whose requests to use the park had been turned down, in compliance with the park’s regulations, called and requested events too, she said.
Melissa Woody, an advisory committee member and Chamber of Commerce official, said it wouldn’t be hard to find a new venue for the popular Evening Shade series. But it might be a real problem getting the public to accept it, she said.
“After 16 years of sitting under that fabulous tree, I don’t think that will be an easy change,” Ms. Woody said.
The advisory committee members accepted the family letter and forwarded it to the Cleveland City Council.
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