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Freedom Park is one of Charlotte's largest and most popular public parks, featuring a lake, walking trails, an amphitheater, and open green space in the Myers Park/Cherry area near Uptown. It regularly hosts community festivals and outdoor events throughout the year.
Visitor guide
Freedom Park is a 98-acre public park between Charlotte's Dilworth and Myers Park neighborhoods, about three miles from Uptown. It is centered on a 7-acre lake and was created as a memorial to local people who served in World War II.
The park began as an idea among Charlotte Lions Club members in 1939, who wanted a first-rate city park with fields, playgrounds, picnic grounds and a shallow lake. In 1943 the club tied the project to honoring the roughly 10,000 Mecklenburg County residents in the military, raised more than $40,000 and began buying parcels of an old polo field. A nonprofit, the Charlotte Park Association, handled design and fundraising, and a fund drive launched in March 1945 raised $400,000. Sources differ on whether the club is called the Mecklenburg County or Charlotte Lions Club.
The name came from a public contest won by Cpl. Joe Gettis, stationed in Corsica, who proposed "The Park of Freedom, or Freedom Park." The Lions Club turned over the first section, including 12 tennis courts, to the city Park and Recreation Commission on July 15, 1947. Wikipedia dates the park to 1948, and the land was deeded to the City of Charlotte in 1949.
On May 18, 1954, more than 60,000 people crowded into the park to hear President Dwight Eisenhower speak at Freedom Celebration Day, tied to the annual Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence commemoration. A historical marker at the park records that visit, and President Gerald Ford attended the same event there in 1975 for the bicentennial.
The park offers paved trails, tennis and volleyball courts, sports fields and playground equipment. A fenced steam locomotive, a 2-8-0 engine, lets visitors walk into the cab. A shelter that opened in September 2005, funded by a county bond issue, includes a public room, fireplace, kitchen and patio, and is available for rental. Free summer films and musical performances are held in the pavilion.
The Little Sugar Creek Greenway runs through the park, connecting it to Uptown to the north and the Park Road Shopping Center to the south; the state announced completion of the Charlotte portion in April 2012. According to Mecklenburg County, the Charlotte Museum of Nature, formerly Discovery Place Nature, is being developed in the heart of Freedom Park in partnership with the county.
Festival in the Park is held in September over five days and, according to Wikipedia, draws more than 100,000 visitors a year and has been recognized as a Top 20 event by the Southeast Tourism Society. Dates and programming change each year, so check the event organizers for details.
The park is a good place to slow down and see everyday Charlotte. With a Voyzo private tour, a private vehicle and driver with door-to-door pickup can bring your group straight to the lake and then on to nearby neighborhoods. Check Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation for current facility hours and any event closures.
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