Architect: Clearscapes

Location: Raleigh, NC

Constructed by the WPA during the Jim Crow era, John Chavis Memorial Park served as a community anchor for Raleigh’s South Park and a regional destination for African-Americans from Atlanta to Washington D.C.  After decades of acrimony over its continued decline, the City and community collaborated on an ambiitious multi-phased master plan to re-envision the park.  Drawing from the community's activism, the resulting "call and response" form of the community center, enlivened by color and movement, celebrates the history of the park and restablishes its place as the center of the South Park community.