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What's
New?
Mayor Announces Public Boating on Several City Lakes
Public boating will be available on the Forest
Hill Park lake. Click here
to read the Media Advisory.
Marker to Honor Harvey Family
Friends of Forest Hill Park is now in the
process of getting a bronze and stone marker made that will dedicate
the new pedestrian bridge at Forest Hill Park to the Harvey Family and
will re-dedicate the park to families throughout Richmond. This marker
will be unveiled during the Lake Re-dedication event on Saturday, May
22, 2010.
Many friends and neighbors have asked how they can make a donation to
honor this family. The Friends of Forest Hill Park is accepting
donations to help with the cost of the plaque and marker. Donations may
be made to The Friends of Forest Hill Park, P.O. Box 13161, Richmond,
VA 23225. Please indicate this is for the Harvey Memorial. This
organization is a 501c3 nonprofit, nonstock corporation so your
donation is tax deductible.
Lake Renovation Completed
Around
the middle of October, the bulk of the Forest Hill Park lake
restoration project was complete and the site was no longer a
construction zone. The work, which was completed earlier than
expected and under budget, was performed under the management of Eric
and Erin Zeigler of Metropolitan Environmental Services, Inc., and
Louis Duval of Whitman, Requardt & Associates LLP. Native
trees and shrubs were planted at the southern end of the lake, which
will serve as a wetland. Items left to be completed by the City’s
department of public works include the reinstallation of lighting
around the lake and pathways and the replacement of benches around the
lake. Repaving of pathways and roadways also will be undertaken.
A separate contract will be procured to complete the construction of a
new footbridge at the south end of the lake, thus completing the
pedestrian circuit.
The Friends of Forest Hill Park is pleased with the project and
attention to detail that the dredging company gave to the park and the
restoration of this historic element. The City’s parks department
is planning on a grand opening sometime in the spring.
In October, Forest Hill Park was the site of vandalism that included
spray-painted epithets and symbols. Most of the painting was on
concrete walkways, but some of the contractors’ equipment was also
vandalized. Police believe that this vandalism is connected to
similar defacement seen in Byrd Park and other city parks. City
park staff quickly removed the vandalism and no other incidents have
occurred. Lieutenant John A. O'Kleasky, Jr. of the Third
Precinct—Sector 312 has assigned Officer Stacy Rogers to patrol of
Forest Hill Park. Ofc. Rogers will be responsible for policing
park areas and surrounding neighborhoods in Sector 312. Please do
not hesitate to contact him with any issues or events related to park
activity. Precinct Phone: 646-1412, E-mail: Stacy.Rogers@richmondgov.com
Contacts:
Larry Miller
Department of Parks, Recreation, and Community Facilities
646-0037, LARRY.MILLER@RICHMONDGOV.COM
Mary Lois Mitchum
Department of Parks, Recreation, and Community Facilities 646-0199, Mary.Lois.Mitchum@richmondgov.com
Linwood Seward
Department of Parks, Recreation, and Community Facilities
646-8913, Linwood.Seward@richmondgov.com
Kathy Graziano, Fourth District Council Representative
320-2454, Kathy.Graziano@Richmondgov.com
Martin Jewell, Fifth District Council Representative
646-6050, Marty.Jewell@Richmondgov.com
Curry Nelms, Co-President, Friends of Forest Hill Park
231-1595, cnelms@comcast.net
Debra McClane,
Co-President, Friends of Forest Hill Park
233-3890, d_mcclane@hotmail.com
Forest Hill Park Lake Re-dedication on May 22nd
The first annual Forest Hill Yacht Club
Regatta will take place on the
shores of the Forest Hill Park Lake on Saturday, May 22, 2010, at 2:30
p.m., as part of the Grand Reopening Events of the Forest Hill Park
Lake. Forest
Hill Neighborhood Association (FHNA) has invented the Forest Hill Yacht
Club to celebrate the lake renovations in Forest Hill Park. This
"imaginary"
organization was founded to raise awareness of Forest Hill neighborhood
and the park, to foster a sense of community across all South Bank
neighborhoods, to raise funds for native plantings in Forest Hill Park,
to encourage wholesome activities in the park, and for just plain
fun! See
the registration form for eligible categories and
registration fees. Forms should be returned to Robley Jones with
payment at: 4112 Springhill Avenue, Richmond, VA
23225. Questions?
Contact Robley at: robleyj@aol.com
Click here
for a Times-Dispatch article on the Lake Re-dedication ceremony and Forest
Hill Yacht Club Regatta.
Click here for
the Regatta Registration Form.
Trail Redevelopment Plan
Click here for an overview
of the Forest Hill Park Trail Redevelopment Plan.
Monica Rumsey Receives Community Service Award
from Richmond City Council
The award was to honor her many years of dedicated service and
accomplishments on behalf of Forest Hill Park.
Pictured
here are Monica and her husband Nicholas as City Council President
Kathy Graziano presents her award.
Click here to read the
proclamation for the Community Service Award that Monica Rumsey
received on February 13, 2009.
Our New Sign
Park
Sign
Restores Historic Gateway
A new sign stands proudly above the brick columns at the historic
entrance to Forest Hill Park. For Friends of Forest Hill Park, it is a
dream fulfilled, and one more piece of the puzzle as they work to
restore the park to its former glory.
See the "New" and the "Old"
signs below, and read the Story of the
Two Signs.
Here Is Our "New" Sign:
This
Was the Old Sign:
This picture was taken around
1910. The
sign itself dates from around 1890.
The Story of the Two Signs
When
FFHP began researching the park’s history many years ago in the
Valentine Richmond History Center archives, they found a photograph
from around 1910 that showed a man standing by the trolley tracks at
the Forest Hill Amusement Park entrance on Forest Hill Avenue.
According to neighborhood legend, some time in the 1940s, during World
War II, the iron letters were taken down as scrap iron “for the war
effort” and the stucco columns were changed to brick.
Fast forward to 2006, when the Forest Hill Neighborhood Association
sponsored its first annual House Tour. A wish list of donations was
drawn up, and neighbors voted to give some of the house tour proceeds
to Friends of Forest Hill Park, to restore the missing sign. Some $3500
was pledged for the sign.
Last summer, a less than accurate sign reproduction was installed, but
was later rejected in favor of greater historical accuracy. Thanks to
the expert eye and typographic skills of admitted “type-font junkie”
Matt Boyle at Acorn Sign Graphics, the letters on the new
sign precisely match the ones in the original historic photo.
(Matt is a Westover Hills resident)
Custom Ornamental Iron of Glen Allen was kind enough to redo the sign
at no extra charge, meticulously fabricating it according to Acorn’s
digital specifications.
If you get a chance, please stop by and see for yourself what a
difference a grand entrance can make to a beloved old neighborhood
hangout.
Volunteer!
Please see our
"Become A Friend" page for ideas on
how you can volunteer with the Friends of Forest Hill Park.
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