美国新奥尔良城市公园 – 路易斯安那州最大公共绿地

历史沿革

新奥尔良城市公园位于美国路易斯安那州新奥尔良市内, 是该市一处历史悠久的公共绿地, 占地约 1300 英亩 (约合 5.3 平方公里), 体量约为纽约中央公园的 1.5 倍, 在美国城市公园中按面积排名第 87 位, 按年访客量则位列前 20。公园所在地前身是阿拉德种植园 (Allard Plantation), 1850 年通过约翰·麦克唐纳 (John McDonogh) 的遗嘱收归市有, 1854 年由第四区法院正式辟为公共绿地, 1891 年正式命名为 “City Park”, 并于同年成立城市公园改进协会 (City Park Improvement Association) 负责日常运营, 至今已有 170 余年历史。1907 年的佩里斯提里 (Peristyle) 与 1911 年开馆的艾萨克·德尔加多艺术博物馆 (今新奥尔良艺术博物馆) 是公园早期最重要的两处建筑, 奠定了它今天的格局。

园区与设施

公园位于巴尤梅特里 (Bayou Metairie) 旧河道沿线, 西侧沿城市公园大道展开, 北端直抵庞恰特雷恩湖岸。1927 年市议会将公园北延 900 英亩, 形成今天 1300 英亩的整体轮廓; 1930 年代联邦公共事业振兴署 (WPA) 投入约 1200 万美元改造, 建筑师理查德·科赫 (Richard Koch)、景观设计师威廉·维尔登 (William Wierdorn) 与雕塑家恩里克·阿尔弗雷兹 (Enrique Alférez) 三人合作设计了园区建筑与雕塑群。园区内有塔德·戈姆利体育场 (Tad Gormley Stadium) 4 座 18 洞高尔夫球场、超过 50 片网球场, 路易斯安那州儿童博物馆和野生动物园游乐场 (Carousel Gardens Amusement Park) 也坐落其中, 沿巴尤圣约翰 (Bayou St. John) 的自行车道与步道将各景点串成一线。

橡树林与植物园

公园以拥有世界上最大的成熟活橡树群而著称, 部分个体的树龄已超过 600 年, 其中最古老的一批接近 800 年, 枝展常为树高的两倍, 树形独特。1936 年建成的玫瑰园是公园的核心植物景观, 起初由 WPA 拨款建造, 后以 “新奥尔良植物园” (New Orleans Botanical Garden) 之名开放, 占地约 10 英亩, 栽培来自世界各地的 2000 余种植物。1982 年植物园聘任首任主管保罗·索尼亚 (Paul Soniat) 启动系统化修复, 沿用路易斯安那州立大学景观设计师尼尔·奥登瓦尔德 (Neil Odenwald) 制定的规划。园内玫瑰、山茶、热带睡莲以及本地原生湿地植物分区清晰, 是路易斯安那州观赏植物最集中的园区。

文化与活动

公园是美国南方重要的大型户外活动场所之一, 自 1999 年起承办巫毒音乐节 (Voodoo Experience), 是园区规模最大的现场音乐活动。塔德·戈姆利体育场曾迎来多萝西·拉穆尔、鲍勃·霍普、罗伊·罗杰斯与披头士乐队等不同时代的艺人, 1992 年还承办过美国奥运会田径选拔赛。圣诞前后的 “庆典在橡树下” (Celebration in the Oaks) 灯展自 1980 年代延续至今, 与春秋季的 “Celebration in the Oaks” 同步举办。公园内的维多利亚旋转木马 (Carousel Gardens) 自 1897 年起开放, 当时由骡子驱动, 1906 年改为机械动力, 其中的手工木雕飞马是近 100 个家庭的世代珍藏, 至今仍在运营。

运营与管理

公园虽属新奥尔良市所有, 实际运营交由半官方的城市公园改进协会负责, 经费主要靠门票、租金与捐赠自筹, 是美国少数几座基本自负盈亏的大型城市公园。卡特里娜飓风 (2005 年 8 月) 期间约 95% 的园区被淹 1 至 10 英尺深达两到四周, 约 2000 棵树木倒伏或受损, 植物园几乎全部植物被毁, 直接损失约 4300 万美元, 之后约 7.5 万名志愿者参与了为期多年的修复。路易斯安那州文化、娱乐与旅游部在灾后开始对公园给予部分补贴。1979 年成立的 “城市公园之友” (Friends of City Park) 持续协助募款, 现行的 2005 年总体规划主导着灾后重建与新增项目, 包括滨水步道、湿地自行车道和正在推进的环境教育中心。

官网：https://neworleanscitypark.com/

Historical Evolution

New Orleans City Park is a 1,300-acre (5.3 km²) public park in New Orleans, Louisiana, ranking 87th in size and among the top 20 most-visited urban parks in the United States, roughly fifty percent larger than New York’s Central Park. The tract, formerly the Allard Plantation, became municipal property in 1850 through John McDonogh’s will; the Fourth District Court declared it a public park in 1854, and it was officially named “City Park” when the City Park Improvement Association was founded in 1891 to oversee daily operations. Early landmarks include the 1907 Peristyle and the 1911 Isaac Delgado Museum of Art, today known as the New Orleans Museum of Art, which together set the framework for the present-day park.

Grounds and Facilities

The park stretches along the former channel of Bayou Metairie, from City Park Avenue on the south toward the south shore of Lake Pontchartrain. A 900-acre northward extension was added in 1927, and a 1930s master plan by Bennett, Parsons & Frost of Chicago was largely implemented under a $12 million Works Progress Administration grant, with architect Richard Koch, landscape architect William Wierdorn and sculptor Enrique Alférez shaping much of the architecture and sculpture still in place. Today the park holds Tad Gormley Stadium, four 18-hole golf courses and more than fifty tennis courts, along with the Louisiana Children’s Museum, the Carousel Gardens Amusement Park, the Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden, and bikeways that trace Bayou St. John through the grounds.

Oak Grove and Botanical Garden

The park is renowned for holding the world’s largest collection of mature live oaks, some individuals older than 600 years and a few approaching 800, with lateral branches often twice as long as the trees are tall. The original 1936 Rose Garden, also built with WPA funding, evolved into today’s New Orleans Botanical Garden, about ten acres in size, with more than two thousand plant species from around the world. Paul Soniat became the Garden’s first director in 1982 and oversaw a long-term restoration guided by a plan from Louisiana State University landscape architect Neil Odenwald, replanting rose beds, trees, shrubs and native wetland flora in clearly defined sections.

Culture and Events

City Park has long served as one of the South’s principal outdoor venues. Since 1999 it has hosted the Voodoo Experience, the largest live-music event on the grounds, and Tad Gormley Stadium has welcomed Dorothy Lamour, Bob Hope, Roy Rogers and Trigger, and the Beatles, as well as the 1992 U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials. The seasonal Celebration in the Oaks light display has run since the late 1980s, drawing visitors each December, while Storyland, the vintage carousel and Carousel Gardens Amusement Park trace their roots back to 1897 and remain in operation, the carousel’s hand-carved wooden “flying horses” preserved by generations of local families.

Operations and Stewardship

Although the land is owned by the City of New Orleans, the park is administered by the City Park Improvement Association, an arm of state government, and is largely self-supporting through user fees, rentals and donations. Hurricane Katrina in August 2005 flooded about 95 percent of the grounds to depths of one to ten feet for two to four weeks, toppling roughly two thousand trees and destroying nearly the entire Botanical Garden plant collection, with damages of about $43 million; some 75,000 volunteers assisted in the long repair effort. The Louisiana Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism later began partial subsidies, and the Friends of City Park, founded in 1979, continue to rally support under the 2005 master plan that now guides new trails, an Environmental Education Center and other post-storm improvements.

Official Site: https://neworleanscitypark.com/