Well said. There are certain spaces we want celebratory and some contemplative, and some that need to be both. That can be tricky to work out between stakeholders and designers and funders.
Our perspectives on places can change about places too. Before public parks became a thing, folks use to go cemetaries for a day out, albeit amongst the dead!
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It’s nothing wrong with Freedom Park, there’s just not a lot of foot traffic in that part of downtown.
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Cooper at the ribbon cutting said something that stuck with me – when elementary school students come to Raleigh on field trips, they’ll now visit the Capitol, the museums, and Freedom Park. I definitely agree with the comments here characterizing it as a contemplative/memorial-type space, or one of ceremonial importance more than a place for recreation. Aside from a few benches, there aren’t many places within the park to even linger.
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It’s my understanding that the designer, Phil Freelon, meant for the park to be like a “walk through and reflect” type of park, similar to the MLK monument or Vietnam memorial in D.C.
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that’s pretty much how it functions!
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What a wonderful space
I do have to have a sly laugh at how hard their quote selection throws the rest of the South under the bus while NC slides on by
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It’s sad and true. I’m curious to see what the end of the sentence says about the arrival.
They seemingly forgot about the lunch counter sit-ins at the Woolworth in DT Greensboro by A&T students.
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To be clear, that’s not the only quote! Here’s the full set. Many of them are really powerful.
I’m just laughing a bit that the only quote that mentions NC is about how the people here are extra-specially fired up about freedom, while the other Southern states get side-swiped. Honestly, might have been a clever way to help funding and approvals.
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Kinda similar to how our NC History Museum has an exhibit on pre-emancipation days and includes a quote about how “slaves HELPED plantation owners cultivate their land” … 
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“Couldn’t have done it without ya! Thanks for the help buddy!”
Lol yeah that’s pretty awkward.
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