Indianapolis City Park Celebrates Historic Anniversary

Taylor Bennett

Photo by Historic Indianapolis.com
*Frederick Douglass Park*

Indy Parks will celebrate the 100th anniversary of Frederick Douglass Park this week.

Spokesperson Courtney Rogers said it was the first park open to Black Indianapolis residents and means a lot to the community.

“Any park or institution making it 100 years is pretty remarkable, but it’s even more special that it’s Frederick Douglass Park that has so much history that means so much to not only the Martindale Brightwood Community, but really all of Indianapolis” Rogers said.

Frederick Douglass Park is a community park located on the near east side of Indianapolis at Andrew J. Brown and East 25th Street. The 43-acre park was established in 1921 and is in the Martindale-Brightwood Community. A swimming pool was added in 1927. According to Indy Parks, Martindale was a segregated community for African Americans in the late 19th and throughout the 20th Century.

The Frederick Douglass Park celebration kicked off Tuesday with several park clean-up projects.

A press conference is planned Wednesday to commemorate the official anniversary.

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