At 1300 acres, New Orleans City Park is one of the largest and most beautiful urban parks in the country. The park houses the largest collection of live oaks in the world and acres of wildlife and community attractions, including the New Orleans Museum of Art, the New Orleans Botanical Gardens, the Carousel Gardens Amusement Park and more.
In the 1970s, lack of local and state funding sent the Park into a state of disrepair. Vice president of City Park’s Board of Commissioners, J. Barbee Winston teamed up with the dynamic Mrs. Henry J. “Peggy” Read to organize the first fundraising organization for the park. Mrs. Read recruited volunteers, drafted a charter and bylaws, and at the urging of the Board of Commissioners President, Waldemar S. Nelson, Friends of City Park was born in 1979. Mr. Nelson selected Mrs. Read as the organization’s first president.
Friends of City Park, known as “Friends,” initiated programs and staged events to increase public awareness and support for the Park. In its early years, Friends raised capital to restore the Rose Garden and erect a fence around what is now the City Park Botanical Garden. Friends also instituted two of the park’s largest events, Celebration in the Oaks (formerly Christmas in the Oaks) and Lark in the Park. The success of these events has enabled Friends to donate millions of dollars to City Park and has led to the development of additional fundraisers, including Ghosts in the Oaks and Martini Madness. In addition, the organization has created a membership program for donors to enjoy the Park’s many attractions.
In August 2005, City Park and the Greater New Orleans area were dealt a devastating blow from Hurricane Katrina and the failure of the federal levee system. Over 90 percent of our beautiful park flooded and the park incurred 43 million dollars in damages. All records and archives from City Park and Friends of City Park were decimated, operations ceased and 90 percent of the staff was laid off.
In the months following Hurricane Katrina, Friends of City Park was once again called upon to help the severely damaged Park. Volunteers worked round-the-clock to help with the Park’s recovery. Since 2005, City Park has made monumental improvements, including replanting efforts throughout the entire park, refurbishing classic attractions such as the Botanical Gardens, the Amusement Park, the Casino Building and Storyland. Construction has also been completed on new attractions such as Big Lake, NOLA Bark and the Goldring/Woldenberg Great Lawn. Membership efforts were revamped and today, Friends of City Park boasts more than 3,000 members. The recovery from Hurricane Katrina is ongoing, and can be tracked in the City Park Master Plan on City Park’s website. http://www.neworleanscitypark.com/plan.html
Today, Friends of City Park’s mission is to raise funds to maintain and refurbish New Orleans City Park as a place of natural beauty, rest and renewal for the community.