Jackson Park

This is a sketch plan for a design for Jackson Park, next to the historic courthouse in downtown Charlottesville. In the 19th and early 20th centuries, there was a block called McKee's Row on this site, with dwellings and shops. At one time it was a thriving African-American neighborhood. In the early 20th century, the block was systematically bought up by a Charlottesville citizen and donated to the city to create a park. An imposing equestrian statue of Stonewall Jackson is the focal point of the park. Another "generic" Civil War soldier statue is positioned in front of the courthouse.

I am interested in what stories are being told, and what stories were silenced, on this site. As a civic center of Charlottesville, this site represents the identity of Charlottesville to its residents and to visitors. What else could this site say about the history of Charlottesville, beyond recognizing Civil War heroes?

I am proposing to reveal the footprints of the buildings on the old McKee's Row, with plants that flower briefly in spring. There would be a short time when the footprints are visible, once again present on this site, a colorful layer of the past blooming at the surface. The flowers then fade and the footprints disappear for another year.

When the flowers are blooming, one senses that another logic is at work. The footprints act as an alternative structure to the site that produces strange juxtapositions with the existing park paths, and especially, the statue. Jackson appears in a field of flowers, as though transported into a new place.