Municipal parks usually don’t end up on our radar aside from just taking a short walk. Hermitage park or “Sundial park” is worth writing about for two reasons, one cool and the other not so cool.
Hermitage park was constructed in 1999 and is located between a public library and community center. Its most recognizable feature is an airplane tail sundial constructed shortly after 9/11 as memorial; more specifically as a tribute to the passengers of flight 93 who fought back against the hijackers.
The cool thing about this unimposing city park is that I remember visiting it at about 5 years old. The airplane tail felt inconceivably large at the time. I also remember numerous visits to the library in front of the park. I can distinctly remember getting my first library card here, as well as the pay phone that used to sit in the lobby.
Despite the nostalgia from a few years of my childhood being here, there is not much love lost between myself and Metro Nashville. And that brings up the not so cool part, Metro’s persistent refusal to invest in any public infrastructure that could benefit middle class and low income families. Of which, Hermitage park was a textbook example.
The old boardwalk / treehouse has been allowed to fall into disrepair, and has subsequently been permanently gated. It’s really not in that bad of a shape and could be re-opened with even basic maintenance. The deck boards are already a composite material that will never rot. The posts look a little suspect and should probably be reinforced or replaced. Oh, and somebody could move the literal tree that has fallen down on it.
I could give metro parks the benefit of the doubt and say that this is a short term closure to make repairs. The metal gates, affixed with padlocks at each corner, appear to have been in place for years and are also falling apart. The water fountain is turned off. This is simple stuff that one of the fastest growing cities in the United States could definitely fix, if it was a priority.
But herein lies my beef with Metro Nashville; they don’t care. They have proven time and time again over the last 20 years that improving the city for those who live in it already is not a priority. They have found money for major league soccer, for Oracle, and now for the Titans to build a new home. Meanwhile parks and rec, as well as the library system, have actually regressed while the city prospers.
Public transportation consists of the same bus system of the early 2000’s, rendered nearly useless by the cities growing homeless problem. As housing prices and tax revenue increase, public schools have found a new rock bottom with low test scores, drugs, violence and short staffing. Bellevue/Belle Meade/Green Hills may not notice it, but the entirety of East Nashville is hell for normal working people. The city where my family once owned a home and raised children on a single retail salary is and has been dead for quite some time.
I don’t have an overarching goal in writing this, nor can I say anything that isn’t being screamed from rooftops already by those trying to make a living and raise families in East Nashville. But revisiting the park and library made me feel a certain way, and writing is one of the more productive ways to work through that. Hope everyone is having a great Monday! If anyone would like to comment or drop a DM about your city’s parks / lack thereof I would love to get more perspective on the issue.
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