Carolyn & Maurice LeBauer Park

Last updated
LeBauer Park LeBauer Park.jpg
LeBauer Park

Carolyn & Maurice LeBauer Park, also known as LeBauer City Park, is a 4-acre $10 million park in downtown Greensboro, North Carolina which opened August 8, 2016.

Dr. Maurice LeBauer, who practiced medicine in the Jefferson Standard Building and became chief of surgery at Moses H. Cone Memorial Hospital, was the son of Joe LeBauer, who moved his silk hosiery operation to Greensboro in 1920. [1] [2] He was married to Carolyn Weill LeBauer and died in 1996. [3]

In November 2012, the Community Foundation of Greater Greensboro announced a $10 million gift from the will of Carolyn LeBauer [2] [4] who wanted a new park in the city. On November 28, foundation president Walker Sanders announced a plan for Carolyn and Maurice LeBauer City Park as part of the performing arts center. It would be located on Summit Avenue between North Elm and North Davie Streets; Summit Avenue would be rerouted and would become Bellemeade Street. [5] The site was the location of Festival Park, and a YMCA had once stood there. [4] A steering committee started work in August 2013, and project coordinator Merrill McCarty said the 2.5-acre park, to be located on North Davie Street, would be "an anchor for the cultural campus", including the Greensboro Cultural Center, the Greensboro Historical Museum, and the Greensboro Public Library. McCarty said Carolyn LeBauer was "very specific about" including gardens. [6]

A groundbreaking was held November 19, 2014. The previous day, designer Nathan Elliott of The Office of James Burnett of Solana Beach, California showed what the park would look like. It included a playground, fountains, and a dog park. The Price/Bryan stage was to be moved next to the Greensboro Historical Museum, and a 17,000-square-foot lawn would be used for events or movies related to the performing arts center. [7] [8]

A ribbon cutting on August 8, 2016 included a ceremony in Carolyn's Garden. [2]

Greensboro Downtown Parks Inc., started by the Community Foundation, the City of Greensboro and Action Greensboro, manages LeBauer Park and Center City Park. The city owns both parks. [4] [9]

The Janet Echelman sculpture Where We Met, called "the largest outdoor art installation in the Southeast", was built with a $1 million grant from the Edward M. Armfield Sr. Foundation, is described as a "net of blue, red, yellow and orange, measuring 200 by 130 feet and suspended over the park’s Great Lawn." [10] The structural layer includes 2800 feet of rope and is constructed of ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene (UHMWPE), which is stronger than steel. The sculptural layer is polytetrafluoroethylene with 35 miles of fiber and 242,800 knots. The design is inspired by the city's textile industry, particularly denim. [10]

Related Research Articles

Greensboro, North Carolina City in North Carolina, United States

Greensboro is a city in and the county seat of Guilford County, North Carolina, United States. It is the third-most populous city in North Carolina, the 68th-most populous city in the United States, and the largest city in the Piedmont Triad metropolitan region. At the 2010 United States Census the city population was 269,666. In 2019, the estimated population was 296,710. Three major interstate highways in the Piedmont region of central North Carolina were built to intersect at this city.

Eden, North Carolina City in North Carolina

Eden is a city in Rockingham County, North Carolina, United States, in the state's Piedmont region. Eden is the largest city in Rockingham County and is part of the Greensboro-High Point MSA. The population was 15,527 at the 2010 census. From the late nineteenth century through much of the 20th, the city was a center of textile mills and manufacturing. The city was incorporated in 1967 through the consolidation of three towns: Leaksville, Spray, and Draper.

Greensboro College

Greensboro College is a four-year, independent, coeducational liberal-arts college in Greensboro, North Carolina. It is affiliated with the United Methodist Church and was founded in 1838 by Rev. Peter Doub. The college enrolls about 1,000 students from 32 states, the District of Columbia, and 29 countries.

Greensboro Coliseum Complex Arena in North Carolina, United States

The Greensboro Coliseum Complex (GCC) is an entertainment and sports complex located in Greensboro, North Carolina. Opened in 1959, the arena was once one of the largest venues in the South, with a seating capacity of over 23,500. The complex holds eight venues that includes an amphitheater, arena, aquatic center, banquet hall, convention center, museum, theatre, and an indoor pavilion. It is the home of the UNC Greensboro Spartans men's basketball team, the Greensboro Swarm of the NBA G League, the Carolina Cobras of the National Arena League, as well as the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) with their Men's and Women's basketball tournaments.

Four Seasons Town Centre Shopping mall in North Carolina, United States

Four Seasons Town Centre is a three-story shopping mall in Greensboro, North Carolina. Opened in 1974, it was the first enclosed shopping center in Greensboro. Currently it is anchored by Dillard's and JCPenney and it is the only indoor shopping mall within Greensboro's city limits; however, nearby Friendly Center, an outdoor shopping plaza, has many of the same tenants. It is managed by Brookfield Properties Retail Group. The shopping mall is located at the I-40 interchange with Gate City Boulevard, southwest of downtown.

Elon University School of Law is an American law school located in Greensboro, North Carolina, occupying the former downtown public library building. Established in 2006, Elon Law is one of nine graduate programs offered by Elon University. It earned full accreditation from the American Bar Association in 2011 and in December 2017 graduated its first class to complete a seven-trimester, 2.5-year program that requires each student to work during part of his or her second year in a full-time legal residency-in-practice with a law firm, judge, government agency, corporation or nonprofit. Elon Law was ranked #7 with a grade of A+ in preLaw Magazine's 2020 annual guide to "Best Schools for Practical Training."

Janet Echelman American sculptor and artist

Janet Echelman is an American sculptor and fiber artist. Her sculptures have been displayed as public art, often as site-specific installations.

International Civil Rights Center and Museum

The International Civil Rights Center & Museum (ICRCM) is located in Greensboro, North Carolina, United States. Its building formerly housed the Woolworth's, the site of a non-violent protest in the civil rights movement. Four students from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University started the Greensboro sit-ins at a "whites only" lunch counter on February 1, 1960. The four students were Franklin McCain, Joseph McNeil, Ezell Blair Jr., and David Richmond. The next day there were twenty students. The aim of the museum's founders is to ensure that history remembers the actions of the A&T Four, those who joined them in the daily Woolworth's sit-ins, and others around the country who took part in sit-ins and in the civil rights movement. The Museum is currently supported by earned admissions and Museum Store revenues. The project also receives donations from private donors as a means of continuing its operations. The museum was founded in 1993 and officially opened its doors just fifty years to the day after the sit-in movements in Greensboro NC.

Megan LeCrone American ballet dancer

Megan LeCrone is an American ballet dancer and soloist with the New York City Ballet.

Arnold Doren

Arnold Doren (1935–2003) was an American photographer.

Grand Park

Grand Park is a 12-acre (4.9 ha) park located in the civic center of Los Angeles, California. First developed in 1966 as the 'Civic Center Mall' with plazas, fountains and a Court of Flags. It is now a part of the larger re-development known as the Grand Avenue Project, with its first phase having opened in July 2012. Grand Park is part of a joint venture by the city of Los Angeles and Los Angeles County. It was designed and built by the Los-Angeles-based multidisciplinary design firm Rios Clementi Hale Studios. Park programming and entertainment, security and upkeep are maintained by the nearby Los Angeles Music Center.

Greensboro Ballet American ballet company

Greensboro Ballet is a professional ballet company in North Carolina. It is the only ballet company in the Piedmont Triad. It is one of the only non-profit ballet companies in North Carolina. Greensboro Ballet has presented works by George Balanchine. The company also has performed a number of works made especially for the Greensboro Ballet by Rick McCullough, Jill Eathorne Bahr, Leslie Jane Pessemier, and alumni Emery LeCrone. Maryhelen Mayfield, who served as artistic and executive director of Greensboro Ballet from 1980 to 2019, choreographed over twenty-five works for the company.

Steven Tanger Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Greensboro, North Carolina is an $85 million 3,023-seat performing arts facility, with a projected opening date of April 2021. It will replace 2,400-seat War Memorial Auditorium in the Greensboro Coliseum Complex; the auditorium was torn down in October 2014. The Community Foundation of Greater Greensboro raised $35 million privately, to be paid over ten years. The city of Greensboro is paying $30 million. Construction was delayed a year so the foundation could get a $25 million bank loan to guarantee its contribution. The Greensboro Symphony and Guilford College's Bryan Series are expected to use the facility. The facility will also host Broadway productions and concerts. The facility is named for Steven Tanger, CEO of Tanger Factory Outlet Centers, who pledged $7.5 million toward the project in 2013. After working for a year, a task force recommended a state of the art center in February 2013. Groundbreaking was held April 26, 2017 and the first work took place July 13.

Union Square at South Elm in Greensboro, North Carolina is a 7-acre project that includes Union Square Campus, a planned health care and nursing campus to be used by Cone Health and three colleges in the city, The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, and Guilford Technical Community College. A 3-story building had its groundbreaking April 7, 2015. The building opened August 5, 2016.

Hillside (Greensboro, North Carolina) United States historic place

Hillside, also known as the Julian Price House, is a historic mansion located in the Fisher Park neighborhood of Greensboro, Guilford County, North Carolina. It was designed by architect Charles C. Hartmann and built in 1929 for the businessman Julian Price. The house, a four-story, 31-room, 180-foot-long (55 m) dwelling in the Tudor Revival style, sits at 7,266 square feet (675 m2). It has a three-story polygonal stair tower, red-brown rough fired brick, and half-timbering with tan stucco. Also on the property is a contributing rustic board-and-batten gardener's cottage.

Greensboro Cultural Center

The Greensboro Cultural Center is a Greensboro Parks and Recreation Facility, and is home to many arts-related programs in Greensboro, North Carolina.

Kara Medoff Barnett is an American business executive, Tony Award-winning theatre producer, and arts administrator. She is the former managing director of Lincoln Center International and currently serves as the executive director of American Ballet Theatre.

Fredrick Eric Davis is an American ballet dancer and former dancer with the Dance Theatre of Harlem.

Vandorn Hinnant

Vandorn Hinnant is a visual artist, poet and educator based in Durham, North Carolina.

Maryhelen Mayfield is an American ballet dancer, choreographer, and artistic director. She was a dancer with Kansas City Ballet before moving to North Carolina to serve as both artistic and executive director of Greensboro Ballet. She served as the director of the ballet from 1980 until 2019, choreographing and staging over twenty-five original works.

References

  1. "Visionary Award given to LeBauers". Greensboro News & Record. February 21, 2014.
  2. 1 2 3 DeCwikiel-Kane, Dawn (August 8, 2016). "It's open -- Greensboro's LeBauer Park wows". Greensboro News & Record. Retrieved August 9, 2016.
  3. "Carolyn Weill LeBauer". Greensboro News & Record. March 9, 2012.
  4. 1 2 3 DeCwikiel-Kane, Dawn (August 7, 2016). "Greensboro's LeBauer Park poised to be 'downtown playground'". Greensboro News & Record . Retrieved August 8, 2016.
  5. DeCwikiel-Kane, Dawn (November 29, 2012). "New park may adjoin proposed arts center". Greensboro News & Record. p. A1.
  6. Poe, Kelly (September 7, 2013). "New park would be 'anchor for the cultural campus'". Greensboro News & Record.
  7. Lehmert, Amanda (November 19, 2014). "New Place to Meet Neighbors". Greensboro News & Record.
  8. DeCwikiel-Kane, Dawn (July 27, 2016). "Find out why designer calls LeBauer Park Greensboro's 'front lawn'". Greensboro News & Record. Retrieved August 25, 2016.
  9. "Greensboro Downtown Parks hires executive director". Greensboro News & Record. March 22, 2016. Retrieved August 25, 2016.
  10. 1 2 DeCwikiel-Kane, Dawn (August 11, 2016). "Spotlight turns to LeBauer Park sculpture". Greensboro News & Record. Retrieved August 12, 2016.

Coordinates: 36°4′29″N79°47′17″W / 36.07472°N 79.78806°W / 36.07472; -79.78806