By Isabel Ramsey / public information officer, Indy Parks
We are excited to announce our newest park, which features amenities for all ages and abilities. Rev. Charles R. Williams Park is located at 3242 Sutherland Ave., which sits adjacent to Fall Creek and has a connection to the Monon Trail.
The park’s namesake, Rev. Charles R. Williams, became the president of Indiana Black Expo in 1980, serving in a volunteer capacity until 1983. Rev. Williams also founded the Circle City Classic, an annual Black collegiate football game with revenues exceeding $800,000 going toward scholarships for qualifying high school students across the state of Indiana since 1984.
He was an ordained minister and was the first chaplain of the Indiana Pacers Basketball Corp., engaging a dozen or so clergy across the city, and was a charter board member of the Pacers Foundation, Inc. While in that capacity, he played an instrumental role in the creating of the Landmark for Peace in the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Park.
Until his death in July of 2004, he served as an effective voice and leader in the fight for the social and economic advancement of African Americans.
This new park honors the contributions and influence that Rev. Williams had on our city and state. The 2.25-acre parcel was donated to Indy Parks in 2012 and was a concrete slab with a vacant industrial storage building. In 2015, the master plan was completed to include expanding the park to become a 13.3-acre neighborhood park. In 2022 we broke ground on construction – and now, a year later, we have a brand-new completed park for the community to enjoy.
The new park now features playground equipment, horseshoe courts, a picnic shelter, an open lawn area, a small amphitheater to host community concerts, a perimeter loop trail, and a connection to the Monon Trail.
Additionally, the playground features a universal express swing, rubberized surfaces in a variety of colors and patterns, a sensory cove, musical equipment, an arch basket swing, and much more.
If you’re on the Monon trail, this is a great spot to stop off to rest and play. To get to the park from the Monon Trial, if you’re heading north, take a left on Sutherland Avenue and head down the newly paved path only a quarter mile to be immersed in this new park.
We look forward to seeing and hearing about how this park will be an asset in bringing community together. To learn more about upcoming construction projects around the city, programs and much more, visit parks.indy.gov.
PHOTO ABOVE: Playground equipment at Rev. Charles R. Williams Park.
