MARVIN GAYE PARK Northeast Washington, DC (Ward 7, East of the Anacostia River) 1.6 miles of linear open space dotted with flower fields, recreation/community centers, performance space, agricultural/ educational gardens and creek-side trail spread over a handful of residential neighborhoods and cutting through several roadways/arterials Metro Stations Adjacent Neighborhoods Marvin Gaye Park Streams Southeast Waterfront Initiative Relevance to Santa Rosa’s Southeast Greeway: 1. Linear parkway with stream/trail 2. Green connection to transit 3. Adjacent to larger state/national parks 4. Bisects residential neighborhoods Transportation / Context Map • Unsafe park conditions prompted a public-private partnership called the “Down By the Riverside” Campaign in the ‘90s • Campaign involved residents, park advocates, community organizers, non-profits, and several local and national government agencies • Park Renovation Master Plan by landscape architect, Ian Tyndall, on behalf of the campaign • Restoration project formally started in the late ‘90s and continues to the present (currently in construction phase) Historically one of DC’s most prominent black neighborhood parks; previously known as Suburban Gardens Recreational Park, pictured left (early 1900s) First Lady Johnson christened the park as the Watts Branch stream valley, pictured right (1960’s) • Park suffered disinvestment in the ‘70s and ‘80s