Dix Park
| Dorothea Dix Park |
|---|
|
Dorothea Dix Park is a public park located southwest of downtown Raleigh, North Carolina. The park occupies approximately 308 acres of land formerly used as the Dorothea Dix Hospital campus and is one of the largest public parks in the City of Raleigh. The site offers expansive views of the downtown skyline and serves as a major open-space and civic amenity.[1]
The park is owned and managed by the City of Raleigh and has been developed through a multi-phase planning and public engagement process following the closure of the hospital and transfer of the property from the State of North Carolina to the city.
Site history
Dorothea Dix Hospital
The land that now comprises Dorothea Dix Park was established in the mid-nineteenth century as the site of the North Carolina Insane Asylum, later known as Dorothea Dix Hospital. The hospital opened in 1856 and was named for Dorothea Dix, a mental health reformer whose advocacy contributed to the creation of public institutions for the care of people with mental illness.[2]
Over more than a century, the campus expanded to include numerous buildings, roadways, and utility systems and functioned as a major state psychiatric facility. The hospital played a significant role in North Carolina’s mental health system but was also associated with changing approaches to institutional care over time.[3]
Closure and state ownership
In the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries, North Carolina shifted away from large institutional psychiatric hospitals toward community-based mental health care. As part of this transition, Dorothea Dix Hospital gradually reduced operations and officially closed in 2012.[4]
Transfer to the City
In 2015, the State of North Carolina and the City of Raleigh reached an agreement transferring ownership of the Dorothea Dix campus to the city. The transfer was structured as a purchase by the city for approximately $52 million, with funding supported by local bonds and other financing mechanisms.[5]
Park planning and Master Plan
In 2016, the City signed an MOU with the Dorothea Dix Park Conservancy to guide the development of a master plan for the park. The Conservancy works in partnership with the City of Raleigh to raise private funds, coordinate programming, and advocate for the park’s long-term vision.[6] In April 2019, the Raleigh City Council adopted the Dorothea Dix Park Master Plan, a long-range framework intended to guide the park’s design, development, and programming over multiple decades.[7]
Main article: Dorothea Dix Park Master Plan
Governance and advisory structure
The park’s development is coordinated across city departments, including Parks, Recreation and Cultural Resources, Planning and Development, and Transportation.[8]
On May 9, 2020, the City and the Conservancy signed a new MOA to guide the implementation of the Master Plan. As part of the MOA, the Master Plan Executive Committee was replaced with the Dix Park Leadership Committee, which was created to provide guidance to City staff, the Conservancy, and other partners on the implementation of the Master Plan.[9] Additionally, the 2020 MOA replaced the Master Plan Advisory Committee (MPAC) with the Dix Park Community Committee, with 21 of the 45 members rolling over from the MPAC. Ultimate authority over land use and capital decisions remains with the City and the Raleigh City Council.
| Name | Position |
|---|---|
| Janet Cowell (Chair) | Mayor |
| Bill Ross (Vice-Chair) | |
| Marchell Adams-David | City Manager |
| Stephen Bentley | Director, Raleigh Parks Recreation and Cultural Resources Department |
| Nancy McFarlane | Dix Park Conservancy |
| Orage Quarles | Dix Park Conservancy |
| Ed Fritsch | Dix Park Conservancy |
| Christa Herndon | Chair, Dix Park Community Committee |
| Chris Pereira | Chair, Parks Recreation Greenways Advisory Board |
| Alicia Knight | Senior Associate Vice Chancellor, NC State University |
| David Smith | Deputy Commissioner, NC Department of Agriculture |
Dorothea Dix Park is referenced in the City’s long-range planning documents, including the Raleigh Comprehensive Plan, as a key civic and recreational asset.[11]
See also
References
- ↑ "Dorothea Dix Park" (link). raleighnc.gov. (). Accessed October 24, 2023.
- ↑ "Dorothea Dix Hospital" (link). NCPedia. (). Accessed October 24, 2023.
- ↑ "Mental Health Care in North Carolina" (link). NCPedia. (). Accessed October 24, 2023.
- ↑ "Dorothea Dix Campus" (link). ncdhhs.gov. (). Accessed October 24, 2023.
- ↑ "Dorothea Dix Park History" (link). raleighnc.gov. (). Accessed October 24, 2023.
- ↑ "Our Story" (link). dixpark.org. (). Accessed October 24, 2023.
- ↑ "Dorothea Dix Park Master Plan" (link). City of Raleigh. (April 2019). Accessed October 24, 2023.
- ↑ "Dix Park Advisory Committee" (link). raleighnc.gov. (). Accessed October 24, 2023.
- ↑ https://go.boarddocs.com/nc/raleigh/Board.nsf/files/BRZSHR72CD45/$file/20200804DixParkLeadCommGoverningGuidelines.pdf
- ↑ https://dixpark.org/leadership-committee
- ↑ "2030 Comprehensive Plan" (link). raleighnc.gov. (). Accessed October 24, 2023.
index.php?title=Category:Parks in Raleigh, North Carolina index.php?title=Category:Raleigh, North Carolina index.php?title=Category:Urban parks in North Carolina index.php?title=Category:Government of Raleigh, North Carolina