For the last two years, parts of Cincinnati's Theodore M. Berry International Friendship Park have been a construction zone. Gravel and dirt have replaced some of the park's beautiful and symbolic features, as well as its carefully selected landscaping.
But starting Thursday, those features are coming back. And officials say it's a perfect time to remember the 21-year-old park's significance.
Friendship Park is named after the city's first Black mayor, a civil rights icon. By the time Theodore M. Berry became Cincinnati's mayor in 1972, he'd already spent decades in local politics and in the fight for civil rights. He also played a prominent role in President Lyndon Baines Johnson's war on poverty. Mayor Aftab Pureval says as the park bearing his name is brought back to its full glory, it's a good time to remember his contributions.
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"Moments like these are opportunities to take a beat and remember history and recall why this park was named for Mayor Berry," he said. "Theodore Berry was an incredible individual who dedicated his life to public service and had a tremendous impact on our city."
That's not the only reason Friendship Park is important. It also celebrates the Queen City's relationship with its nine global sister cities and includes plant species from five continents.
International Friendship Park Advisory Council member Bob Herring says the park's symbolic significance is more important than ever.
"It's an opportunity to connect to the global community," he says of its relationship with Cincinnati's sister cities. "It's been the inspiration for friendship gardens in Liuzhou, China, Nancy, France, Munich, Germany and, after the war ends in Ukraine, a friendship garden in Kharkiv."
Why the work is needed
A watermain emergency in early 2022 necessitated the extended construction in the heart of the park.
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"Some of our biggest and most important infrastructure assets are along the river," Greater Cincinnati Water Works Deputy Director Jason Fleming said. "We did find an issue with the watermain in this park to provide water Downtown, into the central business district, all the way to the West Side and into Northern Kentucky."
That work is now finished, and crews will begin restoring the features that had to be removed for watermain repair. The park should be good as new by mid-2025, officials say.