704-432-4280
1200 Baxter Street
Central Park District III
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Features: 

• 6 acres
• Basketball court
• Multi-purpose field
• Walking trails

The City of Charlotte purchased the 6-acre site of Pearl Street Park for $2,500 in 1942 from the Thompson Orphanage, an Episcopal institution.  Literature of the time described it "as a park for Negro children."  Contemporary news reports say white landowners in the area objected, but the city opened the park in 1943.

The Mecklenburg Park and Recreation Department and the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Black Heritage Committee has dedicated a monument at Pearl Street Park, 1200 Baxter Street.  The monument will mark this park as "the first Negro playground and first African-American park in Mecklenburg County." Several African-Americans who remember playing in the park and who experienced those days of segregation will be present for the dedication and available for interviews.