Belo Garden Park facts for kids

Belo Garden Park is a 1.7-acre (0.69 ha) public park located in downtown Dallas, Texas, United States. It's a green space in the middle of the city. The park is found between Main and Commerce streets, just east of Griffin, in the Main Street District. This area used to be a parking lot, but now it's a vibrant park for everyone to enjoy.

What You'll Find at Belo Garden

Belo Garden Park has many cool features for visitors. It includes beautiful gardens with plants that come back every year. There are also shady areas with trees where you can relax. You'll find open plaza spaces, perfect for gathering with friends.

One of the most exciting parts is an interactive fountain. It's a great spot to cool off and play. The park also has a 10-foot-high hill. This hill gives you a nice view over the main fountain area. Plus, there's a shaded garden grove with tables and chairs that you can move around.

How Belo Garden Park Was Created

Creating Belo Garden Park was a big project for Dallas. In 2006, a company called Belo Corporation helped make it happen. Belo Corporation owns local news channels and newspapers, like WFAA and The Dallas Morning News. They gave $6.5 million towards the park's construction. The total cost for building the park was $14.5 million.

Belo Garden is one of several new parks planned for downtown Dallas. Other parks include Main Street Garden Park and Pacific Plaza Park. These parks are part of a city plan to add more green spaces for people to enjoy.

Building the Park: Challenges and Design

The construction of Belo Garden Park faced some delays. It was supposed to start in 2008. However, workers found contaminated soil (dirt that wasn't clean) at the site. This meant the soil had to be removed before building could begin. Soil removal started in July 2010. The park was then rescheduled to open in early 2012.

The design of Belo Garden also sparked some discussion. For example, a 12-foot wall was built to separate the park from a nearby building. This wall was meant to help with traffic noise and safety. However, some experts thought this wall wasn't really needed and didn't fit well with the city environment. Despite these discussions, the park was completed with its unique design.