Carpenter Park

Dallas Parks and Recreation Department joined forces – and funds – with Parks of Downton Dallas to generate Carpenter Park. Nestled on the corner of Pearl and Live Oak, is the largest neighborhood park in the downtown area covering over five acres, finally connecting downtown with Deep Ellum and East Dallas. 

After 10 years in the making and donations combined with $35 million from the 2017 bond program, Carpenter Park, a revamp of Carpenter Plaza – opened in 1981 – welcomed all in May of 2022. This new landscape features a dog park, basketball court, interaction fountain, children’s playscape, garden, and walking paths. Visitors to the park will have the chance to view the re-conceptualized version of Robert Irwin’s sculpture, Portal Park Slice, as well as a Robert Berks statue of John W. Carpenter.

The Dallas Morning News once described Carpenter Park as “a deserted swath of downtown Dallas’ eastern edge – today a mess of trash, weeds and broken asphalt.” Thanks to the joint efforts of Dallas Parks and Recreation, Mary Margaret Jones, and Parks of Downton Dallas, Carpenter Park now holds as the connective tissue between various Dallas neighborhoods. “Vibrant downtown parks can act as agents of change in otherwise blighted urban areas,” Jones stated. “Unmitigated joy is at the heart of these parks. You don’t need to over-program parks.” Nature itself has value crucial to the human mind – a natural decompression method.