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The Project

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Park’s connection to the natural world reminds us that we are all born equal and free from negative social constructs. Like its namesake, this groundbreaking park design recognizes, celebrates, and supports the power of individual and collective activism in creating social change.
ABOUT THE PROJECT

Enhancements at Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Park have been designed with community members representing a wide variety of backgrounds, ages, interests, and abilities. The project team is dedicated to creating a space for community connections between people and the natural environment, centered on the Black experience to inspire activism, acceptance, and social change in alignment with Dr. King’s mission, right here in Corvallis.

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Making a park worthy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Legacy

Beginning with a master planning process in 2017, the community recognized that the park was not living up to its potential or the legacy of its namesake. Parks staff and consultants hosted community meetings to identify desired enhancements, which include improved pathways for accessibility, nature and water play opportunities for kids, an entry plaza in honor of Dr. King, a fenced dog park, repurposed central area for community gatherings, an additional restroom, and environmental restoration.

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Still, the Master Plan lacked the context needed to appropriately commemorate Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and other luminaries of color. To take the plan to the next level, in 2020, an Interpretive Design Committee was created and included prominent leaders of the Black, Latinx, and Native American communities in Corvallis. The product of that group was an Interpretative Plan that calls for an “un-sanitized” truth of Dr. King as a radical anti-racist who promoted justice and equity in the face of systemic oppression and violence. The committee identified areas of the park master plan that presented opportunities for artistic interpretation.

 

To bring it all together, another set of diverse community members, Project Ambassadors, was convened in 2021. The seven Project Ambassadors helped to create the vision of the visitor experience based upon the concepts derived from the Master Plan and the Interpretive Design Plan. Ambassadors continue to connect the project team to various networks and community affiliations to help bring awareness to the project and garner community support.

 

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Art, science, and nature come together

A project of this size, scale, and significance requires professional experts. The Corvallis Parks & Recreation Department has engaged landscape architect firm Juncus Studio to develop detailed designs and construction documents that turn these concepts and ideas into reality. Engineers, surveyors, architects, and environmental scientists will be called upon to ensure the plan is constructed with care and concern for the land, safety, functionality, and accessibility. Additionally, an Art Curator will be hired to steer the art and interpretive process and work directly with local artists to create interactive and provocative works of art for the park.​

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The City of Corvallis Parks & Recreation Department stands behind the message of this park enhancement design as a place where people of all ethnicities, ages, and abilities feel welcome and safe, that it is designed by and for the people who face the most barriers today, and that advances the social change that is needed to ensure that Corvallis is a community that honors diversity and demonstrates acceptance and equity in public spaces.

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Be part of the story

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This is an ambitious project! The total project funding target is $8.5 million. We are proud to announce that we are close to achieving that goal, with $8.4 million secured, as follows:

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  • $4,000,000 Grant from the State

  • $2,000,000 Lead Donor Gift

  • $200,000 Recreational Trails Program Grant

  • $872,375 Land and Water Conservation Fund Grant

  • $1,198,00 Corvallis Parks and Recreation SDC funds

  • $7,267 Community Donations

  • $50,914 Friends of Corvallis Parks & Recreation ​

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With the support of Friends of Corvallis Parks & Recreation, a non-profit volunteer organization, we cordially invite you to help make this dream a reality! Our fundraising mission is to ensure everybody, organization, or business can contribute. All donors, from $1 to $1,000,000, are equally appreciated and recognized. Please help us spread word and share through your social media posts, community connections, service clubs, families, and friend networks.

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Land acknowledgement:  The City of Corvallis, OR is located within the traditional homelands of the Ampinefu Band of Kalapuya.  Following the Willamette Valley Treaty of 1855 (Kalapuya etc. Treaty), Kalapuya people were forcibly removed to reservations in Western Oregon. Today, living descendants of these people are a part of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde Community of Oregon (https://www.grandronde.org) and the Confederated Tribes of the Siletz Indians (https://ctsi.nsn.us).

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