Project Overview
Located at a key intersection on N Market Street, the Seventh Street Fountain Park currently is an underutilized open space in need of investment. The project underway, led by the Partnership with many partners, creates a great opportunity to respond to community input by adding seating, creating shade, providing flexible open space, establishing a physical and visual buffer to the street edge and becoming a new home for public art. The new park design includes all these ideas and more.
The Partnership is working with the City of Frederick, the Ausherman Family Foundation and the African American Resources Cultural Heritage Society of Frederick County (the AARCH Society) to significantly improve the park. The City of Frederick has committed to fund the refurbishment of the historic fountain as well as crosswalk improvements. The Foundation is matching the City investment dollar for dollar by funding necessary design/construction documents as well as a portion of the capital costs of implementing the park space redesign. The AARCH Society and the Partnership are working together with the support of the other partners and have hired an experienced professional artist, Rodney Carroll, to create and install a freestanding contemporary sculpture in the park. The new artwork will provide an opportunity to recognize our shared humanity, honor the highest within us and call us all to the work of creating a more sustainable community.
Park Implementation Timeline
Currently, the construction documents are being finalized. The artwork has approval from the City Public Art Commission, Parks & Recreation Commission and the Historic Preservation Commission. The project is anticipated to be bid by the City of Frederick in the fall of 2024 and construction is anticipated to begin in the spring of 2025.