by Richard Prior
Staff Writer
Across from the entrance to Alltel Stadium, over the walls that can’t contain the roars of approval and squeals of anguish, is a two-acre of oasis of peace.
“What we’ve done is tried to take what was once just the wall and turn it into a true memorial,” said Stephen Stewart. “All it was was the wall.
“Now we’ve tried to create a space where you can reflect, contemplate and honor the sacrifices that these people in Duval County gave for their country.”
Stewart is vice president and senior landscape architect for BHR, a Jacksonville design firm that’s been in business for better than 35 years. The company has separate divisions that focus on five markets: transportation, commercial, industrial and institutional; community and urban development; recreation, resorts and entertainment; and public infrastructure.
The “absolute black” granite wall at Memorial Park used to be in front of the old Coliseum, which was imploded last summer. Etched into the wall are the names of all the Duval residents who have died in the nation’s wars.
All that was salvaged from the Coliseum were the wall, the eternal flame and portions of the old sidewalk.
“In the past 10 years, BHR has designed everything related to Alltel Stadium, this park, the baseball park and the arena,” said Stewart. “This is all part of the master plan.
“Everything you can see here we’ve had our hands in.”
As a multi-discipline company, BHR bids on projects “that appeal to us,” he added. “This was part of our contract. It was added in as part of our contract for the ballpark and the Arena. We did all the landscape architecture, and planning and engineering for those facilities. As part of that, we added this park in.”
BHR’s other current projects include making infrastructure improvements at Cecil Commerce Center, the old Navy base. As program manager for the project, the company is responsible for overseeing all that work.
The firm is working on several projects for the Florida Department of Transportation. Being finished up now is the new I-95 interchange at St. Augustine.
Stewart estimated that the company has worked on 15 parks throughout the city.
All that’s left of the Coliseum site is dirt and ground-up stone. Phase II of the demolition/construction project, which is now out for bid, calls for a 500-space parking lot on that site.
It is supposed to be completed this fall, in plenty of time for the Super Bowl.
“Down the center will be a pedestrian way that ties Alltel Stadium to the ballpark,” said Stewart. “This will continue straight through and will be landscaped.
“So we’ll have this pedestrian way that eventually connects the arena, the Baseball Grounds, Veterans Wall Park and Alltel Stadium.”
More than 12,000 square feet of specialty bricks and red granite pavers were used at Memorial Park, which can accommodate about 800 people for official ceremonies. Surrounding the park are magnolias, elms, live oaks and flowering crepe myrtle. More than 100 trees were planted, along with 15 live oaks relocated from the Coliseum site.
A berm to accommodate visitors’ seating helped create “a sort of outdoor room” and dulls surrounding noises in the bargain.
“This is not your typical land development,” Stewart said. “This is one of our specialties. We specialize in parks, recreation, resorts. We do work at Amelia Island, and we did most of the work at World Golf Village.
“It is a niche speciality of BHR to do these higher-end projects.”
The park’s formal dedication was held on Memorial Day, practically on the eve of the 60th anniversary of D-Day.
“It was a great time to hold the dedication,” Stewart said.
Leading out from the granite wall are black beams that separate the wars from each other. With all its casualties, World War II has the wider space.
The beams lead to black pedestals, each with a quote from an important person of the period.
“You can see the sacrifice in the paving pattern,” said Stewart. “That’s sort of the design philosophy. You’re sitting here and looking at the names. That’s what the memorial’s all about. The names.”