Perry Lakes Park

[low_delta]

When my cousin was showing me around town, we stopped at the chamber of commerce (in a restored train depot), and they guy there ran down a list of all the famous and historic things in Marion. One of the things he mentioned was the tallest burn tower in the US. Later, I asked my cousin what that was. He said it was a bird tower, for birdwatching. He thought that would be a nice place to go, and since he'd donated money for its construction a couple of years ago, and had never seen it, we went.

There was a short walk down the road from the parking lot, and then a bridge.


Then another walk on a boardwalk overlooking the lake/swamp. Mark said there are gators in it.


The tower is one hundred feet tall. It was originally a fire tower. Students at Auburn College took it apart, had it regalvanized, then rebuilt it and put in new steps and the observation deck. The top is a little bit above the forest canopy.





For more information, see: http://www.perrylakes.org/

And also:

THE PAVILION MARKS the first step in the Rural Studio’s reclamation of a 600-acre park, the only public outdoor recreation area in Alabama’s poorest county, Perry. Located about twenty-five miles northeast of Newbern, Perry Lakes Park was created by the Depression-era Works Progress Administration. A drowning in the lake, along with the general neglect that may have allowed it, led to its closing in the 1970s; the dedication of a probate judge jump-started its reopening in 2002. For twelve years Judge Donald Cook sought grants to refurbish the park, and in 2001 he obtained $90,000 from the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs. Cook, a white judge, formed a board of directors that included Edward Daniel, the black mayor of Marion, the county seat. “It was great to watch small-town politics and see how black and white people are getting along,” says Jennifer Bonner, one of three team members who designed and built the pavilion. (link)

Here's a picture of the pavilion in the park's picnic area.

Comments

[raven-nest.livejournal.com]

Oh MY!!! Gorgeous photos!

Rural Studio

[likethebeer.livejournal.com]

"Rural Studio" suddenly went through my head while looking at these photographs (particularly the bridge at the top of this post), and your previous posts.

[pondhopper.livejournal.com]

That's quite a tall tower...great view!
They have very imaginative structures architecturally speaking in that park.

imaginative structures

[likethebeer.livejournal.com]

That seems to be a result of those from "The Rural Studio". The Rural Studio was the result (originally) of an architecture program begun at Auburn University by MacArthur Genius Grant recipient, Sam Mockbee. The purpose of the Rural Studio, as I understand it, is to take students into underprivileged areas in the south and have them design beautiful, inexpensive structures, for the inhabitants often with recycled materials.