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ALBERTA O. JONES PARK

744 S 23rd Street Louisville, KY

ALBERTA O. JONES PARK AMENITIES

Thanks to the dedication of West End residents, the Parks Alliance of Louisville, and many community partners, the vacant land along Maple Street between Dr. W.J. Hodge and S. 25th Streets is undergoing a dramatic transformation into a vibrant public park. It is named after pioneering attorney and civil rights champion Alberta Odell Jones whose first law office was located just blocks from the park site.

The first phase of construction—on five of the site’s roughly 20 acres—began in March 2023 and celebrates the community's unique culture and heritage. Phase One includes all of the community’s most-requested features:

🛝 Custom music-inspired nature playground designed by Earthscape

🎺 Performance pavilion featuring a giant photomosaic mural honoring Alberta O. Jones

🏋🏾 Walking paths and fitness stations

🌳 Multi-purpose great lawn for sports, events, markets, and more!

🧺 Picnic pavilion with grills for group gatherings & cookouts

👩🏽‍🏫 Outdoor classroom for people of all ages to learn and engage with nature

📶 Free 5G Wi-Fi

PHASE TWO

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Community input drove the design of the park’s remaining 15 acres. Each section has a distinct focus:

THE HILLS: This play area is designed for children aged five and under, providing their own space to learn and explore

THE LAWN: The largest section of the park, this area features tennis and pickleball courts, a multi-purpose field, and extensive pollinator meadows.

THE FIELDS: Encompassing an entire city block, this open greenspace is currently being utilized by the YMCA for youth sports and used for movie nights, festivals, and other events.

THE FARM: This working farm is managed by Blueprint 502’s Urban Conservation Corp (UCC), providing a place to train young adults in agricultural careers. It features raised beds and two high tunnels to grow food and native plants year-round. A pavilion provides a shady place for learning and connecting. Looping paths encircle a pollinator meadow and West Louisville’s first microforest provides a lush buffer along a new path connecting Dr. W.J. Hodge and S. 22nd Streets.

ODELL HOUSE: The area surrounding the Parks Alliance office will be transformed into a beautiful space to hold events.

In 2026, The Farm, The Fields, and Odell House will all be completed. Fundraising is underway to develop the remainder of the project.

If you are interested in investing in Alberta O. Jones Park and the future of the California Neighborhood, please contact our Director of Development, Amy Quiggins at amy@parksalliancelou.org.

Alberta Jones | Park Page

THE LIFE OF ALBERTA ODELL JONES

A trailblazer from West Louisville born in 1930, Alberta Odell Jones graduated from Central High School, attended Louisville Municipal College for Negroes (now Simmons University) where she graduated third in her class, and eventually graduated fourth in her class from Howard University School of Law. She was one of the first Black women to pass the Kentucky Bar exam and opened a practice in Louisville at 2018 West Broadway just blocks from the site of the new park.

Jones negotiated the first professional boxing contract for young boxer Cassius Clay who eventually changed his name to Muhammad Ali and became a three-time heavyweight boxing champion and global humanitarian. In 1965, she became the first woman appointed a city attorney in Jefferson County, working as a prosecutor in the Louisville Domestic Relations Court to convict perpetrators of domestic violence.

As a civil rights activist, she participated in the March on Washington, was a member of the NAACP, and worked with the Louisville Urban League. Jones formed the Independent Voters Association of Louisville, renting voting machines to teach Black Louisvillians how to vote, resulting in 6,000 new voters who replaced the mayor and other city officials.

Her life was tragically cut short in August 1965: she was murdered, and her case remains unsolved. For Flora Shanklin, naming the new park in honor of her big sister Alberta Jones brings tremendous joy. “Words cannot describe how happy and grateful I am. This is the greatest recognition she has ever received and it will be permanent and everlasting. She was such an extraordinary person and way ahead of her time.”

The park recognition is especially fitting because Jones was so focused on helping children. After her death, Shanklin found the following written in Jones’ diary: “When I die and cross the way, no greater epitaph will there be, for some small child to say, ‘Gee, she did a lot for me.’” This quote is etched into the steps of the park’s performance pavilion.

SITE HISTORY

From Catastrophe to Conservation

On August 4, 2009, Louisville experienced a historic weather event when more than seven inches of rain fell in just 75 minutes. While thousands of homes in the West End were flooded, Maple Street between Dr. W.J. Hodge and 26th Streets was devastated, with some residents needing rescue by boat. This low-lying area overlays a streambed that was encapsulated with a combined sewer in the early 1900s.

Following a presidential disaster declaration, flood mitigation funds became available to improve public health and safety. Louisville’s Metropolitan Sewer District (MSD) secured a $9.75 million FEMA grant to acquire and raze more than 100 properties in the Maple Street Flood Mitigation Area, allowing residents the opportunity to move out of harm’s way. MSD purchased 114 parcels through the voluntary FEMA grant program and Louisville’s Land Bank obtained additional vacant or abandoned properties in the area.

As a result, the site encompasses more than 20 acres over seven city blocks, most permanently conserved greenspace to prevent future residential flooding. But without essential improvements, the vacant land was unusable to the public.

AOJPics

Commuity Letter

Community-Led Change

In 2021, a group of residents from the California Neighborhood formed a Leadership Committee to guide the development of the Maple Street Greenspace Project. The group met regularly to shape the broad community outreach. In 2021, this included tabling at California Day, Victory Park Day, and two "pop-up" events at the location itself, all of which engaged several hundred people. Students at Phillis Wheatley Elementary School, campers at the Republic Bank Foundation YMCA, and families from St. Benedict Early Childhood Education Center all helped with playground design.

Through targeted outreach to the California neighborhood, in-person events, direct mail, and social media polls, hundreds of surveys have been collected to determine the design of the park—from prioritizing recreational amenities to choosing an overarching park theme. The final stage of community engagement wrapped on October 15, 2022, with a "Name Your Park" survey mailed to 2,200 households in the neighborhood with a postage-paid return envelope.

Through targeted outreach to the California neighborhood, in-person events, direct mail, and social media polls, hundreds of surveys were collected to determine the design of the park—from prioritizing recreational amenities to choosing an overarching park theme. The name of the park was also selected by the community.

In 2023, a Park Community Council was established to guide decisions about park programming. The group also worked with the Division of Population Health, Louisville Metro Department of Public Health, to complete a Health Impact Assessment (HIA). This formal process looked at ways the park can help build community health and wellbeing–drawing on the perspective of West End residents and documented best practices.

Conservation Efforts

COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT

Alberta Jones Photomosaic Mural

We invited all community members inspired by Jones’ commitment to social justice to submit pictures on our website or by social media using the hashtag #BecauseOfAlbertaJones.

Now, the mural is complete with photo submissions from community members and Louisville residents!

CONSERVATION EFFORTS

Pollinator Gardens

The pollinator gardens at Alberta O. Jones Park are filled with plants native to Kentucky. They were chosen specifically to thrive in the heat of downtown Louisville which can be as much as 10 degrees warmer than leafier neighborhoods.

See What’s Growing Here

Are you interested in making your own pollinator garden to attract birds, bees, and other insects? To find out how, visit this site from the Nature Conservancy.

Download the free iNaturalist mobile app to turn your phone’s camera into a great tool for identifying plants and animals.

Learn More

Chimney Swifts & Bird Conservation

The “flying cigar” silhouette of the Chimney Swift is a common sight all summer in the skies over eastern cities like Louisville. Lakes and rivers are especially good places to look for swifts.

During migration, thousands of swifts roost together in chimneys, funneling into them at dusk in spectacular tornado-like flocks.

Keep an ear out for their distinctive, high-pitched chattering calls you can hear here. You can help this little bird survive by building your own backyard nesting tower with plans from the North American Chimney Swift Nest Site Research Project.

OUR GENEROUS DONORS

The Power Of Collaboration

This project has been made possible by the residents of the California Neighborhood and the generosity of these organizations and individuals.

Brooke Brown Barzun Foundation
Owsley Brown III Philanthropic Foundation
Sociable Weaver Foundation

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Metro United Way

Lawrence LaValle Jones, Sr. Fund
Mark Jones
W.L. Lyons Brown Foundation
Herman H. Nettelroth Fund
Republic Bank
Strand Associates, Inc.

HDR

FourEvergreen Foundation
Heaven Hill, Inc.
Stock Yards Bank & Trust
Brightside Foundation
Lift A Life Novak Family Foundation, Inc.
Old National Bank Foundation
The Cralle Foundation, Inc.