Situated between two houses in the 1800 block of the Belknap neighborhood’s Overlook Terrace, the entrance to Warheim Park is itself overlookable — just a small sign, a triangular rock and the beginning of a landscaped path. Follow the path downhill, though, past some steel artwork and rock landscaping, and you emerge in a peaceful space populated with plantings, trees, a gazebo and a small playground.
Thirty years ago the then-enclosed land parcel was a dense thicket of invasive trees and bushes formed by the backyard boundaries of houses on Overlook, Yale Drive and Napolean Boulevard. That’s when neighborhood resident Hal Warheim, who had always dreamed about turning the "dangerous, impenetrable wasteland" into a usable space, began buying various pieces of the oddly shaped, multi-owned property. When the former attorney and Presbyterian Theological Seminary professor retired in 1994, he says he "got out my chain saw and woodchipper" and singlehandedly cleared the land over four years. The Belknap Neighborhood Association took note and soon measures to create a community-owned park, overseen by a newly formed Warheim Park Association, were under way. "From the beginning," Warheim says, "my intention was always for it to be used as a public space."
Designed by local landscape architect Michael L. Smiley of Environs Inc., the park had its groundbreaking in August 2003 and was dedicated a little over a year later. While nominally listed as a Metro Park, the Warheim Park Association and various volunteers are responsible for its upkeep. "I could never have done it without neighborhood support," says Warheim. The pretty spot has become a haven for dog-walkers and children looking for a swing set, and even those who just want to sit in solitude and enjoy the surroundings. A meditation garden will be completed in October.
You can learn more about the project by visiting www.warheimpark.com.
