Council Gets Name Suggestion For New Alexandria Park

ALEXANDRIA, VA—The Naming Committee has recommended to Alexandria City Council that the new King Street park and adjacent Waterfront Park be combined under the name Waterfront Park.

The suggestion of Waterfront Park as the name comes after a months-long battle to keep a placeholder name. The Waterfront Plan adopted by City Council in 2012 used Fitzgerald Square as a placeholder name. However, officials later said the park would have to go through a formal naming process.

The name refers to Col. John Fitzgerald, an Irish immigrant, Alexandria mayor, American Revolution war hero, and founder of the first Catholic church in Virginia. Irish-American groups pushed for the name to be restored. But others have criticized the name because Fitzgerald was a slave owner, Alexandria Times reported. A researcher with Slavery Inventory Database, LLC sent a report to City Council documenting Fitzgerald's slaveowning history.

A memo to City Council explaining the name recommendation reads, "The members recognized that many in the community supported naming the park after Col. Fitzgerald but spoke to the difficulty of reconciling his extensive contributions to America and Alexandria with his ownership of enslaved persons. The members also recognized that most survey respondents preferred a variety of other names for the new park."

The name recommendation followed numerous committee meetings results of a public survey open from Oct. 9-Nov. 16. The survey asked residents for a name suggestion and whether they wanted the park to be joined with the adjacent Waterfront Park. According to the city, variations of Fitzgerald received 47 percent of votes and Waterfront received 10 percent.

Other names receiving notable amounts of votes were Kerry Donley, King Street, Old Town, Parky McParkface and Pat Troy.

The survey also found 66 percent of respondents want a single park encompassing the current Waterfront Park and new King Street park. 34 percent prefer separate parks.

The proposal is on the council's legislative agenda on Dec. 11 and will be considered after a public hearing on Dec. 15. Residents may submit public comments online or in-person at the Dec. 15 meeting.

Construction is underway for the new park, at the site of the original King Street park along with the former Old Dominion Boat Club building and parking lot. The interim park will feature a plaza, waterfront promenade, shade structures, and a space that can be converted for different seasonal uses. Years later, the park will close to add additional amenities and flood mitigation infrastructure for the permanent park.

Image via City of Alexandria