First Ward Park is a fairly new 4-acre park located between East 7th, 9th and Brevard Streets, just east of the light rail tracks in First Ward District of Uptown Charlotte, North Carolina. Charlotte City officials have opted to call their Downtown area as Uptown because Up has a more positive connotation than Down. The four-acre park, which opened in December 2015, used to be nine blocks of parking lots so this park is a huge improvement! Now the First Ward Park is intended to be the centerpiece of a new urban village, surrounded by offices, shops, residences and hotels.
First ward park has a large lawn, an interactive fountain, a kids jungle gym contraption, a kids splash pad area, animal sculptures you can sit on, and 5 exercise machines, all with the backdrop of the city's skyline. At this park, you will typically find a mix of professionals, UNC Charlotte students who study at the university's adjacent Center City campus, and kids playing after a trip to nearby ImaginOn.
Kids can suit up for fun in the fountains that shoot up from the splash pad, and parents can enjoy the action sunning on a blanket while taking in the uptown skyline. A Sounds of Summer concert series features free live music, food trucks and craft beer on select Fridays May through August. Roots rock, Americana and bluegrass take center stage at this unique concert series. Sadly, no new events have been announced for the fall and winter months so the park currently as lively as it typically is on weekends.
When food trucks are not here for select weekend events, visitors can grab lunch across the street at the Seventh Street Public Market, which is full of local small businesses selling everything from coffee to sushi, pizza to cupcakes.
First ward park is missing a dog run area, tennis courts, basketball courts, ping pong tables, chess tables, food vendors, a stage, and a view of any body of water as typical parks usually have in Florida but this park does offer a nice view of the Charlotte Uptown Skyline and is a big improvement upon a parking lot. The large lawn is ideal for concerts or events but when there aren't any, there is not a whole lot to do at this park except for using the exercise equipment. Hopefully concerts and food vendors will return soon to bring more life back to this park. read more