New Pillars Park opens for teens and older
By Randy Bell
Clinton’s newest park is a small one, but it fills a big gap on the eastern side of Olde Towne – and Pillars Park is not designed for little kids.
“Our focus when we started planning this park was to cater to teenagers, young adults and [older] adults,” says Parks and Recreation Director Courtney Nunn. “We felt like they needed a place to go to just relax, that wasn’t a playground. And so, we wanted an area that [ages] 13 and over could come and enjoy and just hang out with their friends.”
The park is located on East Leake Street under the Clinton Parkway’s Rosemary Aultman Bridge, between Lions Club Park and the Philip R. Fisher Olde Towne Depot. Nunn says the City has taken what had been an eyesore and turned it into something special.
“We just wanted to do something fun in this area. You know, we’ve got a lot of good things happening here in Olde Towne in Clinton, and we just wanted something to add to it.” Main Street Clinton was heavily involved in helping to make the park a reality.
“We had lots of ideas on the table and finally decided that this would be a great intermediate space between the Depot and the children’s park,” says Main Street Director Tara Lytal, who worked to secure a $125,000 grant to pay for lighting and fixtures at the park, including large swings. There’s also a ping pong table and a putting green.
“We hope to add a few more things going forward, a little more art-related installations, [working] with some other partners,” said Lytal.
During his time as mayor, Fisher pushed for building something “under the bridge,” but he’s glad that others had a clearer vision of what the dark, empty space could become.
“I could never really get it,” Fisher admits. “And so, it turned out so much better than I ever thought it would. It’s going to be just a great place to come and, you know, chill out.” He says filling the gap will help Leake Street to become more of an event venue. “This could be a really fun area, so I’m looking forward to that in the future.”
Pillars Park was dedicated in memory of former Ward 3 Alderman Bill Barnett and his wife Bonnie, a longtime teacher in the Clinton Public Schools. One of Barnett’s legacies was helping to guide the relocation of Clinton’s original Lions Club Park to the spot where it now sits just west of Pillars Park.
“Lions Club Park was one of the things he was most proud of,” says Bill and Bonnie’s son, Brian Barnett of Memphis, who attended the dedication ceremony December 9.
According to a resolution that was read during the ceremony, Barnett, upon the death of his wife, asked that memorials be made in her memory to help construct the new park, and additional memorials for the project followed when he died.
“I’m very pleased with the way [Pillars Park] turned out,” Brian Barnett says. “I know they would be proud.”
As for why is it being called Pillars Park…there are actually two meanings. The name is partly a nod to Clinton’s long association with caterpillars – from the oversized metal fixture at Lions Club Park to the Caterpillar Parade, the annual spring highlight featuring Calliope, a 50-foot-long caterpillar. The name is also a reference to the pillars which hold up the bridge above the new park.
