On Wednesday, Mayor Brown officially announced that the Martin Luther King Jr. Park Casino is in its final stages of repair. The plan is to reopen the public park building as a place for residents to congregate. This is big news for residents of and visitors to MLK Park, because until this point, there has not been a proper place for larger functions, meetings, or events within the park, although the Buffalo Science Museum has been there for the community. Once open, MLK Park will have a public building amenity akin to The Marcy Casino at Delaware Park.
The $2.6M upgrade comes at a time when other MLK Park investments have been made, in order to upgrade Olmsted’s “Parade” to a point where it is considered another jewel in the park system. According to Brown, “This announcement is part of Public Works Week, where we are recognizing the department for maintaining and growing our great City.”
BRO recently ran a couple of posts featuring MLK Park in relation to Olmsted Park Conservancy’s Plan for the 21st Century Capital Projects. The end goal is to resurrect the fountains at the park, along with the lily pool. These park features have long since been sacrificed – today a set of two basketball courts sits atop a fountain, and the site of the lily pond is currently where a non-functioning swimming pool resides.
The upgrade to the casino, and the completion of the Humboldt Basin splash pad/skating rink are two significant steps towards restoring the faith and integrity of this mighty Olmsted Park that is finally benefitting from the city’s revival.
Photos: Mayor Brown – Social Media