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Charlotte Forten Memorial Project

Charlotte Forten Park: Commemorating a Legacy

timeline

  Side View

Charlotte Forten Park Origin and Dedication
 

Origin

Prior to 2017, 289 Derby Street was a vacant lot on the South River.

Vacant Lot


Community Design Process

In 2017, the City of Salem launched a reimagining of the vacant lot at 289 Derby Street. Over the course of five evening events in May and June, 2017, a placemaking and community design program unfolded in order to collectively reimagine and design a schematic plan for the space. These family-friendly community events included art-making, dance, collaborative activities, and interactive presentations with participation from local businesses, developers, City departments, and nonprofit organizations.

By engaging with residents over these five events, the City distilled priorities for how a new park could be constructed and which elements resonated strongly with community members. The feedback from these conversations and activities indicated a strong desire for a park with rotating outdoor art, space for musical performances, a convenient connection to the water, and calming green space.

With help from CBA Landscape Architects, Studioful Design, and Creative Collective, the City got to work!


Naming and Dedication
In 2019, the City completed the development of Charlotte Forten Park at 289 Derby Street, designed by landscape architects Clara Batchelor and Megan Tomkins of CBA Landscape Architects (CBA) grounded in the community-based process led by local architect Claudia Paraschiv of Studioful Design. In July of that year, Mayor Kim Driscoll asked residents to weigh in on the park’s dedication by voting on a slate of proposed names: 289 Derby, Charlotte Forten Park, Naumkeag Park, Nathaniel Bowditch Park, and South River Park. After three weeks of voting, the preferred choice was Charlotte Forten <link to CF bio page>: abolitionist, women’s right’s activist, and Salem State University’s first African-American graduate. The park was officially dedicated in her honor on September 20, 2019.

The roughly 25,000 square foot park was constructed with state grant funds and includes a plaza for programs and performances, a harbor-walk around the South River, swing seating facing the water, built-in percussion features, and green space. The park allows visitors to connect to Downtown Salem, the Point neighborhood, and Salem’s historic waterfront. This public space aims to pay tribute to Forten’s legacy and celebrate all that she achieved for generations to come.

dedication flyer

Project Partners
Designer: CBA Landscape Architects
Contractor: Sumco Eco Contracting
Construction of the park was possible thanks to a grant from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts’ Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs. 

Collective Creative Imaginings for Charlotte Forten Park

Following the park’s dedication, the City applied for and received a grant from the New England Foundation for the Art’s Collective Imagination for Spatial Justice in 2020. This grant allowed City staff to pay three artists, designers, and curators—Mel Isidor, Keshia DeLeon, and Claudia Paraschiv—to develop and implement a creative community engagement strategy that helped inform what a modern memorial to Forten could look like.

Performance  Craft project  interaction

The team deployed a bilingual community survey, postcard campaign, and pop-up events located in the park. In addition to generating vital community networks, these engagement activities surfaced and clarified community preferences for the future of the park and memorial. The goal was to better understand how Salem residents want to commemorate and celebrate the legacy of Charlotte Forten.

In May and June of 2021, the engagement team collected 300+ responses from community members on how to best memorialize Charlotte Forten in the park. Check out some takeaways from the survey here:

Feed back survey

Project Partners
Mel Isidor
Claudia Paraschiv
Keshia DeLeon
Salem State University
This project was funded by a Collective Imagination for Spatial Justice Grant via the New England Foundation for the Arts. This grant supports teams of artists, creatives, culture bearers, cultural organizers, and/or community-based collaborators to do the important work of imagining public art that fosters and contributes to more just futures for our public spaces and public culture.

Commissioning a Memorial

As a result of the community’s feedback, the City is moving forward with the process of commissioning public artwork to be installed in the park as a site of commemoration and celebration of Charlotte Forten. This modern memorial will be a permanent piece of public art intended to provide the community with a sense of belonging and connectedness to the space while also sharing information about Forten’s life and her connection to Salem.

Through the art commissioning process and ongoing community engagement, the City aims to continue developing an accessible and engaging public space on Derby Street that welcomes our diverse communities.

The semi-finalists consist of four artist imaginings for the bronze sculpture with presentations and Q&A available here. 

For more information about the memorial commissioning process will be coming soon! 

To receive regular updates on this project please signup for our email list here.

To get involved as a community member and/or an artist please reach out to us directly here.

Project Partners
Metropolitan Area Planning Council
City of Salem

Charlotte Forten Park is located at 289 Derby St. in Salem, MA, and is connected to Downtown Salem, the Point neighborhood, and Salem’s historic waterfront. The site features a plaza for programs and performances, 'singing swings' seating facing the water, playful built-in percussion features, green space, adjacent shops and attractions, as well as access to the South River harbor-walk and a small floating dock for personal watercraft.

Forten Park Map
View on Google Maps →

Book Charlotte Forten Park for your special event!

Charlotte Forten Park, located at 289 Derby Street, is available to the public to reserve for public event and private functions by submitting a permit application online. The park is situated on the South River harborwalk and is within walking distance of all of downtown Salem’s attractions.

The application must be submitted a minimum of 60 days before the requested date.

To hold your event at Charlotte Forten Park please review our calendar of events here to see if your date is available. Any date without an even already booked is available for activation. Once you identify a date, please submit your online Plaza Use Permit Application by clicking here. Please note, some fees do apply. 

The following are the general guidelines and policies for hosting your event at Charlotte Forten Park:

The fee schedule for activating this public resource is as follows: 
 
  • Plaza Use Permit Application Fee is $35 For-profit & $25 Non-profit entities outside of Salem; $15 for Salem Based Entities
  • $25 Electrical Permit, if access to electricity is needed
  • $100 One-Day Entertainment Licenses, if amplified sound is used
  • $100 One-Day Liquor Licenses, if alcohol is being served
  • Temporary Food Service Application is $35 For-profit & $25 Non-profit entities outside of Salem; No Fee for Salem-based Entities, each food service entity must secure their own permit. Contact 
  • $200 Vending License Fee required per vendor per day, if vending or selling as part of a larger event.  Individual vending is not allowed.
    Contact the License Commission with questions and to submit your vending requests at mpagliaro@salem.com

Reminder: All plaza use applications and any associated applications for other approvals from City Departments, must be submitted at minimum of 60 days in advance of the event. Applications submitted closer than 60 days to the event may not have enough time to be reviewed and approved by the required City Departments and Commissions and will thus be denied.