Plans Developing For Memorial Stormwater Park At Temple Beth El Site

Thursday, March 21st, 2024

On Monday night, the Dalton Mayor and Council accepted the donation of the Temple Beth-El synagogue to the City of Dalton. The donation comes after months of work between City leaders and the former congregants of the temple to develop a plan to build a new stormwater management structure at the site along with a park that will pay homage to the contributions of Jewish families to Dalton's history. Conceptual plans for the park retain and incorporate parts of the synagogue that will be left in place after the rest of the structure is removed. The plans feature a pond that will be surrounded by markers telling the story of the synagogue's history at the site and also the history of Jewish families who helped to build Dalton. 

"The property (had) been held by the trustees of Temple Beth-El for several decades and there (were) a lot of legal steps... to be taken to get all of the remaining members of the congregation to sign off," City Administrator Andrew Parker said. "The general idea (was) that they are going to donate the land in order for the City to construct what we’ll call a 'stormwater improvements memorial park' which is really the first of its kind that we’ve found."

Caption: A conceptual drawing shows the proposed layout of the new memorial park to be built at the Temple Beth El site

The project is one of the stormwater management projects recommended by the Arcadis engineering firm in their 21st Century Stormwater Plan for Dalton. The pond feature would help alleviate flooding concerns to the south of the temple site along Valley Drive from stormwater flows coming through the Murray Hill neighborhood. The memorial aspect of the park was developed in cooperation with the trustees of the temple and would illustrate part of Dalton's history that is not well known.  

"I learned a lot throughout the planning process, I had no idea that many of the great things in our community were really put together by those of the Jewish faith who moved to Dalton," Parker said. "(This park) would recognize in memorial format all of the Jewish families that moved to Dalton in the carpet boom in the early 1900s, not just from that standpoint but also the business people who moved here to support all of the various textile operations. There were pharmacists, retailers, and that's a story that's not been told comprehensively in Dalton." 

The synagogue building has not been used for worship for several years, and while the structure has been maintained by the trustees it would have needed work before it could again be used as an assembly space. 

"I think the trustees and the City believe that it will be a better utilization of that property because, in terms of the park element it is central to downtown and central to the Murray Hill Historic District and its within walking distance for families to enjoy. The trustees wanted this to be something that families could enjoy, and use this space for reflection while preserving this meaningful property," Parker said. "It also sits perfectly in the drainage basin where it needs to sit to provide the relief."

Caption: An artist's rendering shows what the park might look like when it is completed

The designs of the park are still in the conceptual drawing stage, but the team from Arcadis has an impressive record of creating parks and spaces with memorial or historic themes. The firm designed the Wreath of Honor memorial park in Chattanooga honoring the five fallen soldiers who were killed in the 2015 terrorist attack on the National Guard recruiting center. The firm is also working with the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians on projects around Cherokee, North Carolina and also the Pat Summitt memorial plaza at the University of Tennessee. 

"They’ve got a unit that is part of Arcadis that focuses on landscape architecture and in particular they’ve got a lot of experience with these types of parks that pay homage to different groups or events," Parker said. "That same talent is being brought to this particular project and they have a proven track record of doing these projects very tactfully in a way that the community would enjoy."