Olmsted Parks Conservancy in Louisville, KY, has had a lot to celebrate recently. In addition to their Olmsted 200 festivities, the organization has undertaken its first-ever expansion of the park system. A generous donation led to the new-to-the-park track of land becoming Beargrass Preserve at Cherokee Park (Job No. 01263). (Read more about the donation here.) Olmsted Parks Conservancy recently closed its solicitation for proposals to provide professional services for landscape architecture, civil engineering, architecture, management and maintenance planning, and natural resource management.
Meanwhile, the OPC has continued to improve its parks, with two new recreational spaces opening to the public— the dedication of the Cooper Family Tennis Courts and the introduction of pickleball to Tyler Park (Job No. 01262).
The tennis courts are being named in honor of Bill and Massie Cooper, who raised six sons across the street from the Tyler Park tennis courts. The boys’ childhood was spent on these courts, learning the sport and furiously competing against one another. The family was named the Kentucky Tennis Family in 1965, with many of their sons going on to be inducted into the Kentucky Tennis Hall of Fame in their own right.
Tennis runs in their blood, and Tyler Park is the heart. How fitting that two tennis courts are now a joyous acknowledgment of the Coopers’ positive impact on the sport of tennis throughout Louisville and beyond.
Neighbors and guests will also be able to play on two new pickleball courts and a half-court basketball court. This project is possible because of OPC’s partners, such as Louisville Parks and Recreation, Council Member Cassie Chambers Armstrong, generous donors, Tyler Park Neighborhood Association, Mayor Greg Fischer, and the City of Louisville. Over a hundred neighbors and supporters attended the ribbon-cutting ceremony on September 3, 2022.
Jessica Holman is the Director of Marketing & Corporate Support for Olmsted Parks Conservancy. Jesse Hendrix is the Development Manager for Olmsted Parks Conservancy.
