Department: Parks and Recreation
Park Views: Murphy-Oakley Community Center
Named for a philanthropic family who helped develop the Oakley neighborhood, Murphy-Oakley Community Center is a product of Asheville’s resiliency following years of stagnation brought on by bank failures in 1930 and the city’s resulting public debt. When previously unincorporated areas became part of the city in 1960, Asheville Parks & Recreation (APR) built new community centers, parks, and recreation programs to serve the new residents including the center in Oakley.
Park Views: Martin Luther King Junior Park
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APR Innovators: Chris Leamon
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Grove Street Community Center closed for up to four weeks for HVAC system replacement
UPDATE 1/8/2024: Grove Street Community Center’s HVAC replacement is complete and all scheduled programs will resume at the community center beginning on January 10, 2024. Please contact the center at 828-350-2062 with any additional questions.
City of Asheville offices close Nov. 23 & 24 in observance of the Thanksgiving holiday
City offices to close Thursday, November 23 and Friday, November 24 in observance of the Thanksgiving holiday. This article contains information about holiday service schdeules.
Carrier Park Playground
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Asheville community centers host Green Book exhibit highlighting Black life during Jim Crow era
In November, three Asheville Parks & Recreation (APR) community centers host “Navigating Jim Crow: The Green Book and Oasis Spaces in North Carolina,” a traveling exhibit about sites important to, and personal memories about, African American travel using The Negro Motorist Green Book during the Jim Crow era of legal segregation. Published from 1936 to 1966, the book was used as both a travel guide and a tool of resistance to confront the realities of racial discrimination in the United States and beyond. The self-guided exhibit is free and open to the public at select APR community centers.