Willis Winters Park pavilion. Photography by Renee Umsted.
The historic pavilion at Willis Winters Park is getting a $250,000 renovation.
Upgrades include replacing the current asphalt roof with a clay tile roof, which was how the pavilion was originally built, repairing the stucco and stripping the paint off the brick at the base of the columns.
Barbara Cohen, the president of Friends of Willis Winters Park, said a couple more picnic tables, based on the ones at White Rock Lake that were designed by the Civilian Conservation Corps, will also be added.
“Now, with the way people are looking at the future and maintaining history for future generations, it’s really important to restore these historic buildings back to their original,” Cohen said.
Funding for the renovation project is coming from the 2017 bond.
The pavilion was built in 1924 and is tied with the Cole Park pavilion for the oldest pavilion in a Dallas park. It was damaged by a fire in 1998 and underwent a renovation in 2000.
Original drawings for the historic pavilion at Willis Winters Park. Photo courtesy of Dallas Park and Recreation.
“We wanted to spend all our money to just assure that the structure is secure and well-preserved,” Cohen said. “We’re very excited.”
Additional supports will need to be added to the roof to hold up the weight of the clay tiles.
The live oak trees around the pavilion, planted sometime in the 1940s, will be fenced off while the construction is happening. Crews will also add several layers of mulch to the work areas.
Willis Winters Park, formerly called Randall Park, celebrated its centennial last year, along with the ribbon-cutting on a renovated soccer field, which will open after the grass is fully established. The park is surrounded by Juliette Fowler Communities, residential neighborhoods, the Santa Fe Trail and Woodrow Wilson High School.
Cohen said the project is scheduled to start before summer and should be completed by the end of the year.
“Our little park is getting more love,” Cohen said.
