‘Getting the most out of the site.’ New west Charlotte park recalls bygone Ritz Theater
For years, the site of the former Ritz Theater in Washington Heights sat vacant.
The movie theater, which was built on the site exclusively for the Black community, closed in the 1970s and was torn down about 20 years later.
Now, fresh life is being breathed into the 0.17-acre vacant grass spot thanks to years of community involvement and a $200,000 grant from Lowe’s.
A grand opening Saturday will officially mark the beginning of The Ritz at Washington Heights, a pocket park the west Charlotte community helped to envision. It will transform the small patch of land with a place a performance stage, local art, play equipment, free WiFi and some additional seating.
“We’re getting the most out of the site that we can,” said Erin Chantry, a senior urban designer and planning coordinator with the city of Charlotte’s Urban Design Center. Chantry applied for the Lowe’s grant with Mattie Marshall, president of Historic Washington Heights Neighborhood Association.
A place to create
Vintage photos of the Ritz Theater, which was built sometime in the 1960s or ‘70s, show a large indoor space with several rows of seating.
From stories she’s heard, Marshall described the theater as a fun and exciting place to be, and many Washington Heights residents hold fond memories of going there.
After it was torn down, the community would hold events on that patch of city-owned land like National Night Out, Marshall said.
But they wanted something more permanent. Something that would pay homage to the theater while not exactly rebuilding what once stood there.
The need for such a gathering space became even more clear during the coronavirus pandemic, Marshall said. People needed a place to safely gather, talk, catch up and hold outdoor events.
A theater like the Ritz was a hub of culture and identity for a community. Marshall and others hope the park can recreate that sentiment while recognizing the history.
The goal becomes all the more important in an area that’s growing quickly and seeing an influx of new residents in surrounding neighborhoods.
The park will offer a creative space to hold community events like dance or art classes and, with the free internet, help address educational disparities.
“We can create whatever we dream about,” Marshall said.
The project was selected from more than 2,200 entries to the Lowe’s 100 Hometowns grant. The Mooresville-based home improvement chain announced in March it would give millions of dollars to 100 community projects throughout the U.S. to celebrate the company’s 100th anniversary.
Community involvement
People want more green spaces that help bring a healthy environment, said Charles Thomas the Charlotte program director of the Knight Foundation, which has invested many dollars into the West End.
The park is an example of the city listening to what the residents wanted most in the growth happening around them, Thomas said.
The foundation aims to enable residents to be a part of the conversation happening around development as opposed to waiting for a large developer to come in and hoping they consider what the community wants.
“We need to continue as a city to think about policies that really augment this,” Thomas said.
Saturday grand opening
A ribbon cutting ceremony will start at 10 a.m. at 1201 Beatties Ford Road. City officials including Councilman Malcolm Graham and planning director Taiwo Jaiyeoba will be holding a news conference there as well.
A grand opening celebration will be held from 3 to 6 p.m. with music and food. There also will be a screening of the movie “Soul.”
This story was originally published November 5, 2021 at 3:34 PM.
