The Central Broward Regional Park ArtPark is located within the County's 110-acre regional park, and features the Lauderhill Performing Arts Center - built together with a new County library building.
Address:
3800 NW 11th Place, Lauderhill, FL 33311
This was the first County regional park to be acquired and developed through the Broward County Commission's 2000 Safe Parks and Land Preservation Bond Program. The newest feature is the Public Art and Design project that was just completed. Pennsylvania-born Artist Alice Aycock was commissioned in 2004 to design a water feature at the State Road 7/U.S. 441 entrance to the park. The project, Whirls and Swirls and a Vortex on Water, was completed in summer 2008 through the Broward County Public Art and Design program, which allocates two percent of the total new construction budget for Broward County government facilities for commissioned artists to provide design expertise and to create artworks within a broad range of capital improvement projects.
The park is open with no gate admission Monday through Friday (except holidays). Gate admission ($1.50 per person, children age five and under free)
History
(originally published by Sunny.org, April 1, 2009)
In the distance, the clock tower chimes out a late afternoon welcome to the
Central Broward Regional Park. Slowly, the rust-colored buildings and green and gold umbrellas rise into view like a mirage. Greater Fort Lauderdale's newest sports and recreational hub seems to have sprung up overnight, similarly, in the city of Lauderhill just west of downtown Fort Lauderdale.
The park is located in the nexus of a vibrant mixture of cultures from the African Diaspora, but it is also positioned at a crossroads, historically. It sits near the corner of U.S. Highway 441 (State Road 7), which was once considered the end of urban life in the county, and Sunrise Boulevard, which was once considered the dividing line between Black and White neighborhoods. With westward growth, the area was bypassed over time.
Today, however, multicultural family reunions, corporate and conference groups, and individual visitors can enjoy a range of recreational experiences there that are unmatched elsewhere in South Florida, from team-building to intergenerational play.
Children have two playgrounds and an aquatic center that is specially-equipped with a swimming pool and slides, a 30 ft. high rockscape waterfall, and lifeguards on duty, as well as an instruction area. Athletic adults can play tennis, basketball, netball, and cricket or watch cricket and Australian rules football tournaments with 5,000-15,000 people in the first stadium of its type in North America that is capable of hosting major international sports championships.
Nature lovers can walk trails through wildlife areas where burrowing owls nest undisturbed, paddle boats along the lake, or just spend quite time in seating areas and overlooks.
The Regional Park is also poised to become an anchor for an exciting new entertainment district with international impact and media development potential that promises to further revitalize the area.
Plans are already underway for the surrounding grounds to include a cultural center and arts park; a library; the Carishoca Town Center, a multicultural retail center with restaurants, nightclubs, art museums and hotels celebrating Caribbean and African cultures; and the International Gospel Complex for Preservation and Education, which will showcase and preserve the history of gospel music and is it is expected to draw over 100,000 people annually.
Paralleling this cultural activity is the increased promotion of Greater Fort Lauderdale as a film, music, and television production center with the Lauderhill entertainment district playing a key role.
In the midst of it all, the new Central Regional Park continues to sit at the crossroads - of the future, now.
