Summerville Walking the Ville Azalea Park
About Azalea Park
History
One of the favorite locations in Summerville is Azalea Park, featuring both natural and man-made beauty.
The park’s centerpiece is 16 acres purchased and donated to the town in the 1920s by a civic group that became the Flowertown Garden Club.When the Great Depression began in the 1929, Mayor Grange Cuthbert envisioned the park as an azalea-filled site that would draw visitors and support the local economy.Cuthbert approached local nurseryman George Segelken, propagator of the “Pride of Summerville” and “Pride of Mobile” azaleas. Segelken agreed to donate azaleas to the new park with the understanding that if anyone wanted to purchase the plants he would dig them up.
In the succeeding decades, the park would have many major cleanups, such as after hurricanes and ice storms. Local resident Worth Waring remembers after one such storm, when Boy Scouts were enlisted to plant donated pine tree seedlings. And, after Hurricane Hugo, 25 years ago, the cleanup was marked with the installation of a visual display near the Cuthbert Community Center.
During the last 15 years, the natural beauty of the downtown park has been complemented by the installation of several bronze sculptures, through Sculpture in the South.
Those sculptures, the azaleas and turtle-filled ponds, picnic benches and gazebo mean there is always something to delight at Azalea Park.
Listen to the Audio
Sculptures in Azalea Park
Where to Begin:
Azalea Park has Main Street running through the middle with paths, ponds and sculptures on each side. Parking is available at 105 W. 5th S St. by the Cuthbert Community Center or along S. Magnolia St. between E. 4th and E. 5th St.
A free Walking Tour brochure is available for those who like to meander on their own, or (for those who want the “back stories” of the sculpture and more information about specific artists) guided tours can sometimes be arranged.
Reservations must be made in advance by emailing sculptureinthesouth@gmail.com
