Monument Park Brick Paver Program

The initiative will provide monetary support for ongoing park maintenance.  Mayor Cheri Barry presented the new program, along with representatives of the Image Committee of the East Mississippi Business Development Corporation, City of Meridian and the Alliance for Downtown Meridian, all actively involved in the Monument Park project.

“With a downtown so unique and so steeped in character and history, we want to celebrate our shared past and future with an inscribed brick paver program that will give residents, former residents and our neighbors the opportunity to permanently leave their mark downtown,” says Laura Davis, chair of the EMBDC Image Committee.  Brick inscriptions may include one’s name or the names of loved ones, friends, neighbors and co-workers to the list of those who hold downtown Meridian dear.  The brick pavers will be installed in Monument Park as the charming park comes back to life to serve as an urban resting spot.  

The small park, located on 23rd Avenue between Fourth and Front streets, is a historic urban space that had become overgrown and dilapidated. At the mayor's urging, the Image Committee took on the renovation as a beautification project. Through a series of work days involving community volunteers, the park has begun to take shape. The plans call for a series of flower beds, a vegetable garden, a picnic table, an arbor and park benches to be strategically placed for enjoyment. The supporters also plan to move the monument, honoring Meridian’s first fire chief, from Highland Park back to Monument Park, near where it was originally located downtown.

Funding for Monument Park renovations was provided in part through a Keep America Beautiful Waste Management Target City Grant and by donations by community residents.  Additionally, many local businesses have and continue to donate materials and labor.  Profits from the Brick Paver Program will supplement continued renovation and maintenance for Monument Park.

Monument Park Brick Paver order forms are available in area downtown businesses and online at www.meridianms.org; www.embdc.org and www.meridiandowntown.com.