A project to create a memorial park honoring the contributions of Jewish families to Dalton’s history is underway at the site of the old Temple Beth-El synagogue on Valley Drive. The park will feature a pond surrounded by architectural elements from the old building as well as markers commemorating the history of the site and local Jewish history.
The synagogue, which has not been used for worship in many years and had fallen into disrepair, was donated to the City of Dalton in March of 2024 for the creation of the park. Some fixtures and elements of the structure which will be used in the new park were removed in recent weeks, and work to remove the remainder of the structure is now underway at the site.
The project is one of the stormwater management projects recommended by the Arcadis engineering firm in their 21st Century Stormwater Plan for Dalton. The pond feature will help alleviate flooding concerns to the south of the temple site along Valley Drive from stormwater flows coming through the Murray Hill neighborhood. The memorial aspect of the park was developed in cooperation with the trustees of the temple and will illustrate part of Dalton's history that is not well known.
"I think the trustees and the City believe that it will be a better utilization of that property,” City Administrator Andrew Parker said last year. “It is central to downtown and central to the Murray Hill Historic District and its within walking distance for families to enjoy. The trustees wanted this to be something that families could enjoy, and use this space for reflection while preserving this meaningful property. It also sits perfectly in the drainage basin where it needs to sit to provide (stormwater flooding) relief."
The designs of the park are still in the conceptual drawing stage, but the team from Arcadis has an impressive record of creating parks and spaces with memorial or historic themes. The firm designed the Wreath of Honor memorial park in Chattanooga honoring the five fallen soldiers who were killed in the 2015 terrorist attack on a National Guard recruiting center. The firm is also working with the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians on projects around Cherokee, North Carolina and designed the Pat Summitt memorial plaza at the University of Tennessee.
"They’ve got a unit that is part of Arcadis that focuses on landscape architecture and in particular they’ve got a lot of experience with these types of parks that pay homage to different groups or events," Parker said. "That same talent is being brought to this particular project and they have a proven track record of doing these projects very tactfully in a way that the community would enjoy."
Demolition work at the Temple Beth-El site is expected to continue throughout the week. Once the structure is removed, work will begin in the fall of 2025 to create the memorial park which is expected to be completed in the summer of 2026.