Landscape Information
Located in the Arsenal neighborhood southwest of downtown, this nearly square, one-acre park was established in 2005 by Linda Pace to honor her son David Christopher (Chris) Goldbury, who passed away in 1997. Formerly an asphalt parking lot for Tobin Aerial Maps, the commemorative space was designed by local landscape architect Jon Ahrens and features visual experiences by contemporary artist Teresita Fernández.
Enclosed by a metal fence, the lush green space features a number of native and exotic plant species and is accessible through a wisteria vine-covered steel trellis on Camp Street. The trellis leads into a rectangular limestone terrace surrounded by groves of bamboo and Texas sabal palms. The terrace paving is embedded with 55 small LED light fixtures that represent stars in the night sky on the evening Chris Goldbury was born. From the terrace, a meandering walkway, paved with stone blocks and shaded by Texas sabal palms, sago palms, bald cypress, anaqua, and other tree species, leads to a tall grass mound known as Tumble Hill in the northeast quadrant of the park and the Studio (an auxiliary exhibition space) in the northwest corner. A short path extends southeast off the main walkway loop to a natchez mock orange shrub, known as "Chris' tree." The path's design includes seven circular glass pavers illuminated with various colors and inscribed with the nursery rhyme “Wednesday’s Child.” Quarried stone benches throughout the park are engraved with quotations from Chris’ personal journal. The Linda Pace Foundation owns and maintains the park, which is one component of the foundation’s new contemporary art center campus, Ruby City.
