PNC Foundation Awards Nearly $50,000 Grant For New PNC Music Garden In Shelby Park

Olmsted Parks Conservancy has received a $49,949 grant from the PNC Foundation to build a new PNC Music Garden in Shelby Park.

Shelby Park is a sixteen-acre park designed by the Olmsted Firm in 1907. It was named for Kentucky’s first governor, Isaac Shelby, and is the only park in Louisville designed in conjunction with a Carnegie library. Today, the park offers many amenities including two playgrounds, a splash pad, basketball and tennis courts, walking paths, and an iconic bandstand. The Shelby Park Neighborhood Association is very active in the well-being of this historic green space.

The new PNC Music Garden, which will open in April 2019, will include ten outdoor musical instruments. The instruments will line both sides of a fully accessible pathway that connects the two existing playgrounds, for older and younger children respectively. This addition will complement programming offered by the Academy of Music Production Education and Development (AMPED), which is run out of the Shelby Park Community Center. AMPED is a free youth music program that provides a safe environment for young minds to explore their creativity through the power of music.

“The PNC Music Garden at Shelby Park will not only connect the existing play spaces with a fully accessible engaging feature, but will also deepen the connection between the neighbors and their park,” said Layla George, Olmsted Parks Conservancy’s president and CEO. “The Shelby Park neighborhood exemplifies the spirit of inclusivity and having an inclusive play space feels right at home here. We are grateful for the continued partnership with the PNC Foundation and their support which made this project possible.”

The new space is funded by the PNC Foundation in support of PNC Grow Up Great®, a bilingual $350 million, multi-year initiative to help prepare children from birth to age 5 for success in school and life.

“We look forward to working with the Shelby Park community to provide enriching opportunities for preschoolers to explore and discover the world around them,” said Chuck Denny, PNC regional president for Louisville.

The PNC Music Garden was designed by Chris Fry from Play Pros of Kentucky and Indiana formerly Countryside Play Structures. An exclusive Landscape Structures dealer and authorized installer. Play Pros dedicates a majority of their time and efforts to inclusive play.

“We believe every child has a right to build priceless memories of childhood through play,” said Fry.

An official ribbon cutting will be held at Shelby Park on Tuesday, April 2 at 10:00AM.