An old water line no one knew about has delayed the reopening of Raleigh’s Pullen Park. Renovations have been taking place for several years and planners hoped the park would be open this summer. But the water line combined with cold weather have pushed back the reopening. David Shouse is a senior park planner with the Raleigh Parks and Recreation Department.
"I guess the challenge was that nobody had any knowledge of the existence of this line. Obviously we found it in the ground, but we had to go back to blueprints of 1958 before we found any paperwork documenting that the line existed."
Shouse says work is only being done at Pullen Park’s amusement center. There’s also a pool, arts center, theater and tennis courts.
"But the amusement center, most folks think of it as paddle boat rides on Lake Howell, the historic carousel that has been there since the 20s… there’s a small what’s called a kiddy boat ride for little tiny kids that just ride around in a circle… plus a playground and a miniature train that rides around the entire area."
He says the renovations were badly needed. They’ll be fixing up the historic carousel and building a new station for the miniature train. And they’re also putting in new lighting so the park can be enjoyed in the evening. Shouse says Pullen Park should be back open some time this fall barring more unexpected delays.
