Mere saplings, the 130 leafy trees planted in San Antonio’s newest urban park stood less than a foot tall when they were selected to shade its promenade and border the inviting great lawn.
In the following four years, the Mexican sycamores, southern live oaks, anaquas, pecans and other native species grew to a height of 10-12 feet, having been nurtured by Peerless Farm in Bigfoot, before being transplanted to Hemisfair this year.
With a little tending and plenty of reclaimed nuisance water, they will keep growing and sheltering visitors to Civic Park, 210 S. Alamo St., long after the space officially opens to the public on Sept. 29.
For some, the trees’ branches also will help preserve precious memories.
City and Hemisfair officials broke ground in early 2022 on the $28 million project at the corner of South Alamo and East Market streets.
The first phase, turning a 5-acre empty lot in the northwestern portion of Hemisfair into a large public green space with a great lawn spanning over 51,000 square feet, is completed. Construction on another four acres for Phase 2 is set to get underway in October.
Shade trees were a must, according to members of the public who participated in planning sessions for the park, said Anne Krause, Hemisfair Conservancy president and executive director.
But a lot of existing shade was eliminated when the western portion of the Henry B. González Convention Center was razed to make way for Civic Park, she said.
“We want water and we want shade or we’re not coming,” Krause said, recalling the public’s responses to the park’s design.
So, Seattle-based landscape architects GGN, working with the San Antonio firm Rialto Studio, spent a lot of time on the design for the areas where trees ultimately could be planted, said GGN Principal David Malda.
“Most of our work was focused on making really good edges, because having the lawn in the middle, that’s fairly straightforward,” Malda said. That included the promenade.
The tree-shaded promenade, at 1,175 feet long, is a major feature of Civic Park, one that helps connect the various parts of downtown.
While the park is for gathering, Malda said, it’s also a place to walk through to reach other areas — and this one will be bordered by trees.
“Lining that promenade with trees and doing it in a way that would give shade from Day 1 make it an attractive and welcoming place, but also just that feeling that if I go down this path, I’m going to find something,” Malda said.
A total of 200 trees are slated for Civic Park, with 70 yet to come in Phase 2, which is expected to be completed in 2024.
Expanding the tree canopy in downtown San Antonio will help reduce the heat island effect and improve air quality, said Meredith Balzen, Hemisfair spokeswoman.
“Sustainability is one of the main pillars that we’re using in the design for Civic Park,” Balzen said. “We’re also working with all of the developers to make sure that they’re using really sustainable practices as well.”
The purchase and planting of almost half of the trees for Phase 1 of Civic Park has been sponsored by individual and corporate donors, Krause said.
Like other parts of Hemisfair, where naming rights came with a major gift, like the Peggy Mays Garden and parts of the 1100 Springs water feature, trees also can be funded.
A woman who lobbied Congress so that San Antonio could host the World’s Fair in 1968 was the primary funder for a tree transplant project during construction of Civic Park.
Flo Crichton, who also donated the Juan O’Gorman mural, A Confluence of Civilizations, now visible from within the park, wanted to see her gift fulfilled before she died.
In 2018, 31 mature legacy trees, some weighing over 100,000 pounds, were relocated from other parts of Hemisfair into Civic Park. Crichton died in 2019.
The Houston-based tree mover Environmental Design relocated the legacy trees.
For the new trees from Bigfoot, sponsors have contributed $7,000 to dedicate a tree in memory of a loved one or someone else. The contribution amount is about equal to what it cost to buy, transport, install and irrigate each tree, Krause said.
But don’t look for a donor recognition or tribute plaque at the base of any tree.
Markers would take away from the beauty of the park, she said, and create a tripping hazard for guests and problems for the landscapers. It would also limit the amount of information that could be shared.
Instead, Krause worked with Shannon Perry, Hemisfair’s development and communications manager, to develop a mobile phone app for the tree donor program.
Visitors can scan a QR code to identify the tree species but also learn more about the donor and the dedication, see photos and leave virtual flowers in remembrance.
For Luis de la Garza, chairman-elect of the Hemisfair Conservancy’s board of directors, and his wife Sherry Hatcher, a southern live oak tree honors the memory of Nicolas, his niece Marta de la Garza Newkirk’s teenage son, who died in March 2021.
Newkirk, of Austin, visited the park in late February with her colleagues from the National Park Service and saw where the tree would be planted.
“They are anxiously awaiting the photos and videos I’ll send them of the finished park because it impressed them so much,” Newkirk said. “So for Nicolas’ name, for my name, to be a part of this new space is just an incredible honor.”
On Oct. 1, she will return with family and friends to the park for a memorial service, a solemn gathering around the tree that honors her son who loved the outdoors and nature.
