F I V E FACT S
DOWDY PARK
BY K ATR I N A MAE L E U Z I N GE R
IN ONE FORM OR ANOTHER, DOWDY PARK HAS BEEN A
FIXTURE in Nags Head for nearly six decades. From the five-acre property’s not-so-humble beginnings when it opened in 1962 as Dowdy Amusement Park – a carnival complete with go-carts, a Tilt-A-Whirl and a Ferris wheel – named after owner, Joe Dowdy, to today’s open playground and community gathering place, one thing remains consistent: It’s always been a place for people to come together and have fun.
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THE PERFECT STORM
During the amusement park’s early days, some folks had to learn the hard way that it was best to get your candy apple after riding the Tornado. That little steel roller coaster was reportedly designed by Italian-born Antonio Zamperla back in the ‘70s when his fledgling amusement ride company was still getting off the ground in the U.S. These days, Zamperla’s company designs attractions for Disney World, Universal Studios and Six Flags – and he’s also credited with creating one of the first rides designed with handicap accessibility in mind. In 2019, he joined the ranks of the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions Hall of Fame, alongside legends such as Walt Disney and P.T. Barnum.
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BURN, BABY, BURN
Zoning changes and increased operating costs eventually led to the closure of Dowdy Amusement Park in 2006. The rides and surrounding buildings sat empty for years, even showing up on a few blogs for abandoned amusement park enthusiasts. As plans began for the site to be converted to a public park and playground, the distinctive purple arcade building was offered up to local school kids, who created a mural of what they hoped the new park would be. But in 2015, after determining that the building was too damaged to repair, the town found another use for it. On a Sunday in May the Nags Head Fire Department set it ablaze, spending the day doing training exercises – and giving the last vestiges of Dowdy Amusement Park a chance to go down in a blaze of glory.
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BY THE PEOPLE, FOR THE PEOPLE
The town intended for the new Dowdy Park to be exactly what the community wanted – but in order to figure out what that was, they had to ask. Planning started with an eight-person committee, four men and four women, who were all citizens of Nags Head from different walks of life. That committee created a survey that went out to Nags Head and the surrounding areas. They got more than 700 responses, and used those to develop a picture of what the people wanted: open space, public events without a rigid programming structure, a farmers’ market and park facilities that could be enjoyed by everyone. When the revamped Dowdy Park officially opened on May 13, 2017, they got everything on their wish list.
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Above: A worker checks a cable on the Tilt-A-Whirl at Dowdy Amusement Park before it closed in 2006 (photo courtesy of the Outer Banks History Center/Drew Wilson Collection). Below: The newly revamped Dowdy Park officially opened in 2017 (photo courtesy of the Town of Nags Head/Benny Baldwin).
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FOR ART’S SAKE
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SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE
One almost entirely unexpected result from that public survey? What the people wanted most of all in their park was art. With nearby Gallery Row, art is an integral element of the community, and that’s why Dowdy Park’s 2017 grand opening was held in conjunction with the 28th annual Artrageous Kids’ Art Festival. There was art for sale, craftsmen and women demonstrating their skills at painting, blacksmithing and fiber arts, and tons of creative activities for the kids. Even the ceremonial ribbon cutting incorporated the arts, with a ribbon designed and decorated by Nags Head Elementary School students. In order to memorialize the moment, those first park goers were also invited to paint the peek-a-boo wall that still adorns the park to this day.
Thanks to a grant from Trillium Health, the playground at Dowdy Park also includes one other extra special amenity: A platform that’s designed for wheelchairs to roll right onto it and safely swing back and forth. And that’s not the only piece of the park planned with accessibility in mind. In addition to other wheelchair-accessible features, the wavy design of the sidewalk (while also being aesthetically pleasing) was chosen for the way it can stimulate adults and children with cognitive disabilities – and each of these features was selected with care so that Dowdy Park could truly be a park for everyone.
