Bonnycastle Hill Shelter and Site Improvements

Bonnycastle Hill is located in famous Cherokee Park, whic was designed by Frederick Law and John Charles Olmsted, between 1894 and 1897. Cherokee Park, with Iroquois, Shawnee, and the Olmsted Parkways, comprises the original Louisville Olmsted Park System, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The goal of the Bonnycastle Hill Southern Shelter project was to develop a site design for a new shelter, parking area, and multi-use walkway that respects the design principals of the Olmsted firm. The project also addressed: sustainable site design; stormwater management, erosion repair and prevention, and water quality; park furnishings, lighting, and signage based upon Olmsted Park furnishing standards; new shelter architecture, relocation of the existing basketball court; design of a hillside walkway connecting layby parking to the new picnic shelter; and site improvements immediately around the new shelter to accommodate associated uses. Jones Landscape Architecture participated in the master plan for Bonnycastle Hill in 2010, and was part of the team selected for partial implementation of the plan in 2016. Part of the goal of this first phase was to provide an additional shelter and amenities north of the most heavily used area around Bonnycastle Hill in order to relieve pressure on the existing facilities. The new shelter structure was sited carefully by the design team and overlooks a large dramatic bowl in the landscape. Stone terraces flow down toward the bowl simulating the rock outcroppings characteristic of Cherokee Park. Curved pathways in the Olmsted fashion join the existing and new amenities. Pervious pavers in the new organized parking lot allows stormwater to slowly infiltrate instead of erode the hilltop slopes. The project was completed in 2018.