Birmingham’s has turned a tennis court into an outdoor fitness gym at East Lake Park.
Called the “East Lake Park Fitness Zone,” we visited the new attraction, which is located at Lynn Park across from historic East Lake Park at 416 82nd Street North, Birmingham, AL 35206.
See how they did it.
Back in April, Birmingham Parks and Recreation began construction of the new comprehensive fitness gym, Earlier this month, the equipment with 9 separate stations were opened to the public.
“We’re very excited that we have finally gotten the exercise equipment out,” said Hunter Williams, who represents east Lake Park on the Birmingham City Council, in a statement to Bham Now. “It was a little bit delayed due to supply chain issues, however, we have gotten a lot of good feedback from the community. We are currently working with Parks and Rec to continue to upgrade it to include a fresh coat of paint.”
If you are curious how the outdoor gym works — the equipment is designed so individuals use their body weight to strengthen areas like upper body, legs, arms and more. There are multiple stations with the same equipment, so people can use the “circuit” at the same time.
Here are additional photos of the new fitness gym which cost about $250,000.
A little history about East Lake Park. Originally built as a private park in 1886, East Lake Park has been called Birmingham’s “original Railroad Park” and Ruffner Mountain’s “sister city park,” by Ruffner Mountain executive director Carlee Sanford. The 67-acre park’s main attraction is the beautiful 45-acre lake.
Because of recent repairs to the lighting, youth football has returned to the park. This past weekend, the lake hosted the annual Family Fishing Rodeo – the largest such event in the state of Alabama.
A historic park – East Lake Park is also an “urban green oasis.” Over the past couple of years, The Nature Conservancy and local neighborhood groups have planted trees and removed invasive plants.
On Sunday mornings you will also see local cricket teams playing on the fields at the north end of the park.
What’s your favorite part of East Lake Park? Tell us what you think of the new East Lake Park Fitness Zone. Tag us on social media @bhamnow
Longtime conservationist. Former Executive Director at the Alabama Environmental Council and Wild South. Publisher of the Bama Environmental News for more than 18 years. Career highlights include playing an active role in the creation of Alabama’s Forever Wild program, Little River Canyon National Preserve, Dugger Mountain Wilderness, preservation of special places throughout the East through the Wilderness Society and the strengthening (making more stringent) the state of Alabama’s cancer risk and mercury standards.
A Rushing Waters Media Company
All content on this site is Copyright © Rushing Waters Media LLC/Bham Now 2016-2023. All Rights Reserved.