“I couldn’t image it when I first read about it,” he says. Randy Smith, an enthusiastic repeat visitor, says the investment is paying off. A newly-created Public Improvement District taxes surrounding businesses for park maintenance and operations. Private donations funded more than half of the $100 million price tag. Yoo says: “It’s a nice oasis in the middle of the tall buildings.”

To have this over a major highway is pretty incredible,” Palmer says. Larry Palmer from Dallas and Meena Yoo from Los Angeles were first-time park visitors this week. “It’s nice to have a great park in a great locations.”

“I live right across the street so it’s convenient for me so I can bring her,” the Dallas resident says. That’s what brings Naftali Ben-Meir to the park almost every day. The most popular attraction has been the children’s playground. We didn’t intend to ever be in the food truck business, but they’ve been wildly successful.” “That was an unintended consequence of the park.

Green says the 5-acre park offered 900 free programs during the first year, hosted 50 special events and saw a dozen marriage proposals. “We walk through the park five or six times a day and we’re taking headcounts.” So, how does a park with no walls know how many folks have walked through? Park president Tara Green suggests you dress up as your favorite Carmen and get there early for a pre-show singalong. Green is hoping for big crowds this weekend to push the park past 1 million visitors. Festivities feature an outdoor simulcast of the Dallas Opera’s production of “Carmen,” which starts at 8 p.m. Klyde Warren Park in Dallas is celebrating its one-year anniversary this weekend.

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