Vienna's newest community park was dedicated Saturday, Nov. 4 with a community celebration. Sarah Walker Mercer Park sits on about three-fourths of an acre at the corner of Nutley and Knoll streets in northeast Vienna.
At the request of the Malcolm Windover Heights Citizens' Association, the park was named after a lifetime town resident who lived next to the property from 1964 until her death in 1995. Sarah Walker Mercer worked in the custodial department at Louise Archer Elementary for many years and was "sort of the mother of the neighborhood," said Parks and Recreation Director Cathy Salgado.
The land on which the park sits was part of the former Department of Public Works maintenance yard. When Public Works moved to the Northeast Property Yard, the facility became the maintenance yard for the Parks and Recreation Department, which requires far less space.
"So we decided to turn that corner into a community park," said Salgado. The park includes landscaping with a variety of vegetation, walkways, a seating area with a seating wall, and a flat lawn area.
— Mike DiCicco