Several new facilities at Lakeshore Park were opened Tuesday afternoon.
At the announcement, the park board named a new overlook in honor of Jimmy and Dee Haslam and the Haslam family for their leadership and contributions to the park.
According to a release, Jimmy and Dee Haslam have chaired the Lakeshore Park Board for over 20 years and have led the creation and development of the park.
At the ceremony, officials unveiled an 8.5-ton block of cedar marble, from the Tennessee Marble Company quarry near Friendsville, at the new overlook in honor of the Haslams. The Tennessee Marble Company also supplied the marble for Marble Hall in 1958 and for the Marble Pavilion in 2017, the release states.
“This is a well-deserved recognition of the Haslam family’s wholehearted investment in the vision for Lakeshore Park," Mayor Madeline Rogero said.
According to the park board, the Haslam Overlook is a new scenic overlook on the hill above the Lyons View entrance. You can see the Great Smoky Mountains and Tennessee River as well as a
panoramic view of the park itself.
The park is operated as a public-private partnership between the city of Knoxville and the Lakeshore Park non-profit corporation. More than $21 million from businesses, families, foundations and park supporters has been contributed to the corporation, the release states.
The non-profit corporation has also raised funds for park maintenance to facilities and landscaping.
The first phase of improvements also includes Marble Pavilion. The new pavilion is fully lighted and can be used by the public or scheduled events.
There will be a new 48 space parking lot opening across from the playground lot.
According to the park board, more improvements are underway.
Those projects, which include an additional mile of trail, a riverwalk through a natural marsh and woodlands on the Tennessee River, a fishing pier and picnic area, are expected to open in March 2018.
Crews are also working to add water access on Fourth Creek, a two acre Bermuda grass field which can hold special events of up to 1500 people, and adjacent restrooms and temporary parking areas.