Mighty Park Pavilion

Baltimore’s Mighty Park is a vibrant community asset, transformed from six vacant lots into a place of play, movement, and shared ownership.

Today, the park features a state-of-the-art playground and raised planting beds. As the park has evolved, so too has the community’s vision: residents have expressed a clear desire for spaces that support gathering, celebration, and programming for neighbors of all ages.

Strengthening the park’s role as a social and cultural anchor.

NDC and a team of design volunteers from Ayers Saint Gross partnered with the Gwynns Falls Community Association to imagine a new gathering space within Mighty Park.

The proposed design introduces:

The challenge: an open green space in need of amenities.

The park currently lacks sheltered gathering areas, access to power, and spaces designated for organized programming. A nearby Baltimore City–managed park contains a closed and inoperable recreation center, further intensifying the need for an accessible, sheltered gathering and program space within walking distance.

The vision: a newly designed stage and pavilion.

Residents expressed a shared vision for a stage and small pavilion to support the existing garden and enable future events at Mighty Park.

Through multiple site visits and collaborative meetings with board members, design volunteers proposed a large, tiered, multifunctional stage that thoughtfully integrates a mature tree, bench seating, and shelves, positioned along the park’s rear warehouse wall, using the recently painted mural as a vibrant backdrop.

In addition, the design team recommended an open, wood-slatted pavilion equipped with a sink and garden work station, located adjacent to a grill for cook-outs. Together, these elements establish more clearly defined spaces within the park, creating a stronger sense of enclosure, activity, and human scale. The design team also provided suggestions on the placement and types of lighting that would bring this park to life.

Design concepts — providing an essential stepping stone in vision becoming a reality

While all recommendations are conceptual, the project includes technical assistance to guide material selection, ensuring the design vision remains grounded, durable, and rooted in community needs.

The project was led by design volunteers Russell Holstine, Amina Mohamed, and Esteban Morinigo-Spalding, sponsored by Ayers Saint Gross, with direction by NDC staff Maura Dwyer and Julia DiMauro.