New lighting to come to Davin Park
String lights on the trees at Davin Park will soon be replaced with uplighting.
Thanks to several generous donations to the San Marco Preservation Society, Lillian S. Davin Park in San Marco is going to have new landscape lights.
New uplighting will soon replace the string lights threaded through the branches of the stately oak trees in the 500 by 50-foot median on River Road, said San Marco Preservation Society President LeAnna Cumber. The Preservation Society project, which has the blessing of the Jacksonville Parks and Recreation Department, will cost $15,000, Cumber said, noting the new lighting is scheduled to be installed within the next two to three weeks.
For nearly 10 years, string lights have transformed Davin Park into a fairyland after the sun goes down. However, as the trees have grown over the past decade, the black plastic ties that attached the lights to the branches have snapped off, causing many of the strings to dangle aimlessly from the tree branches.
“About a third of the lights are not working and most are falling off the trees,” said Cumber. “They were very pretty when they were first put up, but with the trees growing it is not a workable way to do lights in the trees,” she said.
NiteLites of Jacksonville, which is owned by Trevor Rosendahl, will remove the old lights and install new energy-efficient, soft uplighting at the base of the trees, said Cumber. In the meantime, the city has already cut off the electricity and capped the old outlets, she said.
“He (Trevor) is donating labor,” she said. “He’s knows we are a nonprofit and he has been very helpful in making sure what we get will work for us. He’s been excellent in working with us.”
The project has been made possible by several large donations to the Preservation Society, Cumber said, noting the Preservation Society is still accepting donations to help cover the full cost of the lighting.
By Marcia Hodgson
Resident Community News
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