Joseph Bryan Park, also known as Bryan Park, is a public park in the city of
Richmond, Virginia
Richmond ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. Incorporated in 1742, Richmond has been an independent city (United States), independent city since 1871. ...
. The park memorializes Joseph Bryan (1845–1908), the founder and publisher of the ''
Richmond Times-Dispatch
The ''Richmond Times-Dispatch'' (''RTD'' or ''TD'' for short) is the primary daily newspaper in Richmond, Virginia, and the primary newspaper of record for the state of Virginia.
Circulation
The ''Times-Dispatch'' has the second-highest circul ...
'' newspaper. The land was given to the city in 1910 by Bryan's widow, Belle Stewart Bryan, and her family. It contains a network of hiking/biking trails and is open daily without charge.
The park, which sits next to the Bryan Park Interchange, where
I-95
Interstate 95 (I-95) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the East Coast of the United States, running from U.S. Route 1 (US 1) in Miami, Florida, north to the Houlton–Woodstock Border Crossing between Maine and the ...
,
I-64
Interstate 64 (I-64) is an east–west Interstate Highway in the Eastern United States. Its western terminus is at I-70, U.S. Route 40 (US 40), and US 61 in Wentzville, Missouri. Its eastern terminus is at the Bowers Hill ...
, and
I-195
Interstate 195 (I-195) is the designation for the following six existing Interstate Highways in the United States, all of which are related to I-95:
*Interstate 195 (Maine), a spur in Saco
*Interstate 195 (Maryland), a spur to BWI Airport
*Intersta ...
intersect, hosted the Richmond Vegetarian Festival annually from 2003 through 2018.
In mid-2024, the City of Richmond broke ground on the city's portion of the
Fall Line Trail
The Fall Line is an approximately 43.6 mile
paved multi-use trail currently under development — from a northern terminus in Ashland, Virginia to a southern terminus in Petersburg, Virginia — aligning with the East Coast Greenway, a pr ...
, an approximately 43-mile multi-use trail currently (2024) under development — from a northern terminus in
Ashland, Virginia
Ashland is a town in Hanover County, Virginia, United States, located north of Richmond along Interstate 95 and U.S. Route 1. As of the 2020 census it had a population of 7,565, up from 7,225 at the 2010 census.
Ashland is named after the L ...
, to a southern terminus in
Petersburg, Virginia
Petersburg is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 33,458 with a majority bla ...
. The thirteen-mile segment extends from Bryan Park, which will become a key trailhead, to the Chesterfield County border to the South.
Azalea Garden
The Joseph Bryan Park Azalea Garden (17 acres) is a
botanical garden
A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens. is ...
specializing in
azalea
Azaleas ( ) are flowering shrubs in the genus ''Rhododendron'', particularly the former sections ''Rhododendron sect. Tsutsusi, Tsutsusi'' (evergreen) and ''Pentanthera'' (deciduous). Azaleas bloom in the spring (April and May in the temperate ...
s, located within Joseph Bryan Park.
The garden proper was begun in 1952 by Mr. Robert E. Harvey, a former Recreation and Parks Superintendent. Over some 15 years, Mr. Harvey and volunteers planted about 450,000 azalea plants (of 50 varieties) in more than 75 beds. They also constructed a small pond with a fountain. Peak season is April 1 to May 15.