Klyde Warren Park looks to connect Uptown and Downtown Dallas. (Courtesy of Klyde Warren Park)

In the 1960s, a gaggle of Dallas businessmen spent serious time and serious money lobbying for the construction of Woodwall Rogers Freeway.

The freeway, they claimed, would be the great connector between downtown Dallas and its surrounding cities and would make commuting for suburbanites much less stressful.

Eventually, Woodall Rodgers was built and has emerged as one of Dallas’ busiest, most congested roadways.

Enter Klyde Warren Park, an expansive 5.2 acre slab of foliage positioned right above Woodall Rogers Freeway. It too is being billed as a “connector,” this time merging together Downtown and Uptown Dallas, two areas torn in half by the construction of Woodall Rodgers.

It took 10 years and close to $110 million to bring the park to Dallas.

It is now going to be considered the heart of the city, located between Pearl Street and St. Paul Street above the recessed Woodall Rodgers Freeway.

The park will be privately managed and operated by the Woodall Rodgers Park Foundation.

Klyde Warren Park will be a buzz with daily free programming. Concerts, book signings, and outdoor films will be provided for park visitors.

Shaded walking paths, a performance pavilion, a dog park and unique water features were all added into the design and building of the park.

This attractive setting is perfect for the highly programmed park.

Award-winning landscape architect Jim Burnett was hired to create the common ground between pedestrians and downtown. The idea behind the design was to create and promote a sense of discovery within the park.

It might even have a little glimmer of SMU’s campus with more than 322 trees planted around the park.

Klyde Warren Park’s debut is this weekend Oct. 27 to Oct. 28. The park will be open Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.

There will be over 50 free events and activities taking place such as the ribbon cutting, movie night and music festivals. The festivities will conclude with a fireworks display.

Klyde Warren Park is now Dallas’s version of Central Park that has been incorporated into our concrete jungle.