Marcum Park is a professionally designed, donor-funded park and one of Hamilton’s greatest public spaces.

The recent removal and poor replacement of the gardens around the Marcum sculpture and fountain have significantly damaged the design and feel of this space. What was once a thoughtfully designed garden has been replaced in a way that does not reflect the park’s original quality.

We ask those responsible to:

1. Acknowledge and apologize for removing these gardens without community input
2. Restore the gardens to match the park’s original design and quality
3. Invite community support if help is needed

Marcum Park is a gift to Hamilton. It should be cared for that way.

Sign if you support restoring and protecting Marcum Park.

Note: Please consider sharing this with others who appreciate the beauty of Marcum Park.

Personal story

I’m a Hamilton resident who started speaking up because Marcum Park is more than just grass, mulch, and walkways to me. It is one of the places that makes Hamilton feel proud, welcoming, and alive. Families take photos there, couples celebrate weddings there, kids play there, and neighbors gather there for concerts, festivals, walks, and quiet moments.

That is why the removal of the gardens around the Marcum sculpture and fountain felt so upsetting. These were not just decorative flower beds. They were mature perennial gardens with native plants and rain-garden features that added beauty, supported pollinators, softened the hardscape, and helped preserve the original design character of the park.

After speaking with several others who shared the same sentiment, I started this petition to put our voices together. I believe this is not about blame. It is about stewardship, transparency, and restoring a public treasure with the same care and vision that created it.

Relevant facts and statistics

Marcum Park is a significant civic investment: it was developed as a 6-acre downtown riverfront park, made possible through a generous donation of $3.9 million from Joe and Sarah Marcum to the Hamilton Community Foundation. Marcum Park opened in summer 2016. Its original program included gardens, terraces, a large event lawn, playscape, signage, and connections to the Great Miami riverfront. (MKSK - Provided Master Planning, Site Planning and Design, and Construction Documentation)

The American Planning Association described RiversEdge at Marcum Park as downtown Hamilton’s first major park, noting that the park attracts tens of thousands of visitors every year, supports local families and walking clubs, connects to the Great Miami River Recreational Trail, and was designed with green space, drainage patterns, seating, art, and public gathering in mind. (2018 American Public Spaces Award - Great Public Space)