MANSFIELD, Ohio–One of Mansfield’s scenic attractions is undergoing change, starting with a new name–Kingwood Center is now known as Kingwood Center Gardens.
“Just on the most basic level we’re trying to make people know what we are,” said Chuck Gleaves, Kingwood Center Gardens’ director. “It’s amazing how many people say, ‘Kingwood Center–what is that?’ Especially people who aren’t from Mansfield.
“We are a garden and we want to make sure people understand that,” he said.
Gleaves discussed the name change during a press conference Tuesday at Kingwood Hall.
He said Charles Kelley King, the creator of Kingwood, named Kingwood Center in his deed of trust, which often referenced “Kingwood Center Gardens” and “Kingwood Center Auditorium.”
If sufficient funds remained in the endowment after Kingwood Center Gardens were established, King said in his deed that he’d like for an auditorium to be built. The auditorium would be a combination lecture hall and performing arts center. However, no administrative board has ever determined there to be sufficient excess money to build the auditorium.
“We never built the auditorium and that kind of left Kingwood Center Gardens,” said Gleaves. “So even though Mr. King named this Kingwood Center as a collective name, by not having the auditorium sort of by default left that name that he referenced as ‘Kingwood Center Gardens,’ so we feel comfortable going into the future telling people what we are and that this is a new idea, but also a nice reference to something that was said in the past by Mr. King himself.”
Kingwood’s address also has changed from 900 Park Ave. W. to 50 N. Trimble Road. This change should hopefully help allay confusion when entering the site, since the Park Avenue entrance is typically closed, said Bonnie Gross, visitor services manager.
Looking ahead, Gleaves said they hope to find ways to diversify Kingwood’s income source.
“For most of our history, we’ve relied either exclusively or overwhelmingly on our endowment–and that’s one of the things that was really the rude awakening in 2008 that that’s just not going to be able to be done anymore,” he said.
“The endowment on fixed dollars, dollars adjusted for inflation, for most of its history gave us about $1 million a year. In 2009, it went down to $650,000. Now it’s back up just under $800,000,” he said.
Though the endowment is recovering now, “The expectations on Kingwood have grown over the years at a much faster rate than inflation,” he said.
To help generate funds, they instituted a membership program and parking fee several years ago.
“But we really need to continue to develop that diversification of income, and one of the most conspicuous things we need to develop is donations, so we’re looking at possibilities of new ways of raising money, he said.
“Moving away from our endowment means we’re really going to be exposed to the market. We need to have value and people need to have a reason to come to Kingwood, especially if it’s going to cost them some money, whether it’s parking or an admission fee, so one of the things we really want to concentrate on moving forward is customer service.”
Gleaves said they hope to engage visitors by adding a visitor’s center in the future. He said this is a huge undertaking that will likely bring about a capital campaign to help get the center up and running.
A possible location for the center is in between the Draffan Fountain and the parking lot, though plans are still in the preliminary stage.
Gleaves described what could happen without diversifying their income source, sharing, “We could be like a park–not do a whole lot of gardening, not have a lot of staff….but with the additional money, it makes us something of distinction; something for the community to be proud of.”
Admission to Kingwood Center Gardens is $5 per car, but members receive free admission. Kingwood Center Gardens are open daily from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., with the Greenhouse and Garden Shop open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Kingwood Hall is open May through September, Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Guided tours are offered every Saturday at 11 a.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m. at $4 per person. Members, Volunteers and children 6 and under are admitted free.
Kingwood is closed January, February, March and November and open for Christmas Nov. 28 through Dec. 27, Thursday through Sunday, 3 to 8 p.m. Admission to Kingwood Hall at Christmas is $5 per person, Members, Volunteers and children 6 and under admitted free.
