Mayor Levar M. Stoney, center, cuts the ribbon to reopen Monroe Park on Sept. 27. He is flanked by VCU President Michael Rao and Alice M. Massie, president of the park’s new governing body, the Monroe Park Conservancy, and other dignitaries. The nearly 8-acre space was Richmond’s first public park when the city acquired the land in 1851. The reopening will allow churches and other groups to resume serving meals to the homeless on weekends. The Monroe Park Conservancy has a 30-year lease with the city to operate and manage the park in cooperation with the city’s Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Facilities. (Regina H. Boone/Richmond Free Press)
