Hiroshima Gate Park — Laying of A-bombed stones begins for “Peace Promenade” walkway, designed to give users sense of peace
Feb. 11, 2023
by Yu Kawakami, Staff Writer
The laying of A-bombed paving stones once used as part of streetcar tracks started for the project “Peace Promenade,” a public walkway under construction on the premises of the former Hiroshima Municipal Stadium, located in the city’s Naka Ward. The walkway will be developed as an extension of the line, oriented north to south, connecting the Cenotaph for A-bomb victims and the A-bomb Dome, allowing citizens and tourists to enjoy walking in the area with a sense of peace.
The paving stones — measuring 50 centimeters in length, 40 centimeters in width, and 10 centimeters in height per piece — are made of granite. At the time of the atomic bombing, they were located under streetcar tracks in Hiroshima. Although the stones had been removed after the bombing and stored thereafter, they were provided for the promenade project by Hiroshima Electric Railways, also located in Naka Ward, one of a group of companies working on the redevelopment and management of the former stadium site.
Forty-four paving stones will be laid at intervals of 3.5 meters in the center of the promenade, which will be measure about 190 meters in length and eight meters in width. Concrete will be used to pave the spaces around the stones. Users of the walkway will have more awareness of the north-south axis through use of the stones when looking toward the A-bomb Dome from a slightly elevated area constructed on the north end of the promenade. The stone-laying work began on February 9. Construction workers are carefully working to make flush the height of all the stones before placing them on the footpath. Eight stones will also be placed near two benches that are to be situated alongside the walkway.
Thirty-one fully-grown Yoshino cherry trees will be planted on both sides of the promenade. A central event plaza called “Hiroshima Gate Park Plaza,” located on the east end of the area, and a commercial facility named “Shimint Hiroshima,” which will house 16 retail shops such as a café and a fashion shop, will open in the area on March 31. A representative of the corporate group said, “We want to create a civic park at which diverse people from Japan and overseas can come together and have a sense of peace.”
(Originally published on February 11, 2023)
The laying of A-bombed paving stones once used as part of streetcar tracks started for the project “Peace Promenade,” a public walkway under construction on the premises of the former Hiroshima Municipal Stadium, located in the city’s Naka Ward. The walkway will be developed as an extension of the line, oriented north to south, connecting the Cenotaph for A-bomb victims and the A-bomb Dome, allowing citizens and tourists to enjoy walking in the area with a sense of peace.
The paving stones — measuring 50 centimeters in length, 40 centimeters in width, and 10 centimeters in height per piece — are made of granite. At the time of the atomic bombing, they were located under streetcar tracks in Hiroshima. Although the stones had been removed after the bombing and stored thereafter, they were provided for the promenade project by Hiroshima Electric Railways, also located in Naka Ward, one of a group of companies working on the redevelopment and management of the former stadium site.
Forty-four paving stones will be laid at intervals of 3.5 meters in the center of the promenade, which will be measure about 190 meters in length and eight meters in width. Concrete will be used to pave the spaces around the stones. Users of the walkway will have more awareness of the north-south axis through use of the stones when looking toward the A-bomb Dome from a slightly elevated area constructed on the north end of the promenade. The stone-laying work began on February 9. Construction workers are carefully working to make flush the height of all the stones before placing them on the footpath. Eight stones will also be placed near two benches that are to be situated alongside the walkway.
Thirty-one fully-grown Yoshino cherry trees will be planted on both sides of the promenade. A central event plaza called “Hiroshima Gate Park Plaza,” located on the east end of the area, and a commercial facility named “Shimint Hiroshima,” which will house 16 retail shops such as a café and a fashion shop, will open in the area on March 31. A representative of the corporate group said, “We want to create a civic park at which diverse people from Japan and overseas can come together and have a sense of peace.”
(Originally published on February 11, 2023)
