News Flash

Aug 31, 2022 - The Mary W. Jackson Neighborhood Center will open with a ribbon-cutting on Sept. 17. The special opening day activities include tours, food, and entertainment, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The center, at 231 Lincoln St., features a gym, locker rooms, a fitness area, kitchen, small meeting rooms, and a larger multipurpose room. Outdoors, the park will contain a fenced basketball court, picnic area with shade structures, playground, an outdoor fireplace and gathering area, and a multi-purpose field for events and large-scale, outdoor activities and sports based on programming needs.  

The center is named in honor of Mary W. Jackson, who became NASA’s first black female engineer and was one of the "hidden figures" who did mathematic computations at the NASA Langley Research Center. She was a resident and active member of the Olde Hampton community. Displays in the center will highlight some of her many contributions. 

Unlike with a full-scale community center operated by the city’s Parks and Rec staff, the operations of neighborhood centers are overseen by a board of directors made up of neighborhood stakeholders and city facilitators.  Membership is free for everyone; the fitness center membership is $15 a month.

The city broke ground for the project in Feb. 9, 2021.