By now, it is no secret how much damage Hurricane Katrina caused the state of Louisiana in the summer of 2005, and few places suffered more extensive damages than City Park. With funds recently obligated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the park continues with its recovery process.

Before Hurricane Katrina blasted through in August 2005, New Orleans's City Park was a recreational paradise, the city's outdoor heart and soul. Annually more than 11 million people visited its grounds, playing golf, tennis, soccer, and baseball; strolling through its grove of mature live oaks (some of them 600 years old); visiting the New Orleans Museum of Art; attending weddings and other celebrations; boating; picnicking; or pursuing myriad other activities the park accommodated.

Established in 1854, when a 100-acre parcel near the center of New Orleans was willed to the city by its former owner, City Park expanded over time to more than 1,300 acres, making it one of the largest urban parks in the country. Katrina left 90 percent of the park covered with floodwater and its infrastructure in shambles. But a year and half later, City Park is again beginning to hum with activity as New Orleanians find refuge and respite there. The story of its valiant struggle to recover from the storm testifies to both the resilience of a city and the healing role that parks can play in a time of extraordinary psychological stress.