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Langan (Municipal) Park
Encyclopedia
Langan Park, also known as Municipal Park, is a 720 acre (291 ha) municipal park in the Spring Hill neighborhood of Mobile, Alabama
. The park opened in 1957 and was named for Joseph Langan, former state senator and city commissioner. It features lakes, natural spaces, tennis courts, children’s playgrounds and picnic areas. It is also home to the Azalea City Golf Course, the Mobile Botanical Gardens
, the Mobile Museum of Art
, and Playhouse in the Park.
events. In 1998 all eighteen greens were redesigned and updated to an average of 5500 sq ft (511 m²) per green and were planted in Champion Bermuda grass
. The Mobile Tennis Center is a public tennis
facility. The facility includes 50 tennis court
s, all lighted and hard-court, with a professional shop and professional instruction on site.
The Mobile Botanical Gardens feature a variety of flora spread over 100 acres (40 ha). The gardens contain a rhododendron
garden with 1,000 evergreen and native azalea
s and the 30 acre (12 ha) Longleaf Pine
Habitat. The Mobile Museum of Art features European, Non-Western, American, and Decorative Arts collections.
Playhouse in the Park began in 1961 and concentrates on training youth in theatre arts. The program includes four large productions a year and consists of a training program for drama
, dance
, vocal
, piano
and scenic art classes. It also includes a traveling professional drama
troupe and a full-scale puppet
theatre.
, including the channeled applesnail
and tilapia
. Both species are known to be very destructive to the native aquatic vegetation. Biologists speculate that the snails were most likely dumped into the lake from home aquariums. In 2009 applesnails were found downstream from the lake in Three Mile Creek, posing an immediate threat to the entire Mobile-Tensaw River Delta
.
Mobile, Alabama
Mobile is the third most populous city in the Southern US state of Alabama and is the county seat of Mobile County. It is located on the Mobile River and the central Gulf Coast of the United States. The population within the city limits was 195,111 during the 2010 census. It is the largest...
. The park opened in 1957 and was named for Joseph Langan, former state senator and city commissioner. It features lakes, natural spaces, tennis courts, children’s playgrounds and picnic areas. It is also home to the Azalea City Golf Course, the Mobile Botanical Gardens
Mobile Botanical Gardens
The Mobile Botanical Gardens were founded in 1974, and are located on Museum Drive in the Spring Hill community in Mobile, Alabama. The gardens are situated on and are a blend of cultivated areas and natural habitats, including the Rhododendron Garden, Camellia Wintergarden, Fern Glade, Fragrance...
, the Mobile Museum of Art
Mobile Museum of Art
The Mobile Museum of Art is an art museum located in Mobile, Alabama. It features extensive art collections from the Southern United States, the Americas, Europe, and non-western art...
, and Playhouse in the Park.
Activities
The Azalea City Golf Course is an 18-hole public golf course owned and operated by the city. It opened in 1957 and has a history of hosting Professional Golfers AssociationProfessional Golfers Association
Professional Golfers' Association, , is the usual term for a professional association in men's golf. It is often abbreviated to PGA...
events. In 1998 all eighteen greens were redesigned and updated to an average of 5500 sq ft (511 m²) per green and were planted in Champion Bermuda grass
Cynodon dactylon
Cynodon dactylon , also known as Dūrvā Grass, Bermuda Grass, Dubo, Dog's Tooth Grass, Bahama Grass, Devil's Grass, Couch Grass, Indian Doab, Arugampul, Grama, and Scutch Grass, is a grass native to north and east Africa, Asia and Australia and southern Europe...
. The Mobile Tennis Center is a public tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
facility. The facility includes 50 tennis court
Tennis court
A tennis court is where the game of tennis is played. It is a firm rectangular surface with a low net stretched across the center. The same surface can be used to play both doubles and singles.-Dimensions:...
s, all lighted and hard-court, with a professional shop and professional instruction on site.
The Mobile Botanical Gardens feature a variety of flora spread over 100 acres (40 ha). The gardens contain a rhododendron
Rhododendron
Rhododendron is a genus of over 1 000 species of woody plants in the heath family, most with showy flowers...
garden with 1,000 evergreen and native azalea
Azalea
Azaleas are flowering shrubs comprising two of the eight subgenera of the genus Rhododendron, Pentanthera and Tsutsuji . Azaleas bloom in spring, their flowers often lasting several weeks...
s and the 30 acre (12 ha) Longleaf Pine
Longleaf Pine
Pinus palustris, commonly known as the Longleaf Pine, is a pine native to the southeastern United States, found along the coastal plain from eastern Texas to southeast Virginia extending into northern and central Florida....
Habitat. The Mobile Museum of Art features European, Non-Western, American, and Decorative Arts collections.
Playhouse in the Park began in 1961 and concentrates on training youth in theatre arts. The program includes four large productions a year and consists of a training program for drama
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
, dance
Dance
Dance is an art form that generally refers to movement of the body, usually rhythmic and to music, used as a form of expression, social interaction or presented in a spiritual or performance setting....
, vocal
Vocal music
Vocal music is a genre of music performed by one or more singers, with or without instrumental accompaniment, in which singing provides the main focus of the piece. Music which employs singing but does not feature it prominently is generally considered instrumental music Vocal music is a genre of...
, piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
and scenic art classes. It also includes a traveling professional drama
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
troupe and a full-scale puppet
Puppet
A puppet is an inanimate object or representational figure animated or manipulated by an entertainer, who is called a puppeteer. It is used in puppetry, a play or a presentation that is a very ancient form of theatre....
theatre.
Invasive species
The main lake in the park has become home to several invasive speciesInvasive species
"Invasive species", or invasive exotics, is a nomenclature term and categorization phrase used for flora and fauna, and for specific restoration-preservation processes in native habitats, with several definitions....
, including the channeled applesnail
Pomacea canaliculata
Pomacea canaliculata, common name the channeled applesnail, is a species of large freshwater snail with gills and an operculum, an aquatic gastropod mollusk in the family Ampullariidae, the apple snails....
and tilapia
Tilapia
Tilapia , is the common name for nearly a hundred species of cichlid fish from the tilapiine cichlid tribe. Tilapia inhabit a variety of fresh water habitats, including shallow streams, ponds, rivers and lakes. Historically, they have been of major importance in artisan fishing in Africa and the...
. Both species are known to be very destructive to the native aquatic vegetation. Biologists speculate that the snails were most likely dumped into the lake from home aquariums. In 2009 applesnails were found downstream from the lake in Three Mile Creek, posing an immediate threat to the entire Mobile-Tensaw River Delta
Mobile-Tensaw River Delta
The Mobile-Tensaw River Delta is the largest river delta and wetland in Alabama. It encompasses approximately in a 40 by area and is the second largest delta in the United States....
.