The former homes that dotted Western Boulevard on the Dorothea Dix Park property sat falling apart for decades.

“You’d look up here and you’d see these decaying houses,” said Janet Cowell, chief executive officer of the Dix Park Conservancy. “It was dark. It was not inviting.”

“Now,” she continued, “you’re going to look up, and … it’s going to just beckon you to come explore and come into the park.”

After a year-and-a-half of work, three historic homes at the park have been given new life. A ribbon-cutting Friday featured speakers from the city and park, and from the State Employees Credit Union and SECU Foundation, which gave $3 million and $2 million, respectively. to help renovate the homes.

The “Stone Houses,” so called because of the material they are made of, are:

▪ Gatekeeper’s Cottage: This will be the welcome center of the 308-acre Dix Park, near the Boylan Drive entrance. Art and informational displays will tell the story of the park, including its Native American, plantation and hospital history.

▪ Superintendent’s House: This home will be used for offices and meeting rooms for the Dix Park Conservancy, a nonprofit that raises money for the park. It also includes public restrooms.

▪ The Physician’s House: This house will provide space for city volunteer services staff and artists in residence.

The public will have access to the welcome center and restrooms starting Saturday.

“It’s just stunning,” said Mayor Mary-Ann Baldwin. “It’s really beautiful, and I think it’s going to be a really special place.”

Raleigh is working to save other buildings of historic significance at the park, she said, adding she would like to a see a boutique hotel in the former hospital space.

Historic homes

All three houses were built in 1923 for Dorothea Dix Hospital, the state’s first psychiatric hospital. They housed doctors and other staff members, later becoming transitional group homes for patients in the 1970s and ‘80s. The homes were left vacant in the 1990s and fell into disrepair.

Diana Barefoot lived in the Gatekeeper’s Cottage for a year with her husband, who was a medical officer at the hospital. She remembers visiting the home about 10 years ago and was disappointed to see it in such bad shape.

“I am so excited,” she said. “I came out here and saw it a few years ago, and it was totally dilapidated. I was real upset. We’re just beside ourselves with excitement.”

The three Stone Houses are just some of the historic cottages being preserved on the campus. The first was the Flower Cottage near the sunflower fields that currently houses conservancy staff, and three more homes will be preserved that could host artists or historians in residence.

The remaining 11 homes will be demolished because they contain hazardous material like asbestos and are not suitable for refurbishment, said Kate Pierce, the executive director of Dix Park.

Future Dix Park projects

The city will once again see the rise of the popular 5-acre sunflower fields sometime this summer, likely in July.

The park will host a reception for its newest public art, a sculpture of several giant, stacked circles, by New York-based artist DeWitt Godfrey. A reception is planned from 4-9 p.m. June 21, at the Stone Houses. More public art will be unveiled this year.

Construction on the $72 million Gipson Play Plaza is underway, with playgrounds, water features, gardens and cookout areas set to open in 2025.