Object Record
Images
Metadata
Object Name |
Plinth |
Collection |
Metro Parks Tacoma - Permanent Collection |
Date |
c. 1930 |
Description |
Four stone plinths marking the trail head of the lower bowl of McKinley Park, constructed in the 1930s by the Works Progress Administration. Originally 11 plinths were built for the park entrances. These stone markers are all that remain of the East F Street entrance to the park, a trailhead now erased by the presence of Interstate-5. McKinley Park was formed April 11, 1901 when the Tacoma Land and Improvement Company donated 22 acres on the east side of the city to be "…perpetually used and enjoyed as a public park." At the time, the land was named East Park. Crews set to work building footpaths and bridle trails throughout the park, interspersed with flowerbeds and rustic seating. In October 1901, the Board of Park Commissioners changed the name of the park from East Park to McKinley Park as a memorial to the country's 25th president, assassinated in September. McKinley Park was heavily used in the 1920s and '30s. Attendance for the summer of 1937 was 20,549 and 1938 was expected to be higher with the addition of a wading pool, volley ball and hand ball courts, built by the work relief crews of the Works Progress Administration. The Great Depression left many people out of work, and WPA projects like improvements to the parks provided employment and beautification of the natural spaces. Recreational use of McKinley Park dropped off in the 1950s, and amenities such as the wading pool and field house were removed. When the State Highway Department proposed to build a freeway alongside the lower portion of the park, the Park Board negotiated a parcel exchange for nearby residential land and expanded the park east to D Street. Today, these plinths and the park trails are all that remain of the WPA projects in McKinley Park. |
Location |
McKinley Park |
Object Number |
MKP-002 |
Web link |
Metro Parks Tacoma, McKinley Park |