A Temporary Park for Kennewick
Property owner M. O. Klitten offers land near the Hotel Kennewick for a city park in exchange for the payment of taxes.
At last there seems to be a possibility of Kennewick’s having a park. The park question has been up and down for eight or ten years. The possibility of getting a park comes with the offer of M. O. Klitten to permit the vacant lots south of Hotel Kennewick and facing Third Street to be used for park purposes. He offers to turn this property over to the city for a period of ten years provided the city will pay the taxes and the water maintenance. Although the property is small, its location in the center of the city has the council looking with favor upon the offer. They believe the money currently in the park fund could convert these lots into a very attractive little park. The matter has been referred to the public improvements committee.
“The park question has been up and down so many times within the last eight or ten years that it has been worn almost threadbare.”
The recurring dream of a city park is a common feature of small-town development history. This story captures the precarious nature of public space, which was often dependent on the generosity of private landowners before urban planning became more formalized.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.