Parker's Woods (Mason City, Iowa)

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Parker's Woods Park Historic District

Parker's Woods Park Entrance.jpg

The picnic shelter and entrance bollards (1941)
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Location N. Jackson Ave. between 1st & 4th Sts., NW., Mason City, Iowa
Coordinates 43°09′15″N93°12′45″W / 43.15417°N 93.21250°W / 43.15417; -93.21250 Coordinates: 43°09′15″N93°12′45″W / 43.15417°N 93.21250°W / 43.15417; -93.21250
Area 13 acres (5.3 ha)
Architect Floyd W. Sapp
NRHP reference # 14000856 [1]
Added to NRHP October 15, 2014

Parker's Woods is a recreational park located in Mason City, Iowa, United States. It was listed as a historic district on the National Register of Historic Places in 2014. [1] At the time of its nomination it contained three resources, which included one contributing building, one contributing site, and one structure. [2] It contains 13 acres (5.3 ha) of land along Willow Creek. [3] The park features picnic areas, three tennis courts, volleyball court, basketball courts, playgrounds, and fishing in Willow Creek.

Park area of open space used for recreation or conservation

A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are green spaces set aside for recreation inside towns and cities. National parks and Country parks are green spaces used for recreation in the countryside. State parks and Provincial parks are administered by sub-national government states and agencies. Parks may consist of grassy areas, rocks, soil and trees, but may also contain buildings and other artifacts such as monuments, fountains or playground structures. Many parks have fields for playing sports such as soccer, baseball and football, and paved areas for games such as basketball. Many parks have trails for walking, biking and other activities. Some parks are built adjacent to bodies of water or watercourses and may comprise a beach or boat dock area. Urban parks often have benches for sitting and may contain picnic tables and barbecue grills.

Mason City, Iowa City in Iowa, United States

Mason City is a city in and the county seat of Cerro Gordo County, Iowa, United States. The population was 28,079 in the 2010 census, a decline from 29,172 in the 2000 census. The Mason City Micropolitan Statistical Area includes all of Cerro Gordo and Worth counties. It is commonly referred to as the "River City", as the city grew up centered on the Winnebago River.

Historic districts in the United States group of buildings, properties, or sites that have been designated as historically or architecturally significant

Historic districts in the United States are designated historic districts recognizing a group of buildings, properties, or sites by one of several entities on different levels as historically or architecturally significant. Buildings, structures, objects and sites within a historic district are normally divided into two categories, contributing and non-contributing. Districts greatly vary in size: some have hundreds of structures, while others have just a few.

History

Prior to being a park, this land had been a part of A.T. Parker's farm since 1874. It was utilized as pasture land and because of its proximity to the Union Pacific railroad tracks, Parker allowed it to be used as a circus grounds. His widow and a daughter, Martha J. Parker and Belle Parker Jackson, donated the land to Mason City for a park in 1939. It has been used for that purpose ever since. The park was developed from 1939 to 1941 by the National Youth Administration (NYA), a Depression-era relief program that provided part-time work and job training to young men and women. It is a rare example of a park that was developed in its entirety by the NYA in Iowa. [2] The plan for the park's development was created by Cedar Rapids landscape architect Floyd W. Sapp. Development was limited as the Parker's wanted the park to be kept in a natural state.

Pasture land used for grazing

Pasture is a concrete spatial area where farmers keep livestock for grazing.

Circus commonly a travelling company of performers

A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, unicyclists, as well as other object manipulation and stunt-oriented artists. The term circus also describes the performance which has followed various formats through its 250-year modern history. Philip Astley is credited with being the father of the modern circus when he opened the first circus in 1768 in England. A skilled equestrian, Astley demonstrated trick riding, riding in a circle rather than a straight line as his rivals did, and thus chanced on the format which was later named a "circus". In 1770 he hired acrobats, tightrope walkers, jugglers and a clown to fill in the pauses between acts. Performances developed significantly through the next fifty years, with large-scale theatrical battle reenactments becoming a significant feature. The traditional format, whereby a ringmaster introduces a varied selection of acts that mostly perform choreographed acts to traditional music, developed in the latter part of the 19th century and continued almost universally to be the main style of circus up until the 1970s.

National Youth Administration

The National Youth Administration (NYA) was a New Deal agency sponsored by the Presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States that focused on providing work and education for Americans between the ages of 16 and 25. It operated from June 26, 1935 to 1939 as part of the Works Progress Administration (WPA) and included a Division of Negro Affairs headed by Mary McLeod Bethune who worked at the agency from 1936 to 1943. Following the passage of the Reorganization Act of 1939, the NYA was transferred from the WPA to the Federal Security Agency. In 1942, the NYA was transferred to the War Manpower Commission (WMC). The NYA was discontinued in 1943.

The NYA began by clearing brush and poison ivy from the park. They also built the rustic picnic shelter and entrance bollards, which were completed in 1941. At the same time, the NYA was also involved with projects in East Park. The Parker's Woods project provided employment for 40 young men. [2] Other improvements in the park such as playgrounds and athletic fields and courts were added by the city after World War II.

Rustic architecture is a style of architecture in the United States, used in rural government and private structures and their landscape interior design. It was influenced by the American craftsman style.

Bollard Vertical post used in mooring, traffic, etc.

A bollard is a sturdy, short, vertical post. The term originally referred to a post on a ship or quay used principally for mooring boats, but is now also used to refer to posts installed to control road traffic and posts designed to prevent ram raiding and car ramming attacks.

East Park (Mason City, Iowa)

East Park is a recreational park located in Mason City, Iowa, United States. It was listed as a historic district on the National Register of Historic Places in 2014. At the time of its nomination it contained 21 resources, which included three contributing buildings, one contributing site, five structures, seven non-contributing buildings, and five non-contributing structures. It contains 57.6 acres (23.3 ha) of land along the Winnebago River. The park features picnic areas, a 9-hole disc golf course, three tennis courts, volleyball court, basketball courts, fishing, a sledding hill, playgrounds including the Prairie Playground, a 2.08-mile (3.35 km) hard surface trail system, a band shell and a gazebo.

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References

  1. 1 2 "National Register of Historic Places Program: Weekly List". National Park Service . Retrieved 2017-11-21.
  2. 1 2 3 Carol Ahlgren; Barbara Kooiman. "Parker's Woods Park Historic District" (PDF). National Park Service . Retrieved 2017-11-21.
  3. "Parker's Woods". City of Mason City. Retrieved 2017-11-21.