Now I fully realize there's probably going to be people who will say this is a decent park, near…read moresome neighborhoods on the verge of gentrification. And then there's going to be those others who say I'm B$t sh&t crazy for biking through here (they'd probably say it in nicer terms but I'm pretty sure that's the vibe I'm detecting.)
But I really don't care --I still love this park and part of town so I'm putting it out there -- a full 5 stars, even if it needs a little work around the edges.
Washington Park is a big, beautiful park west of Downtown and east of Wauwatosa. It's former name "West Side Park" speaks to the old city borders (although really when you consider where Tosa starts, this is still sort of the west side...hmm..)
Anyhow...it was designed by Frederic Olmsted (whose third name I'm drawing a blank on, but you know the guy-- he designed Central Park, Lake Park, etc.) The area and the park just always feel a little bit "historical" -- many of the streets near it are a little quieter than other parts of the city and I think that adds to it.
Once upon a time before the 1950s or 60s, it also housed the zoo. It then lost some of its acreage to highway 41 and the zoo moved to Bluemound Road. It's still a vast space compared to other public parks: there's a band shell, a lagoon, an Urban Ecology Center. Along the northside of the park where the roads of Lisbon, Sherman, and Lloyd meet, there's a huge statue of a man on a horse (George Washington? I think?), as well as the relatively new Washington Park Library.
Neighborhoods and places in cities that are considered "bad," "not good," or whatever present a real quagmire. People may be leery to come here because it isn't in Downtown, Tosa, the eastside, etc. and want to wait til it is deemed "safe" and "good" to go. But how will a place like this park ever have a chance to become those things if no one is willing to make a leap of faith and visit it? When it's the very attention, goodwill, and interest of people who care about parks that might turn everything around.
So I'm saying 5 stars.
Sometimes, a place, person or thing grows and becomes what is said about it - good or bad When I ride past, there's always alot of kids playing in the playground near the library here. I can only imagine what it does to someone's psyche, even years later to think you played and grew up in the "bad" or "scary" part of town. Blahhhh!! Anyhow...
This park is in the middle of a city, and sure, you should be somewhat careful -- there's always the possibility that bad things can happen in public places with lots of people. But what gets missed by not seeing the other side of that equation is all the great things that can happen, too. That by venturing somewhere new and unfamiliar to you, there's possibilities. It's what makes cities and urban areas feel so alive.
Too preachy? Too long? Eh, sorry, but I've had this review on my mind for awhile and I still really like this place.
