Title
Review City Facility Naming Policy and Discuss Process for Renaming Jackson Park (20 minutes)
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To: Honorable Chair and Members of the Recreation and Park Commission
From: Amy Wooldridge, Recreation and Parks Director
Re: Discuss Historical Background on Jackson Park and Naming Process.
BACKGROUND
At its April 12, 2018 meeting, the Recreation and Parks Commission received two Written Communications related to naming or re-naming parks. One was a request to rename Jackson Park to Justice Park. The second was to name a new, yet-to-be-built park at Alameda Landing Waterfront, to Bohol Circle Park.
The Commission directed staff to bring a review of the existing City Facility Naming Policy and clarifications on the policy’s direction to rename a facility.
At its May 10, 2018 meeting, the Recreation and Parks Commission requested that staff work with the Alameda Museum or College of Alameda to find additional information on the background of Jackson Park and help identify criteria for naming parks. The criteria is discussed under a separate agenda item for tonight’s meeting. Staff reached out to Alameda Museum and corresponded directly with Woodruff Minor, who is a well-known local historian.
DISCUSSION
History of Jackson Park
All information on Jackson Park is cited from Alameda at Play, A Century of Public Parks and Recreation in a Bay Area City, by Woodruff Minor. Additional information was received from recent correspondence with Mr. Minor.
Jackson Park was the City’s first park, however when it opened in 1895 it was named Alameda Park. After a failed petition drive to condemn this commons area on Park Avenue as a public park, the Alameda Board of City Trustees authorized City Attorney E.K. Taylor to begin condemnation proceedings. Mr. Taylor then obtained waivers from over 120 property owners, including from absentee owners who lived in other cities and countries. By 1893, he had obtained all of the waivers and in June 1894, the Superior Court ruled in favor of condemnation. On July 4, 1895, the residents celebrated the park opening and it was the City’s only park for the next 14 years.
The City opened three more parks in 1909. While contemplating names, the Park and Playground Commission chose to name the City parks after an American President, including re-naming its only existing park, Alameda Park, as Jackson Park after President Andrew Jackson. The Park and Playground Commission first named a new park in honor of President Abraham Lincoln with the centennial of his birth being February 12, 1909. This was also the year that Lincoln School and Lincoln Avenue were renamed in his honor and the Lincoln penny was placed in circulation. It was the first park to be named after a president and was approved by City Council in January 1909.
The City received title of the future McKinley Park property in May 1909. It was named McKinley Park to memorialize President William McKinley who had been assassinated just a few years earlier in 1901.
The City received the deed and paid $45,000 for Washington Park on August 24, 1908. It was formally dedicated on February 24, 1912, which was two days after the opening of Washington School on Washington’s birthday.
In May 1909, the City Council approved the names of Washington, McKinley and Jackson Parks. After further research, there appears to be no known reason as to why the Park and Playground Commission specifically chose Andrew Jackson when re-naming Alameda Park after a President.
Regarding the history of President Andrew Jackson, the following issues previously presented to the Commission by resident Rasheed Shabazz are well documented.
• Jackson owned more than 300 people over 66 years, all of whom were enslaved working the crops at his plantation known as the Hermitage;
• In 1830, as President, he signed the Indian Removal Act, which gave the federal government the power to exchange land held by Native Americans in the southeast with land in the west. This led to what is known as the “Trail of Tears” due to the large number of Native Americans who died during their forced relocation to the land in the west.
Park Renaming Process
The City’s Naming Policy stipulates that a comprehensive study be conducted to determine how the existing name was conceived and the impacts for renaming the facility. The above information includes all currently known information about how the name of Jackson Park was conceived. The Commission may either consider changing the park’s name back to its original name of Alameda Park or may establish and facilitate a committee that will discuss the impacts of renaming the facility and make a recommendation to the Commission. This committee could include a Commissioner, residents living near the park, local historians and representatives from the Downtown Alameda Business Association and Alameda High School, whose students often utilize the park.
The Commission would then review the committee’s recommendation on whether to rename the park and if it decides to rename, then choose a name from the approved City Facility list and make a recommendation to City Council. The approved list of facility names will be available at that point once it is developed concurrently through the community process identified under the previous separate staff report on naming city facilities.
RECOMMENDATION
Discuss historical background on Jackson Park and naming process.
Respectfully submitted,
Amy Wooldridge, Recreation and Parks Director