Source:
Quiet park grows quieter by Amy Dorsett, EN Staff Writer; June 30, 2006
Nestled deep in the 344 shaded acres of Brackenridge Park, it's easy to forget the hustle and bustle of the surrounding city just beyond the northern edge of downtown.
And now that sense of remoteness and solitude people have enjoyed for more than 100 years will be heightened in a refurbished park stripped of most of its roadways and redesigned for hikers and bikers.
Its five-year, $7.5 million makeover complete, a new and improved
Brackenridge Park will be officially unveiled Saturday, and everyone is invited to check out the new look for one of the oldest and most celebrated green spaces in town.
The grand opening will feature potato sack races, bubble-gum-blowing contests, a pooch parade and other activities, including park tours by historians, artists and naturalists.
For several generations, the park has served as a central meeting space on Easter. Days in advance, families begin camping out to claim the best picnic spots.
While the park isn't the city's biggest — it ranks No. 6 — it's the most popular, attracting more visitors than the others.
"It's like our Central Park," said historian Maria Pfeiffer, who wrote a history of the park in the late 1990s when she worked for the city. "It's totally surrounded by development, yet it's quiet. It's a place for people to go to escape."
The most dramatic change made in the renovation — funded by park bonds approved by voters in 1994 — was the conversion of the park's roadways to hike and bike trails.
When the park was designed near the turn of the 20th century, planners envisioned the then-rural space as a place where drivers, first in horse and buggy and later in cars, could come for a leisurely trip.
"The park never really had any hike or bike trails — what it had was streets," said Jamaal Moreno, project manager for the city's Parks and Recreation Department. "It was a Sunday drive kind of thing — back then, this was out in the country."
With the advent of aerobic exercise, joggers, walkers and bikers began sharing the roadways with autos — a dangerous mix.
Esteban Escamilla, who lives near the park, said he walks or runs through Brackenridge daily and has seen a noticeable uptick in others doing the same.
"I think it's great. It's more pedestrian friendly," the 56-year-old convenience store worker said. "It's a lot nicer when you separate the cars from the people — it's definitely safer now."
The park's main artery — Red Oak Drive — remains a roadway, but nearly all others have switched from roads to narrower paths.
Another drastic change is the park's main entrance, which now is at Broadway and Funston.
The intersection has been realigned and is now a true, four-way signaled intersection; previously Funston west of Broadway was a short, circular drive.
The statue of George Brackenridge, which used to be at the circle's center, has been moved nearby.
Brackenridge, a banker and philanthropist who owned the city's waterworks, donated 199 acres of parkland in 1899. Over time, he added to the acreage and the park quickly became a meeting place for families.
By 1902, according to Pfeiffer, there were a fenced deer preserve and enclosures for buffalo and elk.
The park was home to the city's first public golf course and Brackenridge Zoological Garden, the forerunner of the
San Antonio Zoo. There also was a donkey barn, a stone structure still in use as office space, where children could ride the animals.
Adding to the attractions was a so-called swimming beach, with a gravel bottom, which eventually was replaced with a concrete-lined pool and rustic stone dressing rooms.
"People camped along the (San Antonio River) and picnicked along the river," Pfeiffer said. "People could escape rather easily and as the city developed there became the need to recreate."
The park improvements, taken out in two phases beginning in 2001, are among the most major renovations the park has seen and should meet the needs of modern nature seekers, Pfeiffer said.
"Parks back then weren't really designed for active recreation, they weren't for organized sports. It was a place for people to gather for picnics and meetings and celebrations," she said. "This idea of walking and jogging is a pretty recent phenomenon."
In addition to new playground equipment, park visitors will notice that all of the picnic spaces have been renovated with new pads, tables, grills and trash cans.
On a recent afternoon, the Lopez family was enjoying a picnic lunch of sandwiches before feeding the ducks — an activity they enjoy about twice a month.
"Everything is perfect," said Luis Lopez, 35, a machinist. "It is nice when you come to eat and you find a nice, clean picnic table. The improvements are great."
Among the improvements, several stretches of river wall were repaired and reconstructed, lighting was added and picnic units were added.
Scattered throughout the park are new pieces of public art. Within the Wilderness Area is a piece by Anne Wallace called Gloriosa. Located at the convergence of two trails, the artwork was inspired by a large fallen tree. Another artist, Susan Budge, created three sculptures on top of stone pillars.
The deeper you burrow in the park, the more you realize the solitude that comes courtesy of a cloak of nature refined by shade trees, limestone retaining walls and colorful vegetation.
Nina Wilson, a 24-year-old student and architecture intern who lives and works downtown, said the park's improvements likely would lure her out more often.
"I'm happy to see it — it's great it's getting the attention," she said. "It is potentially a real bright spot for San Antonio."
Mayor Phil Hardberger, who has praised parkland for adding to the city's quality of life, said he thinks the improvements will spark a renaissance for Brackenridge Park.
"They help buy back the soul of the city," he said of parks. "Concrete takes it away — it's important to protect green space." 
Discuss: Brackenridge Park
Linear Mode
