tion a e r c e R d n a City Parks The City of Evansville has over 58 acres of park and recreational open space. Six neighborhood parks and the flagship Leonard Leota Park comprise space available to people in the greater Evansville area. The parks include: • L eonard Leota Park North Madison Street •W estside Park South Sixth Street • C ountryside Park North Water Street • F ranklin Park South Union Street • S eminary Park South Fourth Street Photo by Debbie Simon Peace Garden & Labyrinth • Brzezinski Park - Corner of West Church and Crawford Streets - Wheelchair Swings • Wind Prairie Park - South Second Street and Old Highway 92 For park related information, please contact City Hall at (608) 882-2266.
Leonard Leota Park In the heart of Leonard Leota Park is Lake Leota, a 40-acre, stream-fed body of water for canoeing, fishing and ice skating. The 20 acres within the park were dredged in the winter of 2008-2009 to restore the lake for recreational use and wildlife habitat. The stone creek walls, picnic tables, bell tower, buildings and other stone structures were built during the Great Depression as Civilian Conservation Corps and Works Progress Administration projects. Rehabilitation of the creek walls is currently underway. Leonard Leota Park is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as a designed landscape. Leonard Leota Park also offers the following amenities: • Baseball and softball diamonds • Picnic areas including five shelter houses • Basketball court • Playground areas in four locations • Tennis courts • Skate park • Hiking areas • Disc golf course An interesting feature to the park is the welcome center and local history museum in the former Baker Office Building. This historic building was no longer in use by Baker Manufacturing and moved to the park’s Madison Street entrance in 1999. The Evansville Grove Society has restored the building to serve as office space for the society and as a local history museum. Recently, the building became the home of Evansville Community Partnership (ECP), a non-profit organization dedicated to enhancing Evansville’s quality of life. In 2009, in honor of the building’s history, the Baker Manufacturing Company donated a vintage Baker Monitor windmill which was installed next to the building and can be viewed from Madison Street. 8 www.evansvillechamber.org
