With a history that stretches back to 1922 and 5-acres of open space, Washington Square Park has all of the elements that could make it an essential monument for Kansas City. With grass, trees, pathways and a statue of George Washington mounted on a horse, the park connects downtown Kansas City with surrounding neighborhoods, but does so in a way that doesn’t make sense for the modern city. Some of that is tied to the history of the space though.
In 1922 the Patriots and Pioneers Memorial Foundation was formed to raise money for a statue of Washington in Kansas City. Dedicated in 1925, the statue is 16 feet 7 inches tall and stands on a pedestal 13 feet high. Over the years small changes have been made to the position of the monument along with the creations of a plaza/sitting area around it. These changes have helped to spur interest in the space, although the lack of activities and other attractions in it have limited how much of an impact it has enabled for Kansas City.
The Kansas City Irish Fest is held over Labor Day weekend every year in Crown Center and Washington Park with numerous other events taking place throughout the year. Additionally, the Missouri Korean War Veterans Memorial was placed in the park in 2011, further highlighting the space the park has to house numerous attractions and monuments. However, logistical challenges related to everything from being near an overwhelming parking lot to implicit messages that the park is an undesirable place to be have limited the impact of Washington Square Park.
Thankfully, stakeholders have realized the potential it possesses to become a premier destination attraction for Downtown Kansas City. A new vision for Washington Square Park would completely change the area for the better to take advantage of all the opportunities that exist in the space to become a great public space and a premier destination attraction for Downtown Kansas City. Numerous ideas have been proposed to enhance and activate activities across the space which will transform it for the better.
Washington Square Park has the potential to completely rejuvenate an entire area in Kansas City by creating an open space that’s designed for residents and visitors alike, just like other squares and parks. The monument of Washington helped to define this potential, but seeing it truly realized will be the result of a much bigger effort that considers the cultural and economic impact the space can enable.
