Bagley Park

Bagley Park

Play equipment and trees in 2009
Type Public, city
Location Hillsboro, Oregon
United States
Coordinates 45°31′33″N 122°59′14″W / 45.52583°N 122.98722°W / 45.52583; -122.98722Coordinates: 45°31′33″N 122°59′14″W / 45.52583°N 122.98722°W / 45.52583; -122.98722[1]
Area 2 acres (8,100 m2)
Created 1926
Operated by Hillsboro Parks & Recreation Department
Status Open
Website Bagley Park

Bagley Park is a two-acre municipal park in downtown Hillsboro, Oregon, United States. Opened in 1926, the park covers a half-block at northeast Second Avenue and Jackson Street north of the Washington County Courthouse. After a major renovation project ending in 2008, the park includes a picnic shelter, a playground, restrooms, and several sports facilities.

History

County circuit court judge George R. Bagley sold part of his land to the city for a park at the intersection of northeast Second and Jackson streets in the early 1920s.[2] After paying Bagley $1, the city built a half-block park on the site in 1926.[2][3] This was Hillsboro’s second city park after Shute Park.[4] The park was dedicated to Bagley in the early 1930s and had a baseball diamond.[5]

In 1949, donations paid for the addition of playground equipment at the park.[5] Funds were raised through a variety of means, including a ten-act circus from the American Legion staged at Shute Park's pavilion in May 1949.[6] Also that year, voters approved a tax levy to provide for city residents to use school district facilities and fund a summer program at Bagley Park.[7]

Hillsboro’s Active 20-30 Club announced plans to refurbish the park in May 1985.[8] The project was to be paid for in part through a newspaper drive.[8] In 1986, the club began the refurbishment project that lasted three years.[9] The group replaced the jungle gym, built a fence, installed a basketball court, built a sidewalk through the park, and cut down diseased trees.[9] They also paid the city to add sidewalks around Bagley.[9] In all, in excess of $25,000 and 1,000 hours of work were expended on the improvements.[9] For a time the park was the starting point for the annual Lil Spooks Parade.[10] The parade was also a costume contest held around Halloween and sponsored by the Active 20-30 Club,[11] and continued until the late 1990s at Bagley.[12]

In 1996, during zoning changes to increase population density in downtown brought about due to the construction of the Westside light rail, the city protected the area facing the park from increased densities.[13] Bagley was closed by the city for four months starting in August 2007 for an overhaul of the facilities.[4] This started a two-year, $400,000 project to repair and improve the park, with approximately $266,000 of the work paid for by the federal government.[2][4] On September 17, 2008, the park was re-dedicated after improvements to the restrooms, play equipment, and the addition of a picnic shelter among other projects.[2] The park has also hosted Easter egg hunts in the past.[14]

Amenities

Bagley is a half-block neighborhood park covering two acres in downtown Hillsboro.[2][9][15] The park stretches along Second Avenue between Jackson and Edison streets two blocks north of the Washington County Courthouse and one block north of the Zula Linklater House. Facilities at the park include an ADA compliant restroom, sidewalks, a picnic shelter, and play equipment for children featuring seesaws, slides, a merry-go-round and others.[2] There is also a basketball court and softball field.[15] Natural features at the park include cottonwood trees as well as three large redwood trees, landscaping, and grass lawns.[9][16]

References

  1. ↑ "Bagley Park". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey. 1980-11-28. Retrieved 2010-03-22.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Diehl, Angella Foret. “City cuts the ribbon on renovated park”, The Oregonian, October 2, 2008, Metro West Neighbors.
  3. ↑ Demlow, Kay. “Neighborhood Roundup – Metro West Hillsboro”, The Oregonian, September 6, 2007, Metro West Neighbors, p. 20.
  4. 1 2 3 Suh, Elizabeth. “Improvement project closes Bagley Park”, The Oregonian, August 30, 2007, Metro West Neighbors p. 6.
  5. 1 2 Campbell, Rae Anne. “Park site sold to city by banker Shute in ‘06”, Hillsboro Argus, October 19, 1976, The Hub, p. 5.
  6. ↑ "Circus to Benefit Hillsboro Park". The Oregonian. May 20, 1949. p. 26.
  7. ↑ "Levies Okehed At Hillsboro". The Oregonian. June 4, 1949. p. 16.
  8. 1 2 "Club announces plan to improve Bagley Park". The Oregonian. May 16, 1985. p. 4M.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Potter, Connie. “People enjoying Hillsboro park reward club’s renovation effort”, The Oregonian, May 18, 1989, West Zoner Hillsboro, p. 10.
  10. ↑ Skrivelis, Susan. “Plenty of chances on tap for fun Halloween”, The Oregonian, October 25, 1990, West Zoner, p. 6.
  11. ↑ Pate, Karen. “ZooBoo kicks off Halloween season”, The Oregonian, October 16, 1997, West Zoner, p. 6.
  12. ↑ Quinn, Tom. “Halloween becomes a big community event”, The Oregonian, October 29, 1998, West Zoner, p. 4.
  13. ↑ Colby, Richard N. “It’s the kicker”, The Oregonian, March 21, 1996, West Zoner, p. E2.
  14. ↑ Potter, Connie. “Egg hunts dot map of Washington County, The Oregonian, March 28, 1991, West Zoner, p. 13.
  15. 1 2 Parks and Recreation Department: Bagley Park. City of Hillsboro. Retrieved on January 2, 2009.
  16. ↑ Smith, Jill. “Memories await at parks near and far”, The Oregonian, August 19, 2004, West Zoner, p. 5.
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