Garvey Park

#90 Garvey Park 3501 S Washington

Background: This site was acquired from the YMCA in 1998 for development as a park. The park is also home to the Garden of Eatin’ community garden, an old baseball diamond, you can still spot the backstop and the teams’ benches.

So the Garvey name is instantly recognizable in Wichita, but who are the Garveys? Willard Garvey was born in 1920, an East High graduate, was president of Garvey Grain and Builders Inc. He got most of his wealth from his parents Ray and Olive who have quite a story too. Garvey was a big supporter of the YMCA and was behind a number of buildings in the Wichita skyline including the old Holiday Inn downtown and the Epic Center.

He married Jean in 1946.

Jean Garvey was born in 1922, a North graduate, would raise six kids and used her money to change Wichita for the better. Among the highlights she and her husband founded the Independent School and the Wichita Art Museum; she served as a board member of the Salvation Army, the Center for the Arts and the Wichita Symphony.

What we did: First off there is a nice picnic facility. A shelter and cool looking bathrooms. We did not go into the bathroom, because, yuck.

As I have mentioned, Jeremy and I both love seeing the river up close. Such history and time just drifting by… it would be interesting to hear its stories. There is a canoe launch at the park, but it was full of mud, maybe from the floods we had late last year?

The beaches do seem to have a great deal of trash. A good family outing might include collecting a small bag of trash while you walk around.

A Vietnam Veteran talks about his time in the war as he visits Wichita’s War Memorials.