#24 Herman Hill Park – 101 E Pawnee St
Background: The park was acquired in 1932.
Named after a prominent south side businessman who served as City Commissioner and the 34th Mayor of Wichita.
The park is the sight of a dark moment in Wichita history. On Easter Sunday, 1979, Police entered the park to run out people attending a rock concert. Tear gas was thrown into the crowd, which included children. A riot broke out, in the end, 62 adults and 22 kids were taken into custody. 22 citizens and 31 police officers were injured during the riot. The worst in Wichita history. Today the park has a police substation, a disc golf course, a nature walk, and a Water treatment center.
What we did: We started at the water center, which is a cool building with a number of fountains, and at night, it’s pretty slick looking. The center also has a giant aquarium with fish that are native to the Arkansas River. We walked around the nature trail It is winter in Kansas, and while most the trees were dormant, I still found a beauty in the park.
We also walked along the river and I took a nice shot of the John Mack Bridge.
The playground was your standard set up. Nothing unique about it. I did manage to cross all three of the dangling things (insert joke here) without falling. All those years of gymnastics finally paid off!
From one dark moment in our city’s history to another.