According to a report in the Grand Rapids Press, Cherry Park could be on its way to gaining historic status at a time when the park is once again attracting families who play together.
According to excerpts from MLive:
Darja Duke was full of energy as the Baxter neighborhood girl ran up the slide at Cherry Park, turned at the top and slid down again, giggling the whole time. Standing nearby, Andre Jones, 22, said he often brings his 5-year-old cousin to the park at Cherry Street and Eastern Avenue SE because her grandmother lives nearby and it's a good way to get Darja to "run out of gas."
They were among those enjoying a sunny afternoon in the park, which is celebrating its 100-year anniversary amid an East Hills Council of Neighbors effort to win a historic preservation grant for the park.
"It has certainly been a gathering place," said K.C. Caliendo, a community organizer with the neighborhood council, whose colorful office occupies the park's northeast corner, next to a wading pool that opens for the summer today. The park was born out of the early 20th century parks movement, local historic preservationist Rebecca Smith Hoffman said.
Hoffman said Grand Rapids was a national leader in the playground movement of the time, which encouraged parks development as a way to combat juvenile delinquency and a means to improve children's overall health.
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