Take a drive by the Luthy Botanical Gardens by Glen Oak Zoo and you’ll see a lot of activity. You may feel a bit disoriented by the sight of uprooted trees piled across the street and the plethora of earthmoving equipment. The serenity of nearby Glen Oak Park and Springdale Cemetery is broken by metronomic beats of steel being pounded into the ground to form an erosion-control wall. The land has the familiar graded look of being cleared for a new commercial business or housing project.
But this isn’t commercial or residential — it’s all the beginning of a $32.1 million addition to the Zoo called “Africa!” While the new zoo project is the site of new construction, the park next door shows disturbing signs of neglect.
Glen Oak Park, established in 1894, has a lot of things going for it: it’s in the middle of town, so it’s easily accessible by city dwellers wishing to enjoy its open fields and dense woods; it has a relatively new playground that children enjoy; its amphitheater is home to public dances, movies, Municipal Band concerts, Independence Day fireworks celebrations, and many other community events; it has a rich diversity of attractions, including tennis courts, the aforementioned zoo, baseball/softball diamonds, picnic areas, running track, lagoon, etc. The park has witnessed the best dresses for homecoming over the years.
But then there’s the other side of Glen Oak Park:
Besides the footbridge being closed, the fact that no one can walk or drive under it effectively closes off a significant area of the park. Based on satellite photos, it appears the road behind the chain-link fence eventually meets up with the driveway that ascends from the lower entrance. Why should such a large area of the park be inaccessible due to poor maintenance of the suspension bridge once known as “Lover’s Bridge”?
The parapet is the most visible sign of what PeoriaIllinoisan rightly calls “demolition by neglect.” Is there any reason why this structure could not be repaired and maintained so as to be enjoyed by many families to come? What is gained by removing it? What will be put in its place?
Over the years, the Park District has poured money into projects of questionable value, such as the money-losing RiverPlex. There’s a certain excitement that comes from doing new things and being “progressive.” And no one wants the Park District to stagnate or never try anything new. But whatever new projects they fund should not come at the expense of maintaining the nearly 9,000 acres of land and other assets for which they’re currently responsible.
Now that the Park District has done the right thing by not allowing further encroachment into Glen Oak Park in the form of a school district land-sharing arrangement, they should focus on fixing up the park so that all the land can be enjoyed by those who go there. Tuckpoint the parapet. Fix or, if necessary, remove the foot bridge — but by all means, reduce the hazard so it doesn’t obstruct access. Maybe the bridge could be dismantled and moved to another part of the park if it doesn’t fit into the zoo plans in its current location.
Let’s polish up this jewel in the middle of our city and really make it shine once again.
[Cannon photo courtesy of PeoriaIllinoisan]
I read this and the first thing that comes to my mind is my mother’s voice when I was a child: “Why should we buy you a new bike when you don’t take care of the one you have?”.
Africa? In Illinois? You guys thought I was nuts when they wanted to put a school in the park and I agreed with the District. I knew Glen Oak was going down the drain due to neglect and so does many others. I thought that if they put a new school on the corner of the park that was occupied by old business type buildings and some homes, the Park District would have no choice but to start paying attention to the condition of the park and improve the conditon. Think they will do that with the new zoo? I doubt it unless the zoo is a big draw and a money maker which I doubt. No african animal will enjoy one of our 10 below zero winters. I thought a new school on that park corner (it wasn’t located directly in the middle of the park) would bring some life and pride to the East Bluff and improve one of Peoria’s great inner city parks. I figured a little land trade off was worth it if this helped breathe new life into Glen Oak. Now, no school and the park slides further into decline and I’ll bet the Park District will let it go further and further, removing old landmarks and those park roads which are all but closed now. I’ll bet there is more park land not accessible to the public than the land they wanted for the new school. I am waiting for all those neighborhood groups that were so vocal against the school in their park to start and get vocal again about the condition of this park and demand the Board do something about it. Draw up an improvement plan and seek funding for it’s improvements to bring this park back. Otherwise, all we are getting is another white elephant (pardon the pun) for an expensive zoo that this region can not support.
Agreed C.J.
Many in the neighborhood and in the city have complained about the decline of park assets for years and years. Until there is a change in management (Director of Parks) thing will go by the way side with the park. When the zoo is compleated the open public space will be even smaller. Gone will be the tennis courts by the current entrance, 1 softball dimond will be gone and the “lovers Bridge” will be gone also (as we know it now). What next?
Bradley park has some noticable decay in it as well.
CJ says “Based on satellite photos, it appears the road behind the chain-link fence eventually meets up with the driveway that ascends from the lower entrance. Why should such a large area of the park be inaccessible due to poor maintenance of the suspension bridge once known as “Lover’s Bridgeâ€?
I take this to mean that you don’t or have not ever really visited the other portions of the park that you are now trying to “save”. (I have) Why save something that is so highly under-utilized and under-appreciated? Let improvements be made, even if it is a zoo. At least they are doing something to the park.
That’s what I said. Even if it is a school, let that improve the park. As for Bradley Park, I have noticed that Bradley University seems to have taken over some of lower Bradley park and above that is Cornstock. I don’t see Bradley Park falling into disaray at all. After all, that is where the Park Police office is and their maintenance department is also. Queen Bonnie must have to visit there so the roads will be smooth. What worries me is that Bradley University has their hands in that park. Other than that, you can stick a fork in Glen Oak Park now that the school plan has died. Or has it??
MDD — That’s circular reasoning if I ever heard it. Close off a portion of the park so no one can use it, then defend keeping it closed by saying it’s “highly under-utilized”! Brilliant.
Emtronics — It is the Park District’s responsibility to maintain the parks. It shouldn’t have to take a school or a zoo to prod them into doing their jobs. The neglect at Glen Oak Park should not be tolerated.
The Peoria Park District Board should be thrown out! They can’t or won’t maintain one of their crown jewels while they plan to spent an unknown large quantity of cash for a bike trail that few will use. I grew up near Glen Oak Park and spent many an hour and some full days there in the 50’s and 60’s. I remember when the museum was in the pavillion building basement. Shoot, I remember when the zoo in the summer was on an island where the bandshell is now located and boat rides could be taken around the island and you watched the monkeys in the trees. I fished many times in the lagoon. What has the Park District done to promote the great Robert G Ingersoll, whose statue is near the bottom entrance? How many know that this area was a training ground for the Union Army during the Civil War? SHAPE UP PARK DISTRICT!!
CJ: The Park District has failed to do their job! I’m with ED on this, I too, remember Lakeview Museum there and the children’s wading pool. Also remember the old locomotive that was on disply at the lower end of the park.
So, do you think the Park Board will do anything to improve Glen Oak in the near future? Not as long as that black hole for money, the RiverPlex is open. That is why I think they are selling out in Bradley Park to Bradley University.
Both Boards are F***ed up and need to be replaced. How are these people voted in all the time?? That is one reason I was for the park school. I seen it as a chance to help a dead park and a dying school system.
Amen to everything written. Bonnie Noble should have been “history” or “herstory” ten years ago. The state of the parks in Peoria today is all the reason necessary to make her move on. All one has to do is peruse old postcards to see what Glen Oak Park, Bradley Park, and all the others used to be like… now look at them. Look at the photos that Mr. Summers posted.
And, don’t cry “poverty,” kids. As has already been pointed out, “poverty” sure wasn’t a deterrent to RiverPlex. Shame on Bonnie Noble and all of the cohorts she’s had through the years. You’ve done an outstanding job of driving a once proud park district cleanly into the ground.
For what it’s worth, here’s what that backroad looks like:
http://namethispeorialandmark.blogpeoria.com/2006/06/05/55/
It’s quite pretty.
A little bit of Peoria politics. The management of Peoria’s natural and historical assets is……..appalling? Boards and trusteeships usually [not always] smack of people making decisions who are not professionally qualified to make certain decisions.
What keeps certain people in positions of ‘power?’ Glen Oak Park natural and architectural assets, and zoo expansion can work together, to save and benefit each other. I am old enough to remember the unique ‘adventure’ of walking through Glen Oak Park. If the right professionals [people] are not involved with projects like this, problems will occur.
Chef: That rule is reversed when it comes to gubmint.