The city’s oldest park is now a national historical landmark.
Anderson Park, established in 1928 and originally known as Redmond City Park, has been listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
Anderson Park, the city’s only park until 1968, was listed on the Washington Heritage Register of Historic Places last October before receiving the national honor last week. It is the city’s first historic site to be listed on either register.
In 1938, after acquiring additional land for the park, the two cabins, picnic shelter, stone walls and sidewalks were constructed under the federal Works Progress Administration (WPA).
According to Wikipedia, the Works Progress Administration, created by Franklin Roosevelt’s presidential order to spark employment during the Great Depression, “built many public buildings, projects and roads and operated large arts, drama, media and literacy projects. It fed children and redistributed food, clothing and housing. Almost every community in America has a park, bridge or school constructed by the agency.”
Anderson Park “is historically significant for association with the Works Progress Administration as excellent example of Depression-era public architecture,” according to Allyson Brooks, Washington State Historic Preservation Officer.
In 1949, the park was renamed for Albert “Andy” Anderson, a city employee responsible for completing much of the park construction and landscaping in the 1940s.
In 1982, the larger WPA cabin was named “Adair House” after the original land owner’s wife. Meanwhile, the smaller cabin was named “Fullard House,” after caretaker Clarence “Clarey” Fullard, who was instrumental in organizing the first Redmond Park Fire Department and lived in the cabin as the park caretaker from 1954 until his death in 1977.
The park, at 7802 168th Avenue Northeast, has served a variety of purposes over the years. It was the site of the city’s first well to access the water supply. It was a former site for City Council Chambers and other city offices. In addition, it was where the first senior center was located.
