Graceada Park

Graceada Park is an urban park north of Needham Avenue in Modesto, California, and is the city's first and oldest park. It was designed by John McLaren, the designer of Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, and was dedicated on April 4, 1907. Graceada Park has been registered as an official historic landmark by the City of Modesto Landmark Preservation Commission and since its founding has been a focal-point of community activity and engagement in Modesto.

The Women's Improvement Club
One of the most productive early civic organizations in Modesto was the Women's Improvement Club of Modesto (which later became the Modesto Garden Club), established on April 14, 1906 with the objective of enhancing and beautifying the city. At the onset the club had forty-two members.

The development of parks in Modesto was initiated by the club. Previous to their help in park development, the only semblance of a park in the city was a small plot of ground on I Street where trees were planted for shade. If the women's club hadn't been so insistent, the land of what is now Graceada Park would probably have been absorbed by the city within a year, and buildings placed on it.

Land donation
In 1906, two wealthy land developers, Thomas Kennan (T. K.) Beard and Thomas P. (T. P.) Wisecarver, donated twelve acres or three blocks of land to the women's club in what was then the northern part of Modesto, for the purpose of establishing a park. Since the club at that time was not a legal body, having only 102 members, they appointed trustees to whom the land was deeded. T. P. Wisecarver's tract of land was the larger donation, being nearly a quarter mile in length and 280 feet in width. The tract was deeded to the women's club in September 1906 under the condition that the club spend $1,000 the first year (equivalent to around $30,000 today) and at least $500 each subsequent year in improving the park. The club immediately commenced improvements by planting palms, shrubs, grass and trees.

The women's club was given the option to buy an adjoining 10 acres, but had only one week to raise the money for the purchase. The founder and president of the club, Mrs. E. C. Dozier, knowing that the club couldn't raise the necessary funds in such a short time, contacted the wealthy sheep rancher James Enslen for a donation. In December of 1906 Mr. Enslen agreed and donated $2,000 to the club for the purchase of the land that eventually became Enslen Park. Mrs. William Wilkinson donated 3.5 acres of adjoining land to the club to make an artificial lake (which, historically, was a feature of the park). Additional land was donated to the club shortly after by others. Beard paid for the leveling of the property out of his own pocket. He also donated the triangular traffic island formed by the juncture of L Street and 14th Street, intended to be an entrance to the park (this traffic island still exists). The early streets of Modesto were not laid in cardinal directions but were planned to be parallel and perpendicular to the railroad tracks. The first streets laid out in the more typical north/south and east/west manner were those surrounding what would become Graceada Park.

Early development
In order to raise funds for the development of the park, the women's club held their annual fiesta in June 1908 and combined the funds raised from that and their 1906 fiesta. In the early plans, Graceada and Enslen Parks were going to be one park, with Graceada identified in planning stages as the "panhandle" and Enslen the "pan." However, in the end they were separated. The plan for the park (as well as several parks in Modesto) was drafted by John T. McLaren, a prominent landscape architect and friend of John Muir who also designed Golden Gate Park in San Francisco. McLaren was invited by the women's club to design both Graceada and Enslen parks. He completed drafting the plans by February 1907. Original features of the park included strolling paths, tennis courts, an artificial lake, a 144-foot rose arbor adjacent to the tennis courts, and many trees of different varieties. In designing the park, McLaren embraced naturalism and designed an arboretum and a promenade. E. K. Ekstein donated 1,000 eucalyptus trees in 10 different species to the park. The original trees of the park are easily identifiable because they are mostly clustered together and are quite large. Approximately 20% of these original trees remain in the park today. The four stone and brick pillars that stand today at the entrance to Enslen park cost the club $555 in 1909, or roughly $17,000 today.

Graceada Park was officially dedicated with a ceremony on April 4, 1907 at the unpaved intersection of Alice and Park Avenue. It existed under the ownership of the Women's Improvement Club until 1913 when the club could no longer afford the upkeep costs ($4,000 per year) and turned the land over to the city as a donation. By the time the park was donated to the city, the club had spent $32,000 in total of their won money for its beautification and upkeep. By 1912, the club had finished their work of planting trees at the park. Since then, the diverse multitude of trees has been characteristic of Graceada Park, and it has been described as a "mini-arboretum."

Naming
The name of the park was initially proposed to be Beard-Wisecarver Park, in honor of the donors. However, Beard declined this honor. Subsequently, the name Graceada was chosen, a portmanteau of the first names of Beard's and Wisecarver's wives, Grace Beard and Ada Wisecarver. Thus, Graceada is pronounced "GRACE-AIDA." Coincidentally, Grace Beard's middle name was also Ada. There is a misconception that the park was named after Grace M. Davis and her sister (whom Grace M. Davis High School in Modesto was named after), however this is not the case.

Notable events held at the park
Over the years, Graceada Park has been used as the location for numerous civic events and gatherings. After the end of World War I, on October 16, 1919, 15,000 people gathered at Graceada Park to welcome home some 1,000 war veterans from the army and navy. The veterans assembled on 12th Street and were escorted to the park where they, "marched along, column after column with a firm, steady step, cheered by the crowd again and again." At the park, speeches were given, songs were sung by a sixty-person chorus, and a banquet was served in the tennis area on long tables laden with delicacies for which Stanislaus County is famous. Honored among the veterans during the evening were the eighty-five Stanislaus County soldiers who lost their lives in World War I.

On Arbor Day on March 7, 1928 (a holiday instituted by the Women's Improvement Club), Modesto citizens gathered at Graceada Park to celebrate both the efforts to plant trees of the Women's Improvement Club and the firemen of the city, as well as to ceremonially place the city fire bell in the park. The fire bell, also used to announce curfew for youth, had been put to service in 1884 and was originally mounted on a tower at the Modesto Water Works building at 819 10th Street. The bell remained at Graceada Park for sixty-three years until it was moved to the front of Fire Station No. 2 in 1991 and dedicated on October 18 of that year.

In October 1954, a week-long celebration was held to commemorate the 100-year anniversary of Stanislaus County. As the first event of the festivities, on May 12, 3,000 people attended the dedication of the Mancini Music Bowl (a stage for symphonic concerts). The Bowl, named in honor of Francesco Nicolo "Frank" Mancini who was a music teacher at a Modesto high school, could seat up to 1,000 people.

On July 23, 1980, Politician John B. Anderson made an appearance at Graceada Park when he ran for president as an independent, hosting a picnic lunch event.

The Graceada Mansion
In 1914, T.K. Beard and his wife Grace Beard moved to a house adjacent to Graceada Park on the corner of Sycamore Avenue and Needham Avenue which was called the Graceada Mansion, at 102 Sycamore Avenue. The original mansion, which was demolished in the 1940s, was designed by American architect Frank Delos Wolfe in his signature "California Prairie" style. The mansion was demolished because of a dispute between the owner (an owner subsequent to Mr. T. K. Beard) and the city. Today, an office building built in the 1980s exists where the Graceada Mansion used to be.

1999 renovations
In July 1999, a $350,000 renovation of Graceada Park was completed. The endeavor was jointly financed by the city, which donated $150,000, and by a support group called Graceada Is Fun Times (GIFT), which raised about $200,000 through donations. The project saw the construction of a new play area and structure (replacing the 1948 structure), a walk-through fountain, and a small amphitheater for children's productions, graduations, and recitals, an expanded swimming pool area, and new landscaping. The renovation took three years of planning and fundraising and a ribbon-cutting ceremony was held to open the park after its completion.

Partial list of park features



 * The Soderstrom Rotary Pavilion was provided by donation from the Modesto Rotary International club and cost $100,000 to construct. It was named in honor of longtime club member Ernest Fred Soderstrom.
 * Modesto's only public wading pool.
 * The tennis courts at Graceada Park have been a part of the park since before the 1920s. Tennis was exceptionally popular in the 1920s in the Central Valley and professional teams competed on the tennis courts at Graceada Park. The courts were initially arranged in an east-west orientation, yet because of the setting or rising sun impairing the vision of the players, they were reoriented to a north-south alignment. Today, there are two tennis courts and twelve pickleball courts at the park.
 * A large play structure with a splash fountain for children.
 * A smaller play area for younger children.
 * The Mancini Music Bowl, an amphitheater named after Frank Mancini, is located in the center of the park. MoBand concerts are held here in the summer as well as other events. The bowl once could seat about 1,270 people. However, because of vandalism and wear, about 270 of the seats were removed over the years. The Bowl originally had wood and concrete benches (they are entirely metal today).
 * A small amphitheater for children's productions near the play structure.
 * The 116 foot-tall Bunya Bunya tree (Araucaria bidwillii, a species native to New Zealand) located at the southern end of the park on the corner of Needham and Sycamore Avenues, was gifted and dedicated on April 17, 1916 by the Grand Parlor of the Native Sons of the Golden West to commemorate their state convention. A sandstone tablet at the foot of the tree says, "Dedicated to the Grand Parlor, N. S. G. W., April 19, 1917." The Bunya Bunya tree was officially designated as a Historic Landmark by the city on 10 November 1998 and is considered to be the tallest and oldest tree in Modesto. That same year, the Historic Landmark report noted that the Bunya Bunya was at least eighty-two years old, making it at least 108 years old in 2024. Bunya Bunyas produce acorns that can be 10-20 lbs. in weight, making impact from a falling acorn lethal. For that reason, in April 1989 the city planted shrubbery underneath the tree to discourage park users from sitting under it and putting themselves unknowingly in danger. Furthermore, the city has in the past sent workers out to remove the acorns periodically before they become large, to prevent the problem from arising. Notably, in 1964, a thirteen-pound acorn was removed from the tree.Bunya Bunya Tree at Graceada Park Plaque.jpg

Modern usage
During the Great Recession, Graceada Park fell into disrepair. Since that time, the park has been slowly improving and remains one of the most iconic public spaces in the city of Modesto. "It's by far the most used park in our system," said Steve Lumpkin in 2011, Superintendent of Building Services and Forestry for the city, "Graceada is where almost all the special events are." In 1998, the Parks Planning and Development Manager Fred Allen told the Modesto Bee, "You might as well call [Graceada Park] Modesto's central park. It's one of the oldest and it's the center of our older community. It's our ceremonial park, where we have our big events."

Homelessness
In recent years, homelessness has been an issue in Graceada Park as it is in Modesto as a whole; a 2016 count found 1,051 homeless individuals in the city. People living in the neighborhood surrounding Graceada Park have complained about the conduct of vagrants. In 2017, surveillance cameras were installed in Graceada Park in an effort to deter crime and homeless encampment. The effort was a partnership between Rank Investigations and Protection, the College Area Neighborhood Alliance (CANA), and the city.

Concert in the Park
Today, the Modesto Band of Stanislaus County's (MoBand) "Concert in the Park" happens at Graceada Park in the Mancini Music Bowl every Thursday evening for six weeks during summer, usually in mid-June. Each concert typically draws an audience of 2,500 to 3,000 people. The band's longtime conductor George Gardner who has conducted MoBand for forty-five years announced his retirement in 2024. MoBand is volunteer-based, and a total of 200–225 musicians play in their concerts each year.

MoBand is one of the oldest continuously performing bands in the U.S. and was formed in 1919. In the 1920s, this band was under the directorship of Frank Mancini, for whom the Mancini Bowl was named. Famous composer and band director John Philip Sousa, during a visit to Modesto in 1926, said, "Probably no one in the world hears more High School bands than I do, and of all the bands I've heard, I consider none superior to the one you have here." MoBand has played at Graceada Park for more than a century, originally performing on Friday nights until in the 1970s that tradition was changed to Thursday nights. The band used to bring chairs out to the park and string lights up until an organization started by Frank Mancini's wife raised money for the construction of the Mancini Music Bowl.

Gala in the Graceada
CANA has held fundraising events at Graceada Park called "Gala in the Graceada." The proceeds from these events are used for park improvement. In 2019, the gala included a three-course meal, live music, and a silent auction.

Graceada Partners
Named after the park, Graceada Partners is real estate investment company located in the Central Valley with $640M assets under management which focuses on investing in inefficient secondary and tertiary markets in the Western United States.