Martin Luther King Jr Park
From the Olmsted Parks Conservancy:
The Parade was a 56-acre park designed by Olmsted in 1871. Redesigned by Olmsted's son John in 1896, it became Humboldt Park and in 1977 was renamed Martin Luther King, Jr. Park. The park was originally connected to Delaware Park via the 200' wide Humboldt Parkway similar to Bidwell Parkway on the west side. However in 1960 the parkway was torn up and the 6 rows of stately trees were cut down to make way for the 6 high speed traffic lanes the Kensington Expressway, ripping out what was the spine of a strong working class community leaving a great divide in its place.
The Science Museum is located in Martin Luther King Jr. park at what would have been the terminal vista of Humboldt Parkway. The parks most significant feature is the five-acre wading pool that once attracted thousands of people from the region. It is unfortunate that a generation of East Side residents has only experienced this feature as a barren, cracked, concrete basin. We are pleased to announce that with funding from the City of Buffalo, Phase 2 of the Wading Pool restoration will begin this year. The splash pool will be expanded to cover almost half of the pool area with a completely replaced basin which will be flooded in the fall and spring as a 5 acre reflective pool. The reflective pool will serve as a skating facility in the winter as weather allows.
Amenities:
(1) Spray Pool
(1) Wading Pool
(4) Tennis Courts
(2) Basketball Courts
(3) Playgrounds
(29) Picnic Tables
(6) Picnic Shelters
Points Of Interest:
* The Humbolt Basin
* Rose Garden
* Martin Luther King Jr. Tribute Plaza
* The Casino
In the Works:
* Martin Luther King Jr. Monument and Plaza
* MLK Jr Shelter House Improvements (COB)
* Humbolt Basin Project (COB)
* Humbolt Expressway Decking Project (DOT)
* Spring Tree Planting May 1st 2010
www.bfloparks.org/
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