Lithia Park
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Lithia Park is the largest and most central park of
Ashland, Oregon Ashland is a city in Jackson County, Oregon, United States. It lies along Interstate 5 in Oregon, Interstate 5 approximately 16 miles (26 km) north of the California border and near the south end of the Rogue Valley. The city's population w ...
, United States. It consists of of forested canyonland around Ashland Creek, stretching from the downtown plaza up toward its headwaters near Mount Ashland. Its name originates from
lithium oxide Lithium oxide (Lithium, Oxygen, O) or lithia is an Inorganic compound, inorganic chemical compound. It is a white or pale yellow solid. Although not specifically important, many materials are assessed on the basis of their Li2O content. For examp ...
( Li2 O) or " lithia," which is found in the stream water pumped to the park. The park has two large greens, a
bandshell In theatre, a shell (also known as an acoustical shell, choral shell or bandshell) is a curved, hard surface designed to reflect sound towards an audience. Often shells are designed to be removable, either rolling away on wheels or lifting into ...
for public musical performances, two duck ponds, a large playground, tennis courts, community buildings and, in winter, an
ice skating Ice skating is the Human-powered transport, self-propulsion and gliding of a person across an ice surface, using metal-bladed ice skates. People skate for various reasons, including recreation (fun), exercise, competitive sports, and commuting. ...
rink. It also offers
picnic A picnic is a meal taken outdoors (Al fresco dining, ''al fresco'') as part of an excursion, especially in scenic surroundings, such as a park, lakeside, or other place affording an interesting view, or else in conjunction with a public event su ...
areas and miles of hiking trails. The park was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
in 1982. It features a
Japanese garden are traditional gardens whose designs are accompanied by Japanese aesthetics and philosophical ideas, avoid artificial ornamentation, and highlight the natural landscape. Plants and worn, aged materials are generally used by Japanese garden desig ...
.


History

The area which now comprises the entrance to Lithia Park was the site of Abel Helman and Eber Emery's flour mill, the first building in what is now the city of Ashland—established in 1852. By the time the town (then called Ashland Mills) had grown up around the area, the old mill had become an eyesore, dirty with livestock and the mill all but abandoned. The
Chautauqua Chautauqua ( ) is an adult education and social movement in the United States that peaked in popularity in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Chautauqua assemblies expanded and spread throughout rural America until the mid-1920s. The Cha ...
movement was very influential in Ashland, and many of the members of the Ladies Chautauqua Club formed the Women's Civic Improvement Club. Central to the focus of the club was the establishment of a park in Ashland. In 1908, after lobbying the city council, an amendment to the city charter was made establishing an elected park commission and setting aside all city-owned property bordering Ashland Creek for use as a park. In 1907 a lithia water spring was discovered at Emigrant Creek several miles to the east. Upon analysis, the water was shown to have the second-highest concentration of (presumably beneficial)
lithium Lithium (from , , ) is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol Li and atomic number 3. It is a soft, silvery-white alkali metal. Under standard temperature and pressure, standard conditions, it is the least dense metal and the ...
in any natural spring (the highest being in the famous springs of
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). Bert Greer, a journalist, moved to Ashland in 1911 and purchased the ''Ashland Tidings'' newspaper. He agitated for the idea of establishing a mineral water resort at Ashland, and campaigned for a bond issue to fund mineral springs-related improvements to the park. In 1914, the bond issue was passed, and the park commission engaged John McLaren, landscape architect of
San Francisco San Francisco, officially the City and County of San Francisco, is a commercial, Financial District, San Francisco, financial, and Culture of San Francisco, cultural center of Northern California. With a population of 827,526 residents as of ...
's
Golden Gate Park Golden Gate Park is an urban park between the Richmond District, San Francisco, Richmond and Sunset District, San Francisco, Sunset districts on the West Side (San Francisco), West Side of San Francisco, California, United States. It is the Lis ...
, to design improvements to the park. Additionally, Smith, Emery and Company were retained to do the necessary plumbing to pipe the "healthful" mineral waters into the park. During the ensuing period, much controversy arose over the spending of money and control of the park. The bond issue had placed authority in the hands of the Mineral Springs Commission (headed by Greer), and in 1916 Ashlanders voted to return control of the (now-named) Lithia Springs Park to the park commission. During this period, in 1915, the park commission opened a free auto camp along the margins of the park, which remained popular, with several rounds of improvements to campsites and facilities, until closed. Interest in a mineral springs resort faded (though was briefly revived in the 1920s). Plantings by the WPA under Chet Corry (appointed superintendent in 1937) improved the landscaping of the park entrance. Corry also implemented a new approach, bringing many native plants and landscaping features into the park. During the next several years, the park commission expanded to establish many parks in Ashland; however, Lithia Park itself fell into disrepair. Financial and maintenance strains caused many features of the park to decay, and vandals destroyed several landmarks. In 1974, a huge blow was dealt to the park when a devastating flood scoured much of the parkland. Ashlanders again voted for additional funding for the park, which went into repairing the storm damage as well as improvements and repairs. A subsequent flood, in early 1997, again damaged much of the park and the downtown Ashland Plaza area. Significant structural work on Ashland Creek and the parks bridges in the years following this flood helped to prevent further disaster and turned Lithia Park it into the centerpiece of the town that it is today. The park was named by the
American Planning Association The American Planning Association (APA) is a professional organization representing the field of urban planning in the United States. APA was formed in 1978, when two separate professional planning organizations, the American Institute of Pla ...
as one of 10 Great Public Spaces in America in 2014.


See also

* Statue of Abraham Lincoln (Ashland, Oregon)


References


External links


Lithia Park
- City of Ashland
High resolution photographs of Lithia ParkAshland, Oregon: From Stage Coach to Center Stage, a National Park Service ''Discover Our Shared Heritage'' Travel Itinerary
{{NRHP Jackson County, Oregon 1892 establishments in Oregon Ashland, Oregon Historic districts in Oregon Municipal parks in Oregon National Register of Historic Places in Jackson County, Oregon Parks in Jackson County, Oregon Works Progress Administration in Oregon