Stead Park

Stead Park
Stead Park, looking north
Stead Park is located in Central Washington, D.C.
Stead Park
Location within Washington, D.C.
TypeUrban park
LocationWashington, D.C.
Coordinates38°54′36″N 77°02′15″W / 38.91°N 77.037611°W / 38.91; -77.037611
Area1.5 acres (0.61 ha)
Created1953
Operated byD.C. Parks & Recreation
StatusOpen all year

Stead Park is a 1.5-acre (0.61 ha) municipal park located in the Dupont Circle neighborhood of Northwest Washington, D.C. Among its facilities are Stead Recreation Center, located at 1625 P Street NW; a lighted basketball court; an athletic field with a 60-foot (18 m) baseball diamond; and a playground.[1]

The park hosts public events such as Summer Movie Mania, an outdoor screening sponsored by the city government.[2][3][4] Stead Park is also used as a practice field by the Washington Renegades RFC, the first rugby union club in the United States to recruit gay men and men of color.[5][6]

The park and its small staff are administered by the city's Department of Parks and Recreation. Stead Park, whose property was valued at $8,659,560 in 2009,[7] is partially funded by a private trust created by Washington architect Robert Stead (1846-1943). The park is named for Stead's wife, Mary Force Stead.[8]

History

Stead Park playground, after 2008 renovation

The portion of the park next to P Street once held 19th-century row houses. One of them, an 1878 house at 1625 P Street, was built by Henry Hurt, a Confederate Army veteran and president of the Washington and Georgetown Railroad Company. (Archaeological work during a 2008 renovation uncovered artifacts and brick foundations from that house and another at 1613 P Street.)[9]

In 1951, work began on Stead Park, an explicitly unsegregated recreational facility. The single-story fuel sheds from the row houses at 1621, 1623, and 1625 P Street were consolidated, expanded, and topped with a second story; this structure became the park's recreation center. The park was eventually completed at a cost of $80,000[10] (equivalent to $910,000 in 2023[11]), and formally opened on November 13, 1953.

In 2003, plans for a four-story, multimillion-dollar gay community center to be built on a small section of the aging park sparked a dispute among Dupont Circle residents and the Washington D.C. Center for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender People. The plans were ultimately abandoned.[12][13]

In 2008, the recreation center and playground were renovated. Work began in April and the park reopened on December 15.[14]

In 2022, the city began a $15.4 million renovation of the recreation center, intended as a "modernization of the existing recreation facility with an addition and to bring it up to ADA standards." Completion is expected in fall 2023.[15]

References

  1. ^ "Stead Recreation Center". Government of the District of Columbia. Archived from the original on June 10, 2008. Retrieved 2008-12-22.
  2. ^ Buckwalter, Ian (2009-05-13). "Screens on Other Greens". DCist.com. Archived from the original on 2009-05-17. Retrieved 2009-05-24.
  3. ^ Mathis, Sommer (2009-06-12). "Stead Park's Summer Movie Scheulde". DCist.com. Archived from the original on 2009-06-15. Retrieved 2009-06-12.
  4. ^ "Summer Movie Mania". Washingtonian. Retrieved 2009-06-12.
  5. ^ Worsdale, James (2009-02-27). "Sports". Washington Blade. Retrieved 2009-05-24. [dead link‍]
  6. ^ Krisberg, K. (2002-07-25). "Renegades Rugby". Metro Weekly. Retrieved 2009-05-24.
  7. ^ "DC Citizen Atlas Real Property Reports". Government of the District of Columbia. Archived from the original on 2009-04-30. Retrieved 2009-05-24.
  8. ^ "Historic Preservation Review Board Staff Report and Recommendation - 1625 P Street NW" (PDF). planning.dc.gov. 2018-02-22. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2022-08-04. Retrieved 2022-10-02.
  9. ^ "Stead - New Entrance, Central Plaza, and Playgrounds". Government of the District of Columbia. 2008. Retrieved 2013-11-23.
  10. ^ Williams, Paul Kelsey (September 2004). "Scenes from the Past..." (PDF). The InTowner. p. 12. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 25, 2006. Retrieved 2008-12-22.
  11. ^ 1634–1699: McCusker, J. J. (1997). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States: Addenda et Corrigenda (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1700–1799: McCusker, J. J. (1992). How Much Is That in Real Money? A Historical Price Index for Use as a Deflator of Money Values in the Economy of the United States (PDF). American Antiquarian Society. 1800–present: Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis. "Consumer Price Index (estimate) 1800–". Retrieved February 29, 2024.
  12. ^ Brune, Adrian (2004-07-23). "Neighbors unsure about gay center at Stead Park". Washington Blade. Archived from the original on July 25, 2008. Retrieved 2009-05-24.
  13. ^ Chibbaro Jr., Lou (2004-11-19). "D.C. gay community center to open in office building". Washington Blade. Archived from the original on November 20, 2008. Retrieved 2009-05-24.
  14. ^ "Mayor, D.C. Open Stead Park in Northwest". The Washington Post. 2008-12-15. Archived from the original on March 8, 2012. Retrieved 2008-12-22.
  15. ^ "Stead Park Recreation Center Project". Government of the District of Columbia. 2022. Retrieved 2023-09-10.
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