Library Park has never been your typical park.
The cracking of bats is a distant memory heralding back to the days when Manteca took on valley town teams in baseball games before the now stately sycamore trees were even planted. It was a time when a valley community defined part of its identity - and organized much of its social life in the summer - around town baseball teams.
It started out as a ball park and didn’t get the moniker Library Park until the library was built in the 1960s.
For the past 50 years it has served as an informal summer gathering place as well as where Manteca twice a year honors its fallen and those still alive who have served America. There have been more than a few weddings on the gazebo stage. It is where the original low-key pumpkin celebration was launched by pumpkin growers back in the 1970s. In recent years it has become a weekly gathering spot for farmers markets in the summer.
Now a nearly $900,000 project that has just started will essentially complete the bulk of the transformation from a park per se to a community plaza or gathering place as envisioned seven years ago by downtown merchants, neighborhood residents, and community members.
Once the section of Poplar Street and the back Verizon parking lot is ripped out and replaced with trees and sod other enhancements will be made including a new, larger gazebo stage complete with amphitheatre-style seating. City Manager Steve Pinkerton believes the enhancements will provide an excellent opportunity to work toward enhancing the appeal of downtown Manteca and making it a more vibrant and higher profile part in the lives of community residents.
Pinkerton said the park with its location, design, mural walk, playground equipment, interactive water play feature, and gazebo with informal seating will be an ideal setting for summer concerts, small community gatherings, larger evens such as the street fair, and more.
Between the current phase of work, the water feature, the existing ;playground, and the restrooms Manteca will have invested more than $1.6 million in Library Park with the main objectives to help bolster downtown, create a community gathering place, and to provide neighborhood park-style amenities for nearby residents.
Manteca Redevelopment Agency funds as well as park fees paid for by growth are covering the park costs.
The park expansion is expected to be completed in time for the 2011 Crossroads Street Fair in April.
The cracking of bats is a distant memory heralding back to the days when Manteca took on valley town teams in baseball games before the now stately sycamore trees were even planted. It was a time when a valley community defined part of its identity - and organized much of its social life in the summer - around town baseball teams.
It started out as a ball park and didn’t get the moniker Library Park until the library was built in the 1960s.
For the past 50 years it has served as an informal summer gathering place as well as where Manteca twice a year honors its fallen and those still alive who have served America. There have been more than a few weddings on the gazebo stage. It is where the original low-key pumpkin celebration was launched by pumpkin growers back in the 1970s. In recent years it has become a weekly gathering spot for farmers markets in the summer.
Now a nearly $900,000 project that has just started will essentially complete the bulk of the transformation from a park per se to a community plaza or gathering place as envisioned seven years ago by downtown merchants, neighborhood residents, and community members.
Once the section of Poplar Street and the back Verizon parking lot is ripped out and replaced with trees and sod other enhancements will be made including a new, larger gazebo stage complete with amphitheatre-style seating. City Manager Steve Pinkerton believes the enhancements will provide an excellent opportunity to work toward enhancing the appeal of downtown Manteca and making it a more vibrant and higher profile part in the lives of community residents.
Pinkerton said the park with its location, design, mural walk, playground equipment, interactive water play feature, and gazebo with informal seating will be an ideal setting for summer concerts, small community gatherings, larger evens such as the street fair, and more.
Between the current phase of work, the water feature, the existing ;playground, and the restrooms Manteca will have invested more than $1.6 million in Library Park with the main objectives to help bolster downtown, create a community gathering place, and to provide neighborhood park-style amenities for nearby residents.
Manteca Redevelopment Agency funds as well as park fees paid for by growth are covering the park costs.
The park expansion is expected to be completed in time for the 2011 Crossroads Street Fair in April.
