History of Green Bay's Parks

Fisk Park

Wilbur Fisk's Gift

In the summer of 1922, Wilbur D. Fisk deeded to the City of Green Bay 12½ acres between Reed and Dousman Streets adjacent to West High School in memory of his son, Hiram Cornell Fisk, who died of influenza during WWII. This land was at all times to be kept and used as a public park and playground for children … and shall at all times be open to the use of the inhabitants of the city of Green Bay, particularly the smaller children. The original grant included lots 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, and 20, with the exception of houses already built on sublots along Dousman Street. ¹ (This is roughly 951 to 1031 Dousman Street extending south to Reed Street. ²) Fisk set aside $5,000 in a Trust Fund to be used for maintenance and development of the park. ³

Park Expansion

In 1934, a legal document abolishing the Trust relinquished the trust funds plus interest to the City Treasurer to be kept for the sole use of purchasing additional vacant land adjacent to said Fisk Park. ⁴ This was administered by the Park Board and the property was eventually expanded to almost 18 acres. In 1938 a petition signed by 156 West Side property owners argued that land was not being purchased quickly enough. ⁵ Through the next 35 years, several existing houses were purchased and either moved or demolished and other property, not yet developed, was added to the park. ^{6 7}

In 1970, the city purchased 1037 Dousman Street, the easternmost of a group of houses remaining along the northern border of the park; the house will be rented until we can acquire the rest of the property at a reasonable price and we hope it will not be any longer than ten years. ⁸ Twenty years later, no further purchases had been made. Spurred by the suggestion of a neighbor who was on the board of Neighborhood Housing Services, the property was returned to private ownership in 1992. ⁶⁸ Acquisition of the remaining properties from 1037 to 1051 Dousman Street had been proposed again in 1972 ⁹ and in 2004 the Park Committee considered a request from Alderman [Christopher] Wery to evaluate acquiring the parcels bordering Fisk Park on Dousman. ¹⁰ The house at 240 Gray Street was available in 1999, but houses on each side limited the value of this lot for park use and these other properties were considered to[o] costly. ¹¹ Nevertheless, the topic of additional expansion continues to come up sporadically. ¹²

Development and Controversy

A lagoon was constructed in the park prior to 1938. ¹³ Sometime later, a shelter house was constructed under the WPA Program. ^[missing]

Twenty-nine residents on Reed and Gray Streets, including many who had built expensive homes on Reed Street, objected by petition when they heard that a ball diamond was to be constructed in the western portion of the park, arguing that the change would mean that the area would cease to be a park and become a playground and that this would reduce the value of all property in or near the park area. ¹⁴

Two city council members from the area of Fisk Park wrote a joint letter on April 13, 1950, to bring to the attention of the Park Board the desirability of filling in the lagoon or pond because, they said, it contains stagnant water, is a breeding place for mosquitoes and insects, and is a hazard to children. ¹⁵ This request was approved a few days later ¹⁶ but the decision faced a whirlwind of community opposition. A neighbor wrote that the lagoon was one of the finest things in the Green Bay park system.supporting Boat sailing, frog catching, and other juvenile sports. ¹⁷ Eighteen neighborhood children aged 4 to 12¾ wrote that it is a beautiful thing and would be a crime if destroyed by men. ¹⁸ A local artist claimed the lagoon was one of the most beautiful things in this city. ¹⁹ The decision was reversed, for the time being. ²⁰

The controversy was not ended so easily, however. In 1954, a new campaign was conducted to close the lagoon. One parent called the lagoon an awful health hazard and claimed that her son was treated for what the doctor called swimmers itch. ²¹ Another letter said, this pond is only a germ breede[r] and is no good for the children, please close it up. ²² The original letter writer continued her campaign, calling the lagoon an unprotected public nuisance. ²³ In response to the health questions, the Health Commissioner reported that because of coliform bacteria the lagoon is considered unsafe for swimming. However, the commisioner wrote, The danger of contracting typhoid, shigellosis or polio, as a result of wading in the Lagoon is negligible. Contradicting the neighbor's claim, he said there is no swimmers' itch in the Lagoon and the lagoon presented no general health menace. ²⁴ The Park Board therefore decided against filling in the lagoon but voted to increase efforts to keep it clean. ²⁵ Nevertheless, by March of 1955 another council member was writing against the lagoon, saying it was an eysore to the public and a nuisance to parents of children. ²⁶ Eventually, probably in 1958, the lagoon was filled in. ^[missing]

A wading pool was constructed just west of the shelter house. ^[missing] After many years of service, this was replaced in 2002 by a splashpad with a variety of user-activated sprays of water. ²⁷ Other improvements continued. In 1960, gas heat was installed at the shelter house ²⁸ and in 1966 space was constructed to store equipment for softball and hockey. ²⁹ The playground area (which was then located east of the path from O'Brien Street to Northern Avenue) was upgraded with new play equipment in 1967. ³⁰ The playground was later completely reconstructed farther west, with separate play areas for younger and older children. ^[missing] In 1978, lights were installed at the western tennis courts (near the swimming pool). ³¹ Also in 1978, a comprehensive review of the park's trees was performed, ³² and 1982 saw major improvements to the trees and other plants throughout the park. ³³ Also in 1982 was a renovation of the shelter house. ³⁴

The city council approved establishing a Neighborhood Policing Satellite Office at Fisk Park Shelter in 2000. ^[missing] This use continued until a dedicated facility was created on Shawano Avenue for this purpose.

Fisk Park and West High School

Given the proximity of West High School, it is not surprising that the school regularly uses park land for school functions. On April 26, 1926, the Board of Park Commissioners granted the West High Athletic Association permission to use 40 feet west of the athletic field for school contests. ^[missing]

Wilbur Fisk seems to have been supportive of the high school's needs while insisting that the original intent for the park be honored. In 1934, Fisk offered an agreement allowing sale of some land to West High School providing that the City of Green Bay purchase an equal area of property between the westerly limits of the present Fisk Park and Gray Street … within six (6) months. ³⁵ While that particular proposal was not adopted, cooperation between the school and the park continued. ³⁶

In 1976, the school district proposed building a new gym for West High School north of the existing gym and encroaching into the park, but the request was withdrawn after reviewing the conditions of the original gift. ³⁷ In 1977-1978 a study was made of possible locations for a new stadium for the city. One of the sites examined was the existing West High School stadium with additional land from Fisk Park. ³⁸ Although this idea also raised legal questions, ³⁹ the stadium development went ahead as a joint project of the city and school district. ⁴⁰ The Board of Education designated the principal of West High School to be the facility manager and agreed that the school maintenance staff would handle maintenance of the scoreboard. ⁴¹ In September 1979, the new stadium was dedicated and named in honor of Dr. Clarence Del Marcelle (because of bequest used in paying for the project). ⁴² Zoll Stone Center, Inc., donated a large limestone boulder to hold the dedication plaque. ⁴³ Kellogg-Citizens National Bank (now Associated Bank) donated the scoreboard ⁴⁴ which was used until it was replaced by the school district in 2011. ^44a

In order to use part of Fisk's bequest, the new stadium was developed as a city park facility, with the city council voting to extend the total area of the park and provide additional facilities for use by all the citizens of Green Bay, including the small children. The park will be under the general control of the Board of Park Commissioners, and operated and maintained by the School District. However, the facility will be available to all residents on a regular basis and it is intended that the field will be used for planned track and field events for grade school children. ⁴⁵ Soon after the stadium was finished, Councilman Earl (Mike) Miller formally put the request of some residents for access to the running track. Superintendent Timothy Quinn replied that the district was pleased to honor the request of Alderman Miller to open the West High School track facilities to the use of community residents for 2 hours in the morning and 2 hours in the evening. The one stipulation … is that the Park and Recreation Department provide on-site supervision. ⁴⁶

In 1997 a company then known as Airadigm Communications was given permission to replace the north light tower on the west side of Del Marcelle Stadium with a monopole for cell phone communications. ⁴⁷ Late in 2000, TeleCorp PCS asked to replace the pole at the southwest corner in a like manner for placement of digital telephone equipment ⁴⁸ and approval of this request was given early in 2001.

A new tennis complex built in 2005 and 2006 placed seven courts along Dousman Street just west of Del Marcelle Stadium. ⁴⁹ The project's $217,058.33 cost was split equally between the school district and the city. ⁵⁰ The new courts replaced a set of two tennis courts in the same part of the park and another set of three courts which had been nestled east of the swimming pool and behind the residences along Dousman Street, as well as horseshoe courts. ⁵¹

In 2007, the city and School District combined efforts to improve the practice football field through a KaBOOM grant. The city and school district each funded $22,500 of the cost while school supporters added $5,000 from fundraising and provided volunteers. ^[missing]

Fisk Pool

In 1944, the city was seriously thinking about the need to build swimming pools for its citizens. Earlier, everyone swam in the bay at Bay Beach Park. Enos Colburn, president of the Board of Park Commissioners, wrote of the need for a new approach:

With the closing of the Beach for swimmers at Bay Beach Park on account of continuous pollution of the waters of the Bay and with no hope that this condition can be cleared up for many years to come, it has become necessary for us to devote some thought to the establishment of artifical swimming pools in Green Bay. ⁵²

Colburn's 1944 letter was addressed to the school board in the hope of sharing costs for an indoor pool considering … the swimming season is not more than ten weeks.for an outdoor facility. ⁵³ That approach did not bear fruit at the time, but support for building swimming pools grew. In 1948, a city-wide referendum approved bonding to construct outdoor pools at Fisk and Joannes Parks. ⁵⁴

The plan for a swimming pool on the west end of Fisk Park inspired some controversy. A petition was presented against building the pool at the planned location signed by 74 nearby residents (although some of the names were later crossed off); they cited property values, noise, and parking. ⁵⁵ The petitioners suggested that a location at the east end would be less disruptive. That promoted a response pointing out that those arguments apply, of course, to the east end.and asking that the decision be based on the best interests of the whole city. ⁵⁶ A public hearing was held on June 28, 1948, and another petition of 158 residents and taxpayers in the FISK PARK area asked that the new pool be located in Fisk Park as originally planned. ⁵⁷ The park committee of the city council reported that they were completely satisfied that a very large majority of those in attendance at the hearing were in favor of the west end location and also that the parking problem can be solved. ⁵⁸

Bids for the construction work were solicited during 1949, but the city was unhappy with the costs and re-bid the work. ⁵⁹ It wasn't until December that the park board asked the council to accept the bids and proceed with construction. ⁶⁰ Construction got a good start in 1950; by March the contractor reported that concrete work in the Fisk Park bathhouse basement is now completed.allowing mechanical work to start. ⁶¹ But by June there was widespread dissatisfaction with the slow progress of the work. ⁶² Ecentually, construction was completed and the swimming pool was dedicated on August 9, 1950. ⁶³

The changing rooms were renovated in 1990. ⁶⁴ In addition, the original oil boilers were replaced with natural gas boilers and the oil tank removed; this led to an extensive removal of contaminated soil which continued to 1993 at considerable cost. ⁶⁵

Despite the continuing maintenance, by 2001 the pool had nearly reached the end of its useful life. Due to structural issues within the pool itself, and considering the demands of newer codes and standards, a consultant suggested that the best option is to replace 'everything' outside the pool building. … The cost could easily be $500,000. ⁶⁶ Fisk Pool closed in 2003 at the end of the season, by which time the estimated cost had risen to $3,000,000. ⁶⁹

The city council approved building a new aquatic facility and in August of 2005 the firm Aquatica was hired as designer. However, the council also required that the community provide $500,000 of private funding; this inspired a flurry of fundraising activities including T-shirt sales and city leaders jumping into an ice-covered diving well. When Dick Resch donated $250,000 of the amount at the end of 2005, the facility was named the Resch Aquatic Center. ⁶⁷

2007 - The Resch Aquatic Center opened with a very successful first season. It has a bather load capacity of 833 people. The pool basin is approximately 13,000 sq. ft. The pool basin is an odd shape but the approximate dimensions are 225 feet long by 75 feet wide. The facility cost was approximately $3.2 million. Of that total, approximately $500,000 was funded through donations.

Notes