Washington Square Park - Kansas City, MO
Posted by: 
YoSam.
N 39° 05.067 W 094° 34.921
15S E 363169 N 4327339
The statue came first, then the city decided the statue location should be saved as a park...
Waymark Code: WM11ZFZ
Location: Missouri, United States
Date Posted: 01/16/2020
Views: 6
County of park: Jackson Coiunty
Location of park: Grand Blvd. & Pershing Rd., Washington Square Park, Kansas City
Date Park Created: 1925
Formerly statue located Washington Square Park, Pershing Road at Main Street
Replica of New York Washington Statue
Sculptor: Henry Merwin Shrady (1871-1922)
Founder: Roman Bronze Works
Dedicated: November 11, 1925; Rededicated: November 11, 1932; Relocated 1987
"The Washington statue was purchased with public donations. Copied from a famous statue in Brooklyn, New York sculpted by Henry Shrady, it was formed at the Roman Bronze Works which had cast the original statue. Wight and Wight Architects in Kansas City designed the pedestal. The Statue was dedicated on November 11, 1925. It is 16 feet 7 inches tall and stands on a pedestal 13 feet high. The cost of the statue and base was $30,000 and the statue was placed so that Washington faced south just east of the center of the park.
"At the time of the dedication the property where the statue was placed had no official name. It was called “Washington Square” by the Kansas City Star newspaper and the Kansas City Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution officially suggested “Washington Square” at the Park Board meeting held on December 10, 1925. Also under consideration was “Washington Plaza”. Something that needed to be taken into account was that there was already a “Washington Square” in the park system. Located at Missouri Street and Holmes Road, it had a playground, wading pool and shelter building. Mrs. Gilmer Meriwether of the KC Chapter of the DAR wrote a note to the Park Board in late December 1925 reemphasized the name for “Washington Square” where the statue was placed and suggested the name of “Columbus Square” for the playground at Missouri and Holmes. In January 1926, the name was changed.
"The landscape firm of Hare and Hare designed the original planting of trees, flowers and location of pathways. Over the years, several changes have been made including the movement of the statue from facing south to facing southeast in the southeast corner of the park with the creations of a plaza/sitting area around it, with additional landscaping done." ~ Kansas City Parks
The park sign is differetnt. It is a plqaue about the renovations that took place in 1989.