Gyro Park
DESCRIPTION OF HISTORIC PLACE
Gyro Park is a triangular-shaped recreational park space situated on the bluff overlooking the city on Gyro Park Road in Nelson, B.C.
HERITAGE VALUE
Gyro Park is important as a traditional venue for Nelson’s citizens to enjoy gardens and outdoor activities, and for its association with the Nelson Gyro Club. It continues to be of social value to the community for its variety of recreational amenities, and is heavily used particularly during the summer months.
The park was originally part of a larger park named for the City’s first mayor, John Houston, but was changed in recognition of the ongoing contribution to improvements funded and coordinated by a local service club, the Nelson Gyro Club. Along with the work of church congregations, the Park’s association with the Club is an example of the valuable role that service clubs have played in the development of civic culture in Nelson.
Typical of many B.C. town parks, Gyro Park has a trail system that runs through a combination of cultivated garden and natural forest, outdoor seating, children’s play opportunities, and a wading pool. The Park is unusual for its location, supported by a massive stone wall on a high bluff in the centre of Nelson. A lookout enclosed by a metal fence in the north-west corner of the park provides a panoramic view over the city and the West Arm of Kootenay Lake.
Today, Gyro Park is a well maintained green space with indigenous plant materials including Ponderosa Pine (Pinus ponderosa) and the Yellow Glacier Lily (Erythronium grandiflorum). The park is socially significant for being a popular civic recreational space, well-frequented in the summer by families and children using the wading pool, play area and gazebo.
From the City of Nelson Heritage Register, Page 67