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  • 21 Aug, 2019

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Stead Park
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.

The park hosts public events such as Summer Movie Mania, an outdoor screening sponsored by the city government. 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.

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, 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.

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.)

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 (equivalent to $910,000 in 2023), 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.

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

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.

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.
  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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