Fairmount Park Isn’t Scary

Some of my earliest Riverside memories involve Fairmount Park. I would take stale bread from my Grammy’s pantry, sit on Lake Evans shore, and watch as the ducks raced toward me. That bag of crusty bread was a duck magnet. They knew what I had for them. (NOTE: Please do not feed bread to the ducks. They like frozen vegetables and oats much better, and they are much better for them. I was a kid in the 80s, and we hadn’t discovered rules yet.) The park was a magical place. Even at a young age, I knew that having a big park with giant trees, lakes, and classic structures was special.

I don’t know if I was too young to have the awareness or if the park was actually different back then, but there was a time when my perception of the park changed. It wasn’t just me. The esprit du temps had turned against the park. It was seen as seedy and scandalous, and even if you weren’t in danger, there wasn’t much reason to be there. For some in Riverside, the stigma lingers, and it’s shameful. The bad reputation, if it ever was, is no longer warranted, and Fairmount Park is a real treasure. You can be confident that Fairmount Park is no longer scary.

Sue Mitchell, a long-time park neighbor and frequent visitor, has feelings about living with Fairmount Park.

“I have been walking Fairmont Park regularly for the past 15 years. Besides the fact that it feels about 15° cooler as you walk under the shade of the Montezuma Bald Cypress trees around the lake, Riversiders are so lucky to have such a grand park in their downtown.”

She is also an optimist on the safety of the park.

“I have never felt unsafe, and the homeless population in the park is almost non-existent. …the river bottom might be a different story. A gentleman that I have seen at the park for a decade and does live in the river bottom and spends a lot of time fishing in the shade at the park …told me he was moving into an apartment! I know that Riverside’s housing team works really hard to find homes for those in need”.

As the saying goes, good vibes are no accident. The City has put great effort into maintaining facilities and cleaning up trash. Homelessness is a societal issue, and parks lie at the locus. There are homeless people in the park, but they are not a dominant feature, and I don’t notice the aggressive panhandling seen in other parks and parts of the city. 

On weekends, it’s difficult to find parking. There are car club meetings, family picnics, people grilling, and people playing volleyball. The park is a vibrant place and full of families enjoying company. On weekdays, the park is well-used but much quieter. Young families play with their children on the playgrounds, couples sit on the benches along the lakeshore, and it’s common to see people in business attire enjoying their lunch hour with a picnic. There is a charm in almost every square foot of the park. Even the clean and well-maintained restrooms are old enough to be engaging with terra cotta floors and vintage fixtures.

The park’s other buildings are also starting to see an increase in usage. Community organizations like the Downtown Area Neighborhood Alliance (DANA), which holds regular meetings at the Izaak Walton building, highlight the importance of Fairmount Park as a gathering place, further embedding it in the community's social fabric.

Plans are underway to expand public use of the park’s classic structures. The City is exploring options for the former National Guard Armory as a public space. The most exciting plan is to dredge the smaller Brown Lake and reopen the Stewart Boathouse for pedal boat rentals by the end of this Summer.

Ward 1 Councilman Philip Falcone shared his view on the park and some of the plans for the future.

“Fairmount Park is Riverside’s park—it is not just Ward 1’s park or downtown’s park; it is the crown jewel of our 55-park system and belongs to every Riversider. This park is quintessential Riverside with immense community usage, and must be cared for in a way that aligns with its historical significance and demand. The improvements of lake and landscape maintenance, new wayfinding and monument signage, new accessible sidewalks, and playground enhancements, all couched within a long-range general plan effort, will ensure we are addressing the needs of the here and now while also planning for what Fairmount will look like for the next generation of Riversiders.”

If you haven’t been to the park lately, make a point to visit. A drive-through on its meandering perimeter is enough of a destination, but you won’t regret finding a reason to stop and get out. Check out the Summer concerts on Wednesday nights, and walk through the rose garden or around Lake Evans. Grab a fishing pole and a lawn chair. Fishing is oddly trendy, and you will see dozens of screen-free teens trying their luck with a big bass or a creepy carp. My favorite park activity is grabbing a sandwich at Butch’s Grinder’s and having a lakeside picnic. Many great cities have a park as their social center, and I believe that Fairmount can serve that role for Riverside.