Stressed? Discover peace at the park

From its namesake to its largest statue to the frequent groups of stroller-pushing exercisers, there is no denying the feminine mystique of Esther Short Park. As far as I’m concerned, the mere fact that she had 10 children qualified Esther for the honor that remains hers 188 years after the park was dedicated. She and others are commemorated with “The Pioneer Woman” statue on the north side of the 5-acre park in downtown Vancouver.

Like a consoling mother, the park reaches out to comfort the weary journalist who has wandered from the west to escape the stress of political upheaval, social unrest and national economic decay. The park’s maternal solace is extended quietly, for the most part, punctuated occasionally by a swinging child’s giggle or the soft click of a camera shutter by the flower beds. More than once, as I have left the park and crept back to work, a colleague coming toward me, embarking on his own relief mission, has snapped, “One of us is walking the wrong way.”

Recently I was drawn to another perspective of the park, an opinion that came from far away, but which carried enough clout to remind me that our beautiful town square should never be taken for granted. Jean Godden is a member of the Seattle City Council and a former newspaper columnist. Last month she reviewed Esther Short Park for http://www.crosscut.com, a Seattle website that provides news and commentary about the Northwest. Godden’s column carried this headline and introduction, “Vancouver: a case study in downtown revival. This time it’s that other Vancouver, the one to the south, touting successful urban development. And in this case turning around a crime-ridden park.”

After touring the park this year, Godden declared it to be “a poster child for what an urban park can and should be.” This assessment from a nonlocal observer carries two reminders. First, the park’s revival in the past decade-and-a-half required unwavering passion and extensive planning by local leaders. Second, people in other cities envy our community’s dogged devotion to an improved quality of life.

Plenty of doubters

Of course, restarting the heart of Vancouver wasn’t easy, as Godden explained: “There was tremendous push-back on some of the projects, most especially the hotel bonds. Citizens complained that the $1 million debt service payments on the bonds should have been used for other purposes such as roads and infrastructure. One city council member refers to the process as ‘ten years of pure hell.’”

But the hard work has paid off: “City investment in the housing projects amounted to $56 million, but that sum leveraged $250 million in private money … money that keeps reaping a benefit and appears to be only the first step in a central city renaissance.”

She’s right. Downtown Vancouver’s future glows with economic and cultural expansion. A few blocks to the northeast of the park, the new downtown library is taking shape. To the southwest, waterfront redevelopment is on the drawing board.

If you need an official reason to visit the park, the noon concert series on Wednesdays and the 6 p.m. concert series on Thursdays both wind up this week. The weekend farmers market also is a big draw. But many people flock to the park for unofficial reasons, to splash in the wading pool, snooze or read beneath one of the 85 large trees, swing and slide in the playground, or marvel at the west side’s rose garden or the south side’s 16 hanging baskets, exploding with petunias.

If you’re a taxpayer in the city of Vancouver, you can check out the $46 million city hall you helped buy for $18.5 million. It’s the former Columbian building, across from the Slocum House Theater, and it holds modern furniture you helped buy at an 89 percent discount. Purchasing the building will save the city a million bucks a year in leases and operating expenses.

As our community struggles through convulsions of political and economic tumult, matriarchal Esther Short Park is an oasis of relief, sometimes blessedly tranquil, other times bustling with excitement, but always a source of pride for all of us.

John Laird is The Columbian’s editorial page editor. His column of personal opinion appears each Sunday. Reach him at john.laird@columbian.com.