June 15, 2017 By Christian Murray
Councilmember Jimmy Van Bramer announced yesterday that $750,000 is going to be spent on revitalizing Doughboy Park that will go toward resurfacing the plaza and renovating the statue and memorials.
“Doughboy Park is a sacred place in the heart of Woodside to honor the sacrifice of our brave service men and women who fought on the front lines of war to protect our freedom,” said Jimmy Van Bramer, who made the announcement with veterans at the park yesterday.
The 1.71 acre park was established in 1923 and includes the “Doughboy” monument that commemorates those who served in World War I. Other monuments have been added since. A stone panel was installed in 2001 listing the names of the eleven major WW1 campaigns in which Americans fought, and then in 2006 a Sept. 11 memorial plaque was added dedicated to the 34 people who died in the attacks from Woodside.
The Doughboy statue was last restored in 1990 and the plaza surrounding the statue was last renovated in 2001. A Doughboy is an informal term for an American infantryman, particularly those who fought in the trenches during WW1.
The new funds will be used to resurface the area with new slate, paint the walls, add plantings, replace the benches, revamp the flagpole and upgrade the monuments.
Van Bramer said he expects the overhaul to be finished in about two years.
Featured Events
16 Comments
Can we make benches that people can’t sleep on?
Nice. Almost 30 years of bird crap on a symbol of an American hero. Thanks for finally showing some respect.
I am looking forward to it.
What exciting news to see that the doughboy sculpture (made by my grandfather, Burt W. Johnson) and the surrounding plaza and park will be renovated! The park provides a welcoming refuge to the community as well as an important memorial to honor those who gave their lives.
Please keep the homeless there
How about the stairs that have been destroyed by the school construction project? Are those being replaced?
Seems a bit steep for some new paint.
JVB needs his kick back too.
WWI was pointless. All those good young men killed to enrich the bankers and armaments industry and the vanity of European monarchs. Woodrow Wilson is rotting in hell for dragging the US into that huge, disgusting bloodbath. All that war did was sit the stage for WWII, another European blood frenzy.
My comment wouldn’t look good on a monument but it’s the unpleasant truth.
I don’t disagree with the war being pointless from the outset- but by the time we got into the war it had grown into it’s own animal. And when you look at the Zimmerman telegram and the Lusitania- there were many reasons for us to go in 1917. Wilson campaigned and won re-election by not joining the war, so I wouldn’t call him a war-monger. If Wilson is “rotting in hell,” I would hope it was because of his horrid views and policies on race, and not his decision to involve American in a war that we arguably helped end and that made us the world power. Regardless – it is sad so many lives were ended for things that seem utterly pointless today. Let’s not forget the lessons we can see everyday in parks like this.
Youre ungrateful
Lol 2 years….
What a joke.
Literally a one month job.
For landscape architects to draft drawings, bid out to contractors which will have to estimate costs and materials, go through permitting processes, order materials, install? Sure.
I used to live close to this park and walk through it almost every day. Glad they’re revitlazing it. Though I think it already looks great!
Great! The park can use this.