Woodward Park is one of the crown jewels of the City of Fresno. Today on KVPR’s Central Valley Roots, the story of how the park wound up on the bluffs of the San Joaquin River in north Fresno.
Back in the 1950’s, Fresno had just one large regional park – Roeding Park, located a few miles north of downtown. Enter businessman and philanthropist Ralph Woodward. His father, O.J. Woodward rose from being a bank cashier in Fresno to serving on the Board of Directors of Bank of America.
When Ralph Woodward died in 1961, his will directed that his $1 million estate be used to purchase land for a new city-owned bird sanctuary and public park for the City of Fresno. The estate’s trustees were charged with selecting the site and purchasing the land to donate to the city.
According to Jim Woodward, the trustees initially considered purchasing land east of Fresno along Belmont Avenue for the proposed park. Trustee Lewis S. Eaton, President of Fresno’s Guarantee Savings and Loan Association, favored a site along the bluffs of the San Joaquin River, on Friant Road near Shepard Avenue. It would have been lakefront property, had the proposed Fig Garden Dam and Reservoir been built on the San Joaquin River.
Eaton's vision won over local leaders, and the estate purchased 185 acres on the bluffs from the Santa Monica Land Company. In 1965, the city formally accepted the property from the estate. At the time, the future park was a little less than 3 miles north of the existing city limits.
The City of Fresno would eventually add more land to the park, which now totals 300 acres. Woodward Park opened to the public in 1968. One year earlier, the local Japanese American community led an effort to design and build a Japanese garden in the park. After years of planning and construction the 5-acre Shinzen Garden opened to the public in 1981. Today the garden is one of the park’s most popular features, along with the Lewis S. Eaton Trail, which extends throughout the ever expanding San Joaquin River Parkway.
