By Michael D. Wynne
In the 1920s, Alexandria City Park (basically where the zoo is now), Mockingbird Park, Ralph Smith Smith Park and Harmon Park were the only public parks that Rapides Parish had. Today, only Harmon Park of these parks remains intact. Harmon Park? Where is that located? Who is it named after?
The “Harmon” in Harmon Park is named after William E. Harmon (1862-1928) who was a wealthy real estate developer and philanthropist. Harmon was born and raised in Ohio, but moved to New York in adulthood. In later life, he would set up the Harmon Foundation Playground Fund to allow parks to be built across the United States. He famously said, “Any community that wants a playground can have one.” In total, there are over 100 Harmon Fields/Parks that were created across the country. There might be more city parks named after Harmon than anyone else.
As a result of a city agreeing to receive money to establish a Harmon Park, the community had two stipulations: 1. That the land purchased be used for playing and athletic purposes for all time, and 2. That the land be named Harmon Field/Park for all time eternally.
In August of 1924, Professor J. E. Potts, on behalf of the city of Alexandria, submitted one of over 900 grant applications requesting $2,000 from the Harmon Foundation to establish a park here. Alexandria was one of 15 cities in Louisiana making this grant request. The area towards the end of Monroe Street, along the banks of Hynson Bayou, which was originally the land of the former winter headquarters for the M. L. Clark Circus, was then opening up as a new residential area and the city thought that would be an excellent location for the park. Florence Nadler, head of the Harmon Foundation, came to Alexandria on December 18, 1924 to investigate the grant request and was feted at the Hotel Bentley with a luncheon attended by the prominent leaders of Alexandria of the time.
The money was granted and received in 1926 with the park initially called Harmon Field. Amazingly, one of the original foundation stones of the historic Louisiana State Seminary for Military Learning (the predecessor of LSU) was removed from its Pineville site (across from the VA building) and was brought to Harmon Park and lodged in the ground with a bronze marker on it. The marker said, “Harmon Field. This playfield was made ours through the assistance of the Harmon Foundation, 1924. Dedicated forever to the plays of children, the development of youth and the recreation of all. The Gift of Land is the Gift Eternal.”
The park, located at 2510 Monroe Street, was dedicated on August 7, 1929 before over 1,500 citizens. Ceremonies that day included a pageant, a temporary stage built, a song written just for the festivities, big electrical lights set-up for the first time in that area, and many speeches made. Mrs. J. F. Ball had a drinking fountain installed in memory of her late husband. There was even a salt water well in the park to be used some day for the creation of a salt water swimming pool. The Town Talk reporter said of this event, “…the crowd became so pressing and the eagerness of the children so intense, that the reporter will simply say that nothing like this has ever been seen in Alexandria before.”
In September of 1997, the park was mostly in ruin and the city began a new program called “Getting Back Our Parks” to reclaim the park and “run the riffraff out of there.” Today, sadly, the water fountain is long gone as well as the century-old original bronze marker, likely sold for scrap metal. The historic 1859 LSU foundation stone is still there, though it has been shockingly vandalized and spray-painted with graffiti.
When I went there, I found no children around, just the unhoused people sleeping there. What would Mr. Harmon think now?
