Sesquicentennial Point’s first open house empty
What if you gave an “open house” and nobody came?
Well, if it’s at Sesquicentennial Point near Clinton Lake, you plan another one. In fact, Lawrence and area residents have six more Sunday afternoons to visit the point and see what one day could be a special place for amphitheater concerts, outdoor art shows and numerous other events.
The first step in construction of a plaza at the site will be on Sept. 19 — the day after Lawrence’s 150th anniversary — with the burial of a time capsule. Construction could begin in earnest next spring if a $475,000 fund-raising effort is successful.
Nobody turned out Sunday for the first of the open houses, which are designed to show off the site. It is a product of the Horizons Committee of the Lawrence Sesquicentennial Commission and will be a gift to the city of Lawrence. It also is the focal point of the city’s 150th anniversary celebrations.
“There are so many things you can do with this,” said Clenece Hills, president of the Sesquicentennial Commission.
Hills, a couple of volunteers and representatives from the Lawrence Parks and Recreation Department were the only ones who showed Sunday for the open house, between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. Hills, however, wasn’t discouraged.
“We just started planning this a short time ago and we didn’t have any advertising,” Hills said.
Ads are now being planned to appear in the Journal-World to let people know about the open houses, which will continue Sunday afternoons through Sept. 12. Cold drinks and brochures about the sesquicentennial and the future of the site will be available. Visitors will be met at the gate to the property, located east of the Clinton Lake dam along the north side of the road that goes to the off-leash dog park.
From left, Steve Smelser, Kathryn Fairchild, Fred DeVictor, director of Lawrence Parks and Recreation, and Clenece Hills, president of the Sesquicentennial Commission, wait for visitors to the Sesquicentennial Point open house. No one attended Sunday's inaugural open house, but residents will have six more Sundays to view the site.
Once there, visitors will be guided on how to drive up to “the point,” which will be the main site where landscaped terraces and a stage are planned. If you don’t want to drive, someone else will take you.
“Once you see it from the top of the hill, it sells itself,” Hills said.
| A fund-raiser is now under way to raise up to $475,000 for the Sesquicentennial Point project. To contribute, mail checks payable to the Lawrence Sesquicentennial Commission at P.O. Box 3443, Lawrence 66046-3443. |
Although the temperature Sunday afternoon was around 90 degrees, Hills said she didn’t think it would be a factor.
“There’s a breeze,” she said. “This is just a typical Kansas summer day.”
History, future intersect at Sesquicentennial Point (7-26-04)City Government
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