History, future intersect at Sesquicentennial Point

Plaza first stage of park development

Jerry Niebaum loves 1961.

It’s the year he graduated from Kansas University, the year he got married and the year he and his wife, Judy, moved to Lawrence for good.

So when stepping stones went on sale commemorating each of Lawrence’s 150 years, the Niebaums bought 1961. The stones will be placed at Sesquicentennial Point, a site near Clinton Lake that will mark the city’s 150th birthday, which is this year.

Clenece Hills is President of the Lawrence Sesquicentennial Commission, which is putting final plans on celebrating the city's 150th birthday this year. Behind Hills is a commemorative poster celebrating Lawrence's semicentennial in 1904.

“I think it’s important for we in the present to leave a legacy for those who follow us,” Jerry Niebaum said. “It’s a beautiful, beautiful spot, and it will become a recreation spot for years to come.”

Sesquicentennial Point is a product of the Horizons Committee of the Lawrence Sesquicentennial Commission. Much like Centennial Park was for the city’s 100th birthday, Sesquicentennial Point will be a gift to the city by those who are planning events surrounding the 150th anniversary of the city’s founding, which is Sept. 18.

The plaza will include a terraced, circular area and a gathering space that includes a platform that could be used as a stage.

It will be located on more than 1,500 acres the city leases from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The site is northwest of the current off-leash dog park.

A Lawrence Parks and Recreation master plan calls for the land adjacent to the plaza to someday include an amphitheater. Other uses for the land include trails, a skate park, sports fields and other recreation facilities.

Mark Hecker, superintendent of parks and maintenance for Lawrence Parks and Recreation, points to the site of the future Sesquicentennial Point near the Clinton Lake dam. The first step in construction at the site will be the burying of a time capsule on Sept. 19.

“When the whole complex is completed, Lawrence will have a wonderful venue for celebrations at the park,” said Mary Burchill, who was chairwoman of the Horizons Committee. “The plaza is the beginning spot for the development of the park. I can visualize an Art in the Park-like celebration, the Fourth of July fireworks, concerts, speakers, etc. The plaza is the memorial to 150 years of Lawrence living.”

Fund-raising recently began for the $475,000 project.

Stones, such as the one the Niebaums purchased, are available for amounts based on the years sponsored. For example, 1961 cost $1,961. Clenece Hills, president of the Sesquicentennial Commission, said nine of the stones had been sold.

The stones will form a pathway from the plaza to the area where a time capsule will be buried during a ceremony Sept. 19 — the first step in the plaza construction.

Anyone wanting to contribute to the Sesquicentennial Point project can mail checks payable to the Lawrence Sesquicentennial Commission at P.O. Box 3443, Lawrence 66046-3443.Representatives of the commission will be at the site from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Sundays Aug. 1 through Sept. 12 to provide information to visitors.

Also, the commission is selling envelopes for $2 to let residents include their memories and thoughts about life in Lawrence for the time capsule.

Representatives from the commission will be at the site from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Sundays beginning beginning next week and running through Sept. 12 to show off the site.

“If they see it, they’re sold,” Hills said. “It’s happened too many times with people we’ve taken up there.

text Sesquicentennial Point information (.pdf)text Drive begins for gift to city (6-13-04)text Clinton park project seeks funding (4-24-04)text Sesquicentennial Plaza at Clinton Lake still among plans for 2004 celebration (8-28-03)text City residents lend an ear to amphitheater proposal (5-30-03)text Lawrence Sesquicentennial Celebrationtext More stories about the sesquicentennial plans

‘Work in progress’

No time frame has been set for completion of Sesquicentennial Point. If money is raised soon, construction could begin in spring 2005.

“I think over time Sesquicentennial Point will be a wonderful, wonderful place for people to go,” Hills said. “I don’t think it’ll be finished anytime soon. It’ll be a work in progress.”

Mark Hecker, superintendent of parks and maintenance for Lawrence Parks and Recreation, said visualizing Sesquicentennial Point and the park surrounding it takes some imagination now. But someday, he said, it would be a focal point for Lawrence.

“It’ll really tie in nicely once they get the amphitheater,” he said. “It’s out in the middle of nowhere now. But as the park develops, there will be a lot of activity out there.”

The Lawrence Sesquicentennial Commission is seeking materials to be placed in a time capsule commemorating the city’s 150th birthday.Envelopes are available for $2 from the commission, and residents are invited to place a letter or photo to be opened in 2054, on the city’s bicentennial.Envelopes will be available from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Aug. 11 and Aug. 25 at the Lawrence Public Library, 707 Vt. They also will be available at the Lied Center Outdoor Concert on Aug. 20.The envelopes will be placed in a time capsule on Sept. 19 at Sesquicentennial Point, near the Clinton Lake dam.Anyone wanting packets of 20 or more can contact Clenece Hills at 842-6313 or by e-mail at fairplay@sunflower.com.The deadline for returning the envelopes to the commission is Sept. 1.A videographer also will be at the Lawrence Public Library from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. Sept. 15 and Sept. 16 to record comments and stories about Lawrence. The video will be placed in the time capsule.

Chris Royer/Journal-World Graphic