Greene Square

Editor's note: Today's installment of Time Machine launches a recurring Sunday feature looking through Gazette archives to tell the stories behind key places, people and events in Eastern Iowa.

'The old square used to be a sand hill much higher than now covered by weeds, trees and tons of cockle burrs," said an article in a 1911 edition of the Evening Gazette.

The "old square" referred to Greene Square, the iconic park in the middle of downtown Cedar Rapids that is now the target of a multimillion-dollar renovation.

The land was donated to the city in 1849 by Judge George Greene, who requested that it remain open green space for public use.

That request has been honored, despite the occasional proposals to turn it in to parking or use it for a building.

The land originally was owned by a man named Parsons and was known as Parsons' grounds.

Greene, along with Nicholas Brown, Addison Daniels, Julius Sanford and Hosea Gray purchased the property in 1843. It was believed to be solely owned by Greene in 1849.

Name Game

For a time, it was informally known as "The Park" or "The Depot Park." In 1871, Greene's brother, William, petitioned the City Council to change the name of Sugar Street (now Fourth Avenue) to Franklin Avenue and the park on the north end of that street to Franklin Park. It also was often called Franklin Square.

Then, in 1900, the Evening Gazette decided to sponsor a contest for residents to name the park. Readers were invited to vote on a list of proposed names or even submit names of their choosing.

The most popular name chosen was Washington Square, probably because the Washington School stood on the side of the square where the new Cedar Rapids Public Library is being built. The name stuck for six years.

In the city's semicentennial year, 1906, William Krebs, secretary of the Parks Commission, recommended the city council honor Greene by renaming the park after him.

Old habits die hard, however. A reader asked the editor in a 1910 Evening Gazette, "What's the proper name of the park opposite the depot (old Union Station which stood along the Fourth Street tracks between Third and Fifth Avenues)?"

The answer: "Well, the people voted to name it Washington Square, and then the council, during the semicentennial celebration, and desiring to do honor to a pioneer, renamed it Greene Square. It doesn't make any difference to The Gazette what the square is called: it's a pretty place, a splendid advertisement for the city. ... Might call it Washington-Greene Square. Or we might have another vote on what to call it."

Park Transforms

Since those early years, the square has been the site for campaign stops, military processions, concerts, picnics, protests, church services, rallies and various forms of recreation. It has been a focal point for parades, festivals and farmers markets.

It has featured gazebos, fountains and lighting. In its early years, a well was dug through the bedrock in order to provide fresh water for park visitors. A 1982 remodel added concrete planters and a 12-foot-wide sidewalk to the Third Avenue side of the park. A building that first housed the Senior Center, then Greene Square Meals, was demolished in 2010.

The green space between the Museum of Art and future public library slated to open in August is set for a proposed $2 million upgrade as soon as spring 2014. The proposed upgrades include removal of concrete planters, new sidewalks and sculpture, a play area for children and possibly a portable ice rink in the winter.

GREENE SPEAKERS

Some notable speakers in Greene Square:

1860 Judge Stephen Douglas (as candidate for president running against A. Lincoln)

1898 President William McKinley

1908 President Howard Taft

1916 President Theodore Roosevelt

1999 Texas Gov. George W. Bush as a presidential candidate

2000 Vice President Al Gore as a presidential candidate

2003 Jared Fogel (Subway spokesman)

2007 Sen. Hillary Clinton and former President Bill Clinton during a campaign rally

2010 Vice President Joe Biden campaigning for Gov. Chet Culver State Historical Society of Iowa