(COLORADO SPRINGS) — It is time once again for the GIVE! Campaign and FOX21 News is helping out by highlighting local organizations that need your help.
Teri Peisner and Judi Ingelido, board members for the Friends of Monument Valley Park, joined FOX21 Morning News Anchor Abbie Burke on Wednesday, Nov. 29, to discuss the organization and how it protects and preserves one of Colorado Springs’ oldest parks.
Monument Valley Park is considered Colorado Springs’ “Central Park” and it’s located near downtown. It’s a jewel in the park system and it was donated to the people of Colorado Springs by General William Jackson Palmer, the City’s Founder.
One of the primary projects of the Friends of Monument Valley Park is repairing the more than 40 historical stone structures in the park. The stonework has severely deteriorated over the years due to a lack of maintenance and the City does not have the funding to repair the structures. In 2011, the Friends of Monument Valley Park began raising money for these repairs and applying for grants.
Historic stonework in the park includes the original stone features that were built for the park’s opening in 1907, including the Geologic Column. The park also contains stone features that were built by the Works Progress Administration (WPA) during the late 1930s after the Memorial Day flood of 1935 destroyed much of the park. The WPA structures include the 400-foot-long Columbia Street Entrance and the Serpentine Wall.
Years of deterioration have led to large cracks, missing stones, growing vegetation, and a potential safety hazard with the danger of collapse. More than $500,000 worth of repair work has already been completed in the park thanks to generous donations, State Historical Fund Grants, and a large grant from Lyda Hill Philanthropies in 2021.
The next projects under consideration are repairs to the embankment wall near Duck Lake and/or the baseball grandstand in the southern half of the park. Both of these structures are in poor condition and each project is expected to cost more than $100,000 each.
The Friends of Monument Valley Park is an all-volunteer nonprofit organization that also sponsors nature and history walks in the park, puts on a summer concert series in the park in July and sponsors park cleanups throughout the year.
In celebration of the group’s participation in the Give! Campaign this year, the Friends of Monument Valley Park is holding a fundraising event with prizes and live music. It’s taking place Tuesday, Dec. 5, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at The Public House at the Alexander at 3104 N. Nevada Avenue.
