City of Lawrence staff members will soon publish a report recommending that the city add Watson Park to the Lawrence Register of Historic Places.
Lynne Braddock Zollner, planner and historic resources administrator with the city, gave this update to the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board Monday.
She said city staff members think Watson Park would qualify on the basis of cultural significance, and the report should likely come out Thursday.
“This would be our first listing on the Lawrence register for cultural significance,” Zollner said. “And the way the landmark staff report is written is that ‘Central Park is significant for its association with the growth and development of the City of Lawrence as a cultural location for events associated with the growth development of the city, and as a unique location with physical characteristics that make it an established and familiar visual feature of the city.’”
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She continued reading a portion of the report saying that Watson represents the city’s dedication to parks and is a reflection of “Eastern cultur(e) represented by the early settlers of the community.”
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Community member Samuel Carter submitted written and oral public comment opposing Watson Park’s nomination for landmarking, based on the original proposal that came from community members, not the recent draft discussed by Zollner. Watson Park, formerly Central Park, was included in the original platting of Lawrence, which Carter referred to as “colonial theft of land.”
“Some members of the community may view the City’s original platting as a noble accomplishment,” Carter wrote. “But many members of the community do not share that view. Instead, it is part of a legacy of dispossession and land theft that should trouble us all.”
Zollner noted that the city commission voted against landmarking the property 4-1 during a commission meeting Dec. 16, with Commissioner Amber Sellers as the sole opposing vote. Commissioners who voted against landmarking cited limited staff capacity and concerns that historic register status would make it harder for nearby homeowners to make alterations and renovations to their properties.
Zollner said HRC chose to proceed with the landmarking process, but as the city owns Watson Park, members needed to try and gain the commission’s consent and notify them of the nomination. HRC ultimately had the authority to continue pursuing registry for the park in spite of the vote.
Zollner said the city hosted an open house on the topic at the Lawrence Public Library. She said they had about 22 attendees on a Saturday, and only one was against landmarking the park.
She also said the Old West Lawrence Neighborhood Association voted unanimously in favor of adding Watson Park to the register.
Zollner presented this update to the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board Monday, as PRAB once expressed a desire to write a letter of support for the landmark process. They have already decided to take no action as HRC is on the ball, but board members were still torn on the reasoning behind the initial nomination.
Originally, the request for landmarking came from Mike Wildgen, former Lawrence city manager, and Dean Palos, a historian and past planner. The Lawrence Farmers Market has been considering downtown locales such as Watson Park and South Park for their permanent location, which Wildgen and Palos wanted to stymie by putting Watson on the register. South Park is already registered.
“I just want to remind everybody that just because something is listed on the Lawrence register, it doesn’t protect it, it doesn’t stop development, it doesn’t stop projects,” Zollner said. “What it does is it creates a community conversation so that the preservation or the history of a place or an item can be taken into consideration as that development happens.”
One of the market’s top priorities is to find a permanent site downtown, where it has been stationed for decades. Market representatives have stated that a downtown location is central to the vitality of both the district and the market. Most recently, the market indicated that it likes South Park for its permanent home.
PRAB member John Nalbandian, who has been outspoken against the farmers market landing in a downtown park, said he was concerned that it would conflict with the other community events and programming at South Park, such as Art in the Park.
PRAB member Ruth DeWitt said she wasn’t opposed to adding Watson Park to the register, but she felt the decision was reactionary.
“The story of this park, to me, is a park that has evolved and grown with the city,” she said. “And, you know, a band shell was put in and a pool was put in, and that train … I read a really powerful op-ed a couple years ago, and it was just about, we live in a city, not a museum.”
DeWitt cautioned against limiting community growth and convening spaces because they can’t always foresee what the future holds. For example, she said they wouldn’t have thought to create a pickleball court 30 years ago, which local athletes are now lobbying for.
“I work in the Carnegie building. The historic designation is not always our friend, and I just want to make sure that we are doing this — we don’t know what the future holds, and I don’t want to do something in reaction to another organization having looked at the space,” DeWitt said.
Vicki Collie-Akers countered, saying that it’s their duty to protect green space.
“I think it’s just more complicated than simply a reaction,” Collie-Akers said. “I think it’s made me think about like, well, what is the protections for keeping open, green space that has value if, at any time, somebody can decide a different use for it? That was jarring for me.”
Although members of the public submitted the application, Zollner said staff does research to determine whether or not something qualifies for the register and generates a report.
Zollner said the report for Watson Park will be reviewed by HRC. If that board deems that the park meets the criteria, the recommendation will move to the city commission.
Zollner said it’s possible the commission has a different stance the second time around as they’ll have new information.
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Wulfe Wulfemeyer (they/them), reporter and news editor, has worked with The Lawrence Times since May 2025. They can be reached at wulfe@lawrencekstimes.com.
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