Delaney Park Strip
Encyclopedia
The Delaney Park Strip is an 11-block
park in the municipality
of Anchorage, Alaska
. It was originally Anchorage's airfield.
, one of the first mayors of Anchorage.
The park was originally used simply as a firebreak, but in 1922 it became “The Golf Course”. The community used the space both for a golf course and an airstrip. In 1929, however, Merrill Field
opened, so the Delaney Park airstrip was no longer necessary.
In 1954, the Parks & Recreation Department began to develop recreation facilities for a variety of activities and events, including ice skating, softball, horseshoes and later, tennis. In 1958, the Park Strip hosted the Alaska Statehood Celebration.
Presently, the park is used for a variety of community events, sports and festivals year-round.
City block
A city block, urban block or simply block is a central element of urban planning and urban design. A city block is the smallest area that is surrounded by streets. City blocks are the space for buildings within the street pattern of a city, they form the basic unit of a city's urban fabric...
park in the municipality
Consolidated city-county
In United States local government, a consolidated city–county is a city and county that have been merged into one unified jurisdiction. As such it is simultaneously a city, which is a municipal corporation, and a county, which is an administrative division of a state...
of Anchorage, Alaska
Anchorage, Alaska
Anchorage is a unified home rule municipality in the southcentral part of the U.S. state of Alaska. It is the northernmost major city in the United States...
. It was originally Anchorage's airfield.
Park History
Known to the Anchorage community as the Park Strip, Delaney Park is the oldest park in the city. It was established as part of the original Anchorage township plat in 1917, and named for James DelaneyJames Delaney (mayor)
James Delaney was Mayor of Anchorage, Alaska from 1929 to 1932.-Biography:James J. Delaney, Sr. was born in Ireland in 1889. He came to Anchorage, Alaska in 1911 to work on the railroad for the Alaskan Engineering Commission . In 1927, he married Nancy Marie Dillon, also of Ireland...
, one of the first mayors of Anchorage.
The park was originally used simply as a firebreak, but in 1922 it became “The Golf Course”. The community used the space both for a golf course and an airstrip. In 1929, however, Merrill Field
Merrill Field
Merrill Field is a public-use general aviation airport located one mile east of downtown Anchorage in the U.S. state of Alaska. The airport is owned by Municipality of Anchorage....
opened, so the Delaney Park airstrip was no longer necessary.
In 1954, the Parks & Recreation Department began to develop recreation facilities for a variety of activities and events, including ice skating, softball, horseshoes and later, tennis. In 1958, the Park Strip hosted the Alaska Statehood Celebration.
Presently, the park is used for a variety of community events, sports and festivals year-round.
Features and Amenities
- Two soccer fields
- Six softball fields
- Eight tennis courts
- Two sand volleyball courts
- Five horseshoe pits
- Ice hockey rink and ice skating area
- Winter running route around the park
- Fitness center at Pete’s Gym
- Memorial to Pope John Paul II, who visited the Park Strip in 1981
- Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial
- Victims for Justice Tree
- Purple Heart Memorial
- Aviation Memorial
- E.G. Fenn Memorial
- POW/MIA Tree
- Organ and Tissue Donor Memorial
- C.A. Berg Tree
- R.O. Robertson Tree
- Veterans' Memorial
- Bandstand
- Centennial Rose Garden
- Parking spaces available along 10th Avenue on the park side