The Department of Recreation and Parks is a department of the city of

Bakersfield Bakersfield is a city in Kern County, California, United States. It is the county seat and largest city of Kern County. The city covers about near the southern end of the San Joaquin Valley and the Central Valley region. Bakersfield's populat ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. It is responsible for the maintenance of the city's lands which include: parks, natural preserves, and streetscapes. It also runs recreational programs throughout the year at various locations throughout the city. The department also runs the

Bakersfield Ice Sports Center The Valley Children's Ice Center of Bakersfield is a year-round, indoor ice rink in Bakersfield, California. The facility was completed in 2003. It contains a regulation size ice hockey rink, and seating for 500. It also contains locker rooms, and ...

and

McMurtrey Aquatic Center The Aquatic Center is a swimming, diving, and recreational facility in the city of Bakersfield, California, USA. It is located near Centennial Garden, newly renamed " Arena", in downtown Bakersfield. The Aquatic Center opened in June 2004. Combi ...

. Although there are incorporated areas in the northwest, the city does not have any parks in that region. They are instead maintained by the North of the River Recreation and Parks District. The department has been accredited by the

Commission for Accreditation of Park and Recreation Agencies Commission or commissioning may refer to: Business and contracting * Commission (remuneration), a form of payment to an agent for services rendered ** Commission (art), the purchase or the creation of a piece of art most often on behalf of anothe ...

History

The department was founded in 1908. That year,

Truxtun Beale Truxtun Beale (March 6, 1856 – June 2, 1936) was an American diplomat. Biography Beale was born in San Francisco to Mary Engle Edwards and Edward Fitzgerald Beale; his siblings were Mary (1852–1925), who married Russian diplomat George Ba ...

donated the land and finances for the development of the city's first park, which was named

Beale Park Beale Wildlife Park is situated by the River Thames, between the villages of Pangbourne and Lower Basildon in Berkshire, England. It has three main areas of attraction: collections of small exotic animals, farm animals and birds; landscaped garde ...

. The departments role was simple, to provide maintenance for the city's parks. Two more parks would be donated, before the first park was constructed on land purchased by the city, which was Jefferson Park in

East Bakersfield East Bakersfield is a region in Bakersfield, California directly east of downtown. The region was formerly known as the town of Sumner, which was later incorporated and renamed Kern City. It is primarily a mixture of residential and commercial d ...

. By 1940, the city would have five parks. In 1964, a community center was constructed in

Central Park Central Park is an urban park in New York City located between the Upper West Side, Upper West and Upper East Sides of Manhattan. It is the List of New York City parks, fifth-largest park in the city, covering . It is the most visited urban par ...

. It would be the first item for the department to manage that was not a park. Also, starting in the 1960s was a requirement that developers plan a set amount of park space per acre developed. With the large population growth that started in the early 1970s, the amount of land that needed maintenance would also greatly increase. Also, with the purchase of assets from Tenneco West in 1976, would create the largest park in the city, the

Kern River Parkway The Kern River Parkway is primarily a natural preserve in Bakersfield, California. It runs the length of the Kern River from the mouth of the Kern Canyon to Interstate 5. At 6,000 acres, it is the largest municipal park in the county. The parkway ...

. The parkway would initially start at 2,900 acres and would eventually grow to over 6,000 acres.The Kern River Purchase
City of Bakersfield. December 2003. Page: 21. Accessed: 04-07-2011. Starting in the 1990s the department would see another area of responsibility grow. The city started requiring developers to landscape major arterials adjacent to their developments. Also, streetscape projects

downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business distric ...

would result in more landscaping that needed to be maintained.

References

External links

Bakersfield Department of Recreation and Parks
{{Government of Bakersfield d Government agencies established in 1908 1908 establishments in California