Alaskan Veterans Memorial at Delaney Park Strip

The Delaney Park Strip is an 11-

block Block or blocked may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Block programming, the result of a programming strategy in broadcasting * W242BX, a radio station licensed to Greenville, South Carolina, United States known as ''96.3 ...

park in the

Municipality A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

Anchorage, Alaska Anchorage () is the largest city in the U.S. state of Alaska by population. With a population of 291,247 in 2020, it contains nearly 40% of the state's population. The Anchorage metropolitan area, which includes Anchorage and the neighboring Ma ...

. Originally a

firebreak A firebreak or double track (also called a fire line, fuel break, fireroad and firetrail in Australia) is a gap in vegetation or other combustible material that acts as a barrier to slow or stop the progress of a bushfire or wildfire. A firebre ...

, the Park Strip would become Anchorage's first airfield.

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 Delaney, one of the first mayors of Anchorage. The park was originally used simply as a firebreak, but in 1923 it became “The Golf Course.” The community used the space both for a golf course and an airstrip. Anchorage residents, working for free, had prepared a 300 by 2000 foot landing field for

Noel Wien Noel Wien (June 8, 1899July 19, 1977) was an American pioneer aviator. He was the founder of Wien Alaska Airways. Biography Wien was born in Lake Nebagamon, Wisconsin, but the family moved to a homestead in 1905, to a place now called Cook, Minne ...

to fly Jimmy Rodebaugh's newly arrived

Standard J-1 The Standard J is a two-seat basic trainer two-bay biplane produced in the United States from 1916 to 1918, powered by a four-cylinder inline Hall-Scott A-7a engine. It was constructed from wood with wire bracing and fabric covering. The J-1 ...

. Wien's first flight took place on 4 June 1924, and by the end of the month had flown 170 passengers, two at a time in the front cockpit, on a 15 minute ride. These were the first passenger flights from Anchorage. Wien also started the first flight between Anchorage and Fairbanks from the strip on 6 July. In 1932, however,

Merrill Field Merrill Field is a public-use general aviation airport located one mile (1.6 km) east of downtown Anchorage in the U.S. state of Alaska. The airport is owned by Municipality of Anchorage. It opened in 1930 as Anchorage Aviation Field and w ...

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. On the 75th anniversary of Noel Wien's historic flight to Fairbanks, his two sons Noel Merrill and Richard, reenacted the flight using a

Boeing Stearman The Stearman (Boeing) Model 75 is a biplane formerly used as a military trainer aircraft, of which at least 10,626 were built in the United States during the 1930s and 1940s. Stearman Aircraft became a subsidiary of Boeing in 1934. Widely kno ...

, after receiving

FAA The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the largest transportation agency of the U.S. government and regulates all aspects of civil aviation in the country as well as over surrounding international waters. Its powers include air traffic m ...

permission to take off from the park. Presently, the park is used for a variety of community events, sports, and festivals year-round.

Facilities

* 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

Reference

External links

{{Coord, 61, 12, 48, N, 149, 54, 06, W, display=title Protected areas of Anchorage, Alaska Parks in Alaska Ice hockey venues in Alaska Soccer venues in Alaska Softball venues in the United States Tennis venues in the United States Volleyball venues in Alaska