Gandara Park is a 3.8 acre residential park located in

Santa Monica, California Santa Monica (; Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 U.S. Census population was 93,076. Santa Monica is a popular resort town, owing t ...

, United States. Originally named Stewart Street Park, in 2016 the park was renamed to honor

Joe Gandara Joe Gandara (April 25, 1924 – June 9, 1944) was a U.S. Army veteran of World War II and recipient of the Medal of Honor. Gandara was awarded the Medal of Honor by President Barack Obama in a March 18, 2014 ceremony in the White House. The awar ...

, a local resident who was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor by President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...

for his actions during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

History

Prior to the park's creation, the land was used as a clay mine. After the clay mine was abandoned, the City of Santa Monica elected to use the space as a landfill for construction debris. In 1975, the landfill was converted to a park for nearby residents. From 1975 to 2016, the park was named Stewart Street Park after the street that abuts the park. Stewart Street, in turn, was named after either

William Morris Stewart William Morris Stewart (August 9, 1827April 23, 1909) was an American lawyer and politician. In 1964, he was inducted into the Hall of Great Westerners of the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum. Personal Stewart was born in Wayne County ...

, a U.S. senator with substantial business ties to the silver industry in California, or Edwin Stewart, a local businessman and politician. In 2014, the City asked for resident input regarding the name for a nearby park ( Ishihara Park) and also received comments regarding renaming Stewart Street. Among other names, local residents proposed that Stewart Street Park be renamed to honor Private

, a local resident who had died during

. President

had recently awarded Gandara the Medal of Honor posthumously as Gandara's contributions had previously been overlooked due to his Hispanic heritage. The proposal to rename the park was approved in 2016 and the park was officially renamed in February 2017, alongside the opening of Ishihara Park.

Facilities

In addition to a broad, sloping field, Gandara Park includes a playground, basketball court, youth baseball field, and a concession stand that is used for storage. During many summers, Gandara Park hosts "Jazz on the Lawn", a collection of musical acts and food offerings.{{Cite web, date=2019-07-19, title=Jazz On The Lawn Returns To Gandara Park In Santa Monica, url=https://patch.com/california/santamonica/jazz-lawn-returns-gandara-park-santa-monica, access-date=2021-04-10, website=Santa Monica, CA Patch, language=en

References

External links

Official Website
Parks in Los Angeles County, California Municipal parks in California Santa Monica, California Parks in Santa Monica, California