Kennedy Park is a large, multi-use park in

Hayward, California Hayward is a city located in Alameda County, California, United States, in the East Bay subregion of the San Francisco Bay Area. With a population of 162,954 as of 2020, Hayward is the sixth largest city in the Bay Area, and the third largest in ...

, managed by the

Hayward Area Recreation and Park District The Hayward Area Recreation and Park District (H.A.R.D.) is the Park district, park management agency for most of the parks in the city of Hayward, California. It was created in 1944 and is an Special-purpose district, independent special distr ...

(HARD). It is the most heavily used park in the district. The park is adjacent to McConaghy Park, which contains McConaghy House, a historic property, built in 1886, and managed as a

house museum A historic house museum is a house of historic significance that is preserved as a museum. Historic furnishings may be displayed in a way that reflects their original placement and usage in a home. Historic house museums are held to a variety of ...

by HARD and the

Hayward Area Historical Society Hayward Area Historical Society (HAHS) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to documenting the history of the city of Hayward, California and adjacent communities. These areas include San Lorenzo, Ashland, Cherryland, Castro Valley, Fairview, ...

. McConaghy House features

Stick Stick, sticks or the stick may refer to: Thin elongated objects * Twig or branch * Walking stick, a device to facilitate balancing while walking * Shepherd's crook * Shillelagh * Swagger stick * Digging stick * Swizzle stick, used to stir drinks ...

/ Eastlake architecture. It lies within

San Lorenzo San Lorenzo is the Italian and Spanish name for Saint Lawrence, the 3rd-century Christian martyr, and may refer to: Places Argentina * San Lorenzo, Santa Fe * San Lorenzo Department, Chaco * Villa San Lorenzo, town and municipality in Salta P ...

. In 2013, plans to renovate the park and combine the park and house into a Victorian-style venue were proposed.

Park features

Kennedy Park contains a

merry-go-round A carousel or carrousel (mainly North American English), merry-go-round (International English), or galloper (British English) is a type of amusement ride consisting of a rotating circular platform with seats for riders. The seats are tradit ...

, a petting zoo, a pony ride, and a

narrow gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge (distance between the rails) narrower than . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with Minimum railw ...

railroad with a train pulled by a

Chance Rides Chance Rides is an American roller coaster and amusement ride manufacturer. Originally founded in 1961, the current company was formed on May 16, 2002, when the former Chance Industries Inc. emerged from bankruptcy. The main office and manufa ...

C.P. Huntington ''C. P. Huntington'' is a 4-2-4T steam locomotive on static display at the California State Railroad Museum in Sacramento, California, Sacramento, California, USA. It is the first locomotive purchased by the Southern Pacific Railroad, carryin ...

locomotive. There are also picnic and activity areas, as well as a snack bar. The park is open every day during the summer and on the weekends during the rest of the year, weather permitting.

References

*''Directory of Historic House Museums in the United States'', Patricia Chambers Walker, Thomas Graham, Walnut Creek, California:AltaMira Press. Oxford: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2000. page 21

External links

Kennedy Park at the HARD websiteMcConaghy House at the Hayward Area Historical Society website
{{Coord, 37, 40, 7, N, 122, 7, 16, W, region:US-CA_type:landmark, display=title Parks in Hayward, California Historic house museums in California History of Hayward, California Museums in Alameda County, California 2 ft gauge railways in the United States Stick-Eastlake architecture in California