Edmonds names new park after doctor, J.P. Patches
Published 11:03 am Thursday, September 17, 2009
EDMONDS
It’s the first new neighborhood park to sprout up in Edmonds in more than three decades.
Even before this week’s naming, young and old have been enjoying the new 5.6-acre park on the former campus of Woodway Elementary School in south Edmonds.
Edmonds’ City Council unanimously approved naming of the space after two historical and beloved individuals, Dr. Robert O. Hickman and J. P. Patches, at its Aug. 4 meeting.
The newly dubbed Hickman Park and J.P. Patches Play Area features a playground, more than a half-mile of walking trails, a picnic shelter, rock spiral, rain garden, basketball court and large meadow.
The woodsy $5.75 million park on the 23700 block of 104th Avenue West, will be officially dedicated Saturday, Aug. 8 at 10 a.m. The Southwest Edmonds Neighborhood Association will host a neighborhood party afterward.
The park was mostly paid for with special real estate excise tax revenue that the city collects every time a property in the city changes hands. About $1.7 million of the total cost came from county and state grants.
The city Planning Board recommended that the city name the space Hickman Park, in honor of Robert O. Hickman, a medical doctor whose work lead to putting the first patient in the world on kidney dialysis, later developing the “Hickman Catheter” revolutionizing the delivery of medication and fluids. A pediatrician, “Dr. Bob” joined Seattle Children’s Hospital and later the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. Now in his 80s, “Dr. Bob” and his wife Lucy live in Edmonds where they raised six children. The Hickman family has lived near the she park site since the 1960s.
The board also suggested the playground be named after celebrity clown J.P. Patches, played by area resident Chris Wedes. Wedes hosted one of the longest running local children’s shows in TV history and has contributed to the Pacific Northwest heritage.
Seaview Park, which opened in 1973, was the last new neighborhood park to open in Edmonds, said Brian McIntosh, the city’s parks director. A second new park is under construction in north Edmonds. That too will be paid with through real estate taxes.
