Wyandotte County Lake Park - Kansas City KS

City:: Kansas City, KS
Site Type:: Lakes and Ponds, Parks and Recreation, Infrastructure and Utilities, Water Supply
New Deal Agencies:: Works Progress Administration (WPA), Work Relief Programs
Started:: 1936
Completed:: 1942
Quality of Information:: Very Good
Site Survival:: Extant

Description

The Works Progress Administration (WPA) created Wyandotte County Lake by constructing the dam that impounds the lake. The surrounding park received numerous WPA-constructed buildings. Work lasted several years, from 1936 to 1942.

Located in the Missouri basin, the dam was built to create jobs while at the same time providing a source of water for the community. The lake and surrounding area compose the Wyandotte County Lake Park. It was funded jointly by the WPA and the Wyandotte County government.

Several extant park buildings, such as the Davis Recreation Hall, were designed by the National Park Service and built by the Works Progress Administration between 1936 and 1943. The structures are representative examples of the Rustic style.

According to a Kansas Historical Society survey, “Each of the following WPA resources exhibits elements of Rustic design–Shelters 3, 7, 9, Boy Scout Area Gazebo, Shelter 11 Gazebo/E Lookout Shelter, James P. Davis Recreation Hall, the Boathouse, the South Entrance Lodge/Gate House, the former North Entrance Lodge, and the Lake House and its associated outbuildings. All of these resources—even the more massive, two-story Davis Hall—possess a horizontal massing and make use of natural surrounding materials. Like the nationally recognized park architecture in the Grand Canyon, these structures were designed to blend in with and complement the natural surroundings. Thus, they have a “rustic” or rugged look to them, displaying evidence of having been constructed with hand tools.”