Parks
Marion Street Parkway
South Marion Street Parkway extends for four blocks north of Washington Park. Midway through the parkway is Robert W. Steele School. At East Bayaud Avenue, the parkway curves to the west to continue north as Downing Street Parkway.
History
The land for Marion and Downing Street Parkways was acquired in 1909. By 1912 the parkway had been graded and landscaped and by 1913, the parkway was completed. The original design, attributed to George Kessler, accommodated the City Ditch within the median. It was open but contained by a concrete wall as it ran north from Washington Park into the Country Club Golf Course, eventually reaching Cherry Creek. In addition, Kessler's design included the placement of well-scaled lighting standards along both sides of the median. The median was then sparsely planted with shrubs and vines which hung gracefully over the walls into the water of the ditch.
The mature plantings on the parkway are attributable to S.R. DeBoer. Street trees extend on each tree lawn for the full length of the parkways, including Sycamore (planted 1912-1913). The Sycamore lined parkway extends for two blocks, providing a unique and effective experience. Hackberry trees, planted in 1913, serve as canopy trees on the next block north.
The following block uses fall color contrast as a unique feature. Red Oak is the predominant species, while every third tree is a Honeylocust. In the fall, the red of the oak and the yellow of the honeylocust provided an outstanding color contrast. The wide tree lawn on the west side of South Marion Street Parkway harbors a wide variety of vegetation. Wider than most parkway medians, it provides a generous green space buffer for the residential homes which back up to Marion and face west onto South Downing Street. This informal planting plan is heavy on evergreen trees, with some Lilac included for spring color contrast.
Historical Evolution
Beginning in 1905, various sections of the City Ditch were "piped" to the north from Smith's Lake in Washington Park. For a time, the open ditch was the central feature of the median of the South Marion Street Parkway. An occasional Plains Cottonwood marks the old meander of the once open ditch. The ditch has now been covered, planted over and the lighting standards removed.
The relatively sparse plantings in the median, particularly where the open ditch once ran, are of more recent vintage than the street trees. The Crabapple, Hawthorn, and Golden Raintrees contrast with evergreen plantings as in the Clermont Street Parkway. This flowered median formed another important link of DeBoer's Flower Trail.