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Glenmere Park -
14TH AV & 19TH ST
 Print Listing
Historical Name -
Glenmere Park
Style -
Built Year -
1911-1937
State ID -
5WLXXX6
Description -
Glenmere Park is located between 14th Avenue and 17th Avenue on the east and west and by Glenmere Boulevard and Lakeside Drive on the north and south. Included within the boundaries of the park are a playground at the west end, a larger pond with an island and concrete dam, a smaller pond with a footbridge, a gazebo on the east end of the larger pond.
Historical Background -
Parks are an important part of Greeley’s history, starting with Lincoln Park, platted in 1870, and the additions of other parks, including Glenmere Park. The design for Glenmere Park was based on the City Beautiful movement, which promoted the idea using city planning to make a city visually appealing. In 1908, famed landscape architect C.B. Blake suggested to avoid straight lines in planting and to leave the best views open. The Glenmere Park Association, the original owner of the park, was incorporated in 1908. They became an addition to the city in 1910 and the Association deeded the park to the city in 1911, on the condition that it would remain free as a public park in perpetuity. Greeley hired Boulder landscape architect W.W. Parce to write a plan for the park, which included curved streets surrounding the park, sympathetic to the topography of the land , however, the park was not developed until the 1930s. In celebration of Washington’s Bicentennial Birthday, the mayor declared a holiday, and various civic groups, including the Garden Club, organized a tree planting day at Glenmere. They planted 160 trees, and the two which died were replaced. The Greeley Exchange Club entered the park in a national city beautification contest. Greeley placed fourth and received a bronze plaque, which is displayed in the park. Between 1922 and 1931 a concrete dam was constructed in the main pond. In 1936, plans were made for further park development, to include three concrete dams for lily ponds below the lake, a shelter and warming house, sewage system for the restrooms, a small footbridge and covered pens or protection for waterfowl on the island, all WPA projects. Preservation of the park became the focus in 1955, when the city shored up the island with riprap to prevent further erosion.
Glenmere Park was a popular place for cruisers in the 1980s, which proved to be a nuisance to the area. In 1989, the City closed Lakeside Drive, on the south side of the park, with two cul-de-sacs being built.
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