Pearson Park
The City of Anaheim dedicated its first city park, appropriately named City Park, on July 15, 1927. The park was renamed Pearson Park for Charles A. Pearson, mayor from 1945 to 1959. The park was developed on Herman A. Dickel’s 19 acre ranch at the southwest corner of Lemon and Sycamore Streets. According to planning commissioner and local historian Stephen Faessel, Anaheim would later be known as “the city with the beautiful park.” He attributes this reputation largely to the parks first maintenance supervisor, Rudolph Boysen, who Faessel says “single-handedly did more to beautify [City Park] than anybody before him and anybody after him.” The 2,000-seat Pearson Park Amphitheatre, a highlight of the park built in 1927 in a Spanish Colonial style with terra-cotta roof tiles and vibrant flora, is now the oldest arts facility in Orange County.
Anaheim, Orange County
Photographer: John Bare
