Weber Park - Stockton, California
N 37° 57.253 W 121° 17.619
10S E 649911 N 4202108
Stockton's historical center
Waymark Code: WM5JQD
Location: California, United States
Date Posted: 01/14/2009
Views: 7
The Weber Point Event Center covers a couple of blocks in downtown Stockton, CA. The 9.7 acre Event Center includes a plaza, a step amphitheater, a children's play area, an interactive water feature, a waterfront promenade, a main stage and the Point Amphitheater, all of which are not focus of this waymark.
Here, we'd like to concentrate on a piece of lush green surrounded by concrete, metal and glass. Weber park covers about one quarter (2.5 acres) of the total area of the Event Center. The park is located at a former pier at the end of the Stockton Deep Water Channel that once made Stockton a major supply center to the southern gold mines during the Gold Rush.
The Park is centered on a little gazebo, marking the location of the original residence of Captain Charles M Weber, the founding father of Stockton. From this prominent point, overlooking the waterfront, Weber directed the first survey of the city in 1849, leading to a master plan that dedicated space for numerous parks, churches, schools, cemeteries and civic buildings that still exist today and make Stockton the first planned community in California and this the first planned inner city park in the state.
The original house was destroyed by fire in 1917 and was all but forgotten. In 1995, the Stockton City Council created a "Waterfront Revival Task Force" to revitalize the downtown area. When prior to building this park, an archeological excavation took place and in 1999, the foundation of the original home was discovered. Today, four corner stones mark the extend of Stockton's first house and a plaque in the center tells the whole story. (see picture)
We came here in 2008, to observe "The Moving Wall", a ½ size replica of the Vietnam Wall that travels across the country.