City Park and Ballfield
Since 1908, the area of Prescott now known as Ken Lindley Field has been used as a public park and ballfield. The land was deeded to the City of Prescott by Charles T. and Ada M. Joslin in 1922. As Mrs. Joslin requested, the City later donated part of the land to the Smoki People for their museum and pueblo and to the Arizona National Guard for the Armory, now the Prescott Activity Center.
In 1931, during the Great Depression, the grandstand was constructed as a City public works project on the northeast corner of Gurley and Washington Streets. The grandstand is constructed of cast concrete in a vernacular style with a slight Art Deco influence. In 1934 the area surrounding the baseball field was defined for the construction of bleachers and tennis courts. These were constructed of native stone as a Civil Works Administration project along with the Smoki Museum and the wall around Citizens Cemetery.
City Park and Ballfield was renamed "Ken Lindley Field" in 1971 in memory of Prescott's Chief of Police who coached and managed youth baseball in Prescott from the 1950s until his death in 1971. Generations of Prescott youth grew up playing sports at City Park. Although the field and the City Park facilities have been heavily used over the years, in 1998 and 1999 the City of Prescott restored the unused grandstand for modern use and constructed a snack bar and dining area in the inside curve of the building facing the field. This adaptive use project will allow the facility to continue to be an important part of the park in the future. The park is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
Marker is at the intersection of Gurley Street (Arizona Route 89) and Washington Street., on the right on Gurley Street.
Courtesy hmdb.org
