Venue Information

Lawrence’s first oldest park, South Park was part of the original 1854 town site. In the original town plat, South Park, located on Massachusetts Street, covered eight city blocks and was divided evenly into four separate parks – Lafayette Park, Hamilton Park, Washington Park and Franklin Park. The bandstand, or the South Park gazebo, was erected in May 1906. On August 31, 1910, a crowd of 6,000 citizens and visitors attended a formal dedication of the Roosevelt Fountain, the granite display fountain. President Theodore Roosevelt was present at the ceremony, arriving by train at the Santa Fe station in Lawrence. The fountain was originally located at the intersection of New Hampshire and Warren (now Ninth) Streets, because of its proximity to a livery stable.