Friday, May 2, 2014

Rainier #22: Riverfront Park

IMG_2631 Mayor Betty Vilhauer Monument at Riverfront Park in Rainier, Oregon on July 16, 2006
Mayor Betty Vilhauer Monument on July 16, 2006.

Rainier Riverfront Park was built in the early 1980s on dredge spoils from the Columbia River after the eruption of Mt. St. Helens. The park was dedicated "in honor of Mayor Betty Vilhauer for her dedication and untiring effort for the community of Rainier" on June 26, 1982.

IMG_2630 Mayor Betty Vilhauer Monument at Riverfront Park in Rainier, Oregon on July 16, 2006
Mayor Betty Vilhauer Monument on July 16, 2006.

Betty Vilhauer was elected Rainier’s first female mayor in November 1978.

IMG_2619 Little League Field at Riverfront Park in Rainier, Oregon on July 15, 2006
Little League Field on July 15, 2006.

IMG_2628 Little League Field at Riverfront Park in Rainier, Oregon on July 15, 2006
Little League Field on July 15, 2006.

Riverfront Park was extensively rebuilt in the early 2000s, with the replacement of all playground equipment, new basketball and tennis courts, a skateboard park and more completed by December 2002, and the Little League field completed in 2006.

9-11 Monument at Riverfront Park in Rainier, Oregon on September 5, 2005
9-11 Monument on September 5, 2005.

While the City of Rainier rebuilt Riverfront Park, this rock was installed with a plaque in memory of the events of September 11, 2001. I think the rock may be made of debris from the World Trade Center.

9-11 Monument at Riverfront Park in Rainier, Oregon on September 5, 2005
9-11 Monument on September 5, 2005.

I’m not quite sure why there is a 9-11 monument in Rainier’s Riverfront Park. Maybe the fact that it was donated by a nationwide funeral home operator, and has their logo on it no less, has something to do with it. There is an identical plaque located outside a funeral home in Milwaukie, Oregon.

IMG_2621 Blue Star Memorial at Riverfront Park in Rainier, Oregon on July 15, 2006
Rainier Blue Star Memorial on July 15, 2006.

This Blue Star Memorial in honor of those who have served or are serving in the Armed Forces was dedicated on May 29, 2006. It was sponsored by the Rainier Garden Club & Pioneer District, with additional support by the Oregon State Federation of Garden Clubs, Inc., the City of Rainier, the Oregon Roadside Council, REDCO & the VFW Columbia River Post & Aux. 1909.

IMG_2622 Blue Star Memorial at Riverfront Park in Rainier, Oregon on July 15, 2006
Blue Star Memorial and Flagpole on July 15, 2006.

The flagpole adjacent to the Blue Star Memorial was installed just before the memorial as a Boy Scout Eagle project.

IMG_2624 Veterans Way Street Sign in Rainier, Oregon on July 15, 2006
Veterans Way Street Sign on July 15, 2006.

The street leading to the park, formerly part of West Sixth Street, has been renamed Veterans Way.

Continue to 23: Rainier Senior Center

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