2009

Historic Environment
Consultants

Paula J Boghosian

[
McKinley Park Rose Garden evaluation
of significance
]
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Mc Kinley Par k
ROSE GARDEN
Evaluation of significance

Proj ect: Rehabilitation of Rose Garden
Rehabilitation/restoration work has been proposed for the Rose Garden in McKinley
Park. This Report discusses the signification of the Garden as a historic resource and its
recommended potential treatment as a result of the evaluation.
Regulatory Factors
The National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 established the National Register of Historic Places as the
official national listing of important historic and prehistoric resources worthy of preservation. The
National Register includes districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects with local, regional, State, or
national signiIicance. The deIinition oI historic property includes 'any prehistoric or historic district. site.
building. structure. or obiect included in. or eligible Ior inclusion in. the National Register. (Advisory
Council on Historic Preservation, 1986.) A historic property must meet specific criteria to be considered
eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places.
Guidelines For I ntegrity Evaluation
Integrity is the ability of a property to convey its significance. The National Register recognizes seven
aspects of qualities that, in various combinations, define integrity. These are location, design, setting,
materials, workmanship, feeling, and association. To retain historic integrity, a property will always
possess several, and usually most, of the aspects of integrity. Professional judgements must determine
whether a property today reflects the spatial organization, physical components, and historic
associations that it attained during the period of significance. Evaluations must consider the degree a
landscape conveys its historic character, the degree to which the original fabric has been retained, and
whether changes to the landscape are irrevocable or can be corrected.
Landscape Architecture Design:
Five suggested categories for describing resources within a historic district that relate to landscape
architectural design and planning include:
Spatial Organization: this refers to the composition and sequence of outdoor spaces
within the district.
Circulation: this refers to the means and patterns of movement through the district.
Topography: this refers to the ways in which the landscape planning responds to the topographic
features of the site.
Vegetation: this refers both to the response to existing vegetation, and to the management of
vegetation through pruning, removal, or the addition of trees and shrubs.
Structures: this includes all the contributing structures in the district, including roads, trails,
designed physical features, as well as buildings intended to shelter a human
activity.
State
The State Historic Resources Commission and Office of Historic Preservation (OHP), within the
Department of Parks and Recreation, administers the State`s historic preservation programs. The Office
of Historic Preservation oversees State agency compliance with State preservation statutes and programs,
administers federal preservation programs in California, and administers State programs such as the
California Register of Historical Resources. The CaliIornia Register is a guide to identiIying the State`s
historical resources and establishes a list of those properties that are to be protected from substantial
adverse change (Public Resources Code Section 5024.1). The criteria it utilizes are very similar to those
of the National Register with the exception of relocated buildings and other minor issues.
Sacramento City Historic Preservation Regulatory Background
City of Sacramento Preservation Element
The City of Sacramento adopted a Preservation Element in their General Plan in April 2000. The
overarching goal of the Preservation Element is:
'To retain and celebrate Sacramento`s heritage and recognize its importance to the City`s unique
character. identity. economy. and quality oI liIe.

Sacramento Preservation Ordinance:
In June of 2001, the City Council adopted a new Sacramento Historic Preservation ordinance that revised
the former ordinance, expanded its jurisdiction and changed a number of its provisions, following the
adoption of a Historic Preservation Element. The City Preservation Department conducted a new survey
in 1996-97 to update the original survey of 1980, and Sacramento Heritage, Inc. added to the survey in
1999. Additional survey work, in coordination with the State Office of Historic Preservation, is currently
ongoing. The Sacramento Register has adopted the National Register criteria for its listing of properties.
The ordinance provides for the review of proposed building demolitions, remodeling, and listing of
individual or district properties in its Register.
Criteria and requirements for listing on, or deletion from, the Sacramento Register as a landmark,
historic district, or contributing resource are as follows:
A. Listing in the Sacramento Register Landmarks.
1.a The nominated resource meets one or more of the following criteria:

(i) it is associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the
broad patterns of the history of the city, the region, the stat e or the nation;
(ii) it is associated with the lives of persons significant in the city`s past;
(iii) it embodies the distinctive characteristics of a type, period, or method of
construction;
(iv) it represents the work of a master;
(v) it possesses high artistic values;
(vi) it has yielded, or may be likely to yield, information important in prehistory or
history of the city, region, the state, or the nation.
b. The nominated resource has integrity of location, design, setting, materials, workmanship
and association.

A Brief History of McKinley Park
The original land that is now McKinley Park was a shallow depression that contained a portion oI Burn`s
Slough. The slough was a naturally flowing stream which carried away excess flood water from the
American River draining it from the River Park area to McKinley Park and off to the southwest. Levee
construction in 1868 cut the slough off from the American River it after that time it was a drainage canal
for the agricultural lands in East Sacramento.
After 1869, there was a growth in Sacramento of street-car systems. One of these was built out H Street
to the state fair race track, which was then located in Boulevard Park. The trolley line owners searched
for ways to increase traffic on their lines, especially during the week-ends, when traffic was light. The
Sacramento Street Railway purchased some 30 acres of land, just outside the city, and east of 31
st
Street.
They laid rails to 31
st
and H Streets and up to the location oI a new 104` by 54` building with balconies
and piazzas. It was crowned by a cupola from which the Sierras could be seen. The building contained a
tavern. In July of 1871 kicked off their new park with a free beer and lemonade promotion. The new
recreation park was named East Park.

In 1873 a 14.5 acre parcel was
added to the northeast corner of the
park and was developed as a picnic
ground. Other new attractions included
a baseball field, a shooting gallery and
a zoo. East Park became a popular
weekend destination spot for picnics
and events.
In 1877 the park was sold by the
trolley company to a group of investors
that called themselves the East Park
Association. The original investors and
officers included a number of
historically important Sacramentans: Albert Gallatin, Robert C. Clark, N. Green Curtis, W.R. S. Foye,
and Thomas J. Clunie.
The Sacramento Street Railway Company purchased another park site in Oak Park in 1889. They
again developed the new park to create additional traffic for the trolley company. In Oak Park they
developed an amusement park named Joyland. Over the next several years, East Park went into a steady
decline. Maintenance fell behind and the grounds and buildings became shabby. East Park became less
popular.
In 1900 the Tuesday Club, an organization of Sacramento women dedicated to promoting
education, cultural and social improvements in the city, approached the Sacramento Board of Trustees
|City Council| with the ideas oI purchasing the East Park as a new playground Ior the city`s children.
President William McKinley was assassinated in 1901 and the Tuesday Club used the idea of creating the
park as a memorial for McKinley as an inducement for the Trustees to buy East Park. The Tuesday Club
badgered Albert Gallatin for a reduced price on the property and he cut the cost from $20,000 to $12,500
and in 1902 the Board of Trustees agreed to purchase
East Park.
A noted city planner, Charles M. Robinson,
reported to the City Trustees in 1908 that McKinley
Park as '.very incompletely and poorly developed.
As a result the Trustees, which had relied on volunteer
efforts, primarily from the Tuesday Club, had never
allocated funds for the development and maintenance of
McKinley Park, and finally in 1908 agreed to a $5,000
appropriation.
In 1911 the City annexed East Sacramento, Oak
Park and the area to the immediate south of the central
area. A 1913 map shows the park divided into areas for
lawn tennis, a zoological garden, a deer park, a floral
garden and picnic grounds. As the park improved and
trolley lines were extended, the neighborhood around the park was developed by homebuilders such as
D.W. Carmichael and Wright & Kimbrough.
In 1920 Sacramento hired Frederick Evans to supervise and develop its parks (see related article under
Significance). In 1922 the city government approved the purchase of land that was to become William
Land Park and many changes were soon to come to McKinley Park.
In 1927 the new Zoo was opened in Land Park and all of the animals in McKinley Park were transferred
there, evidently to an area of Land Park originally designated as 'Rose Garden.. In October 1927 an
article appeared in The BEE titled, 'New Athletic Field Is Planned for Park.` It announced that day
plans would be revealed for a new athletic field in the 'panhandle area oI McKinley Park.
The athletic fielu on the south siue of the paik along B Stieet will be
eliminateu anu the space uevoteu to a iose gaiuen
The same plans also called for the former Deer Park to be converted to a baseball and soccer field that
would be surrounded by picnic grounds. children`s playgrounds and parked spaces.
The Rose Garden
Since plans for the rose garden were being introduced in October of 1927, it is reasonable to assume that
actual planting and
development of the rose garden
probably did not take place
until the spring of 1928 and this
coincides with the date that
various interviews have
forwarded.
As a landscape architect
with a Masters Degree from
Harvard, Evans designed the
garden and experimented with
the varieties of roses that were
planted there until he had a mix
that would prosper in the hot
Sacramento summers.
Once a place for
gardeners and those seeking solitude, the Rose Garden has been increasingly used in more recent years as
a place for small eventsmostly weddings and memorial services. The Rose Garden has taken a quiet
place in the hearts and memories oI Sacramento`s residents. the same way the Memorial Auditorium has.
The auditorium has hosted countless events and high schools graduations and many young people, who
later married, first met there. For the children and grandchildren of those unions, the Rose Garden has
become the place where many of those who followed were married and where those same children have
met to memorialize the memories who those who came before. The Rose Garden has gained its
significance, not because of the size and grandness of the events held there, but because of the countless
ordinary small events that have had meaning to so many ordinary people in Sacramento.
Over its history the park and the Rose Garden have had their ups and downs. Municipal
government budgets have fluctuated over the years and at times there has been adequate staff to care for
the maintenance of the Rose Garden and in other years, the community has responded with volunteer
efforts.
In the 1936 Florence Turton Clunie passed
away and left a bequest of $150,000 for the
building of a clubhouse complex and swimming
pool in McKinley Park. Her husband Thomas
Clunie had been a director of the trolley car
company that had founded East Park and he was
one of the initial investors and officers of the East
Park Association. The Clunies had owned and
operated a hotel and opera house complex at 8
th
&
K Streets, where the Renaissance Tower is located
today. The architecture for the Clunie Clubhouse
and Pool was a collaboration between Harry Devine and Starks & Flanders.
Towards the end of the Great Depression a New Deal agency, the Works Progress Administration, built
new concrete sidewalks all the way around the park.

The Clunie Clubhouse and pool were opened in 1936.

Since the addition of the Clunie Clubhouse and pool in 1936, the only addition to the park of any
significance was the Iva Gard Shepard Garden & Arts Center which was built in the panhandle area of the
park in 1958. It was designed by local architect, Ray Franceschi. A decomposed granite jogging path
was approved in the Spring of 1987. In the last 50 years, most changes to the park have been upgrades
and enhancements to existing buildings, equipment and recreation areas.
Description
The Rose Garden is located in the southeast corner of McKinley Park in Sacramento, adjacent to 33
rd
and
H Streets. The roses are planted in groups in individual decoratively-shaped beds that are arranged
symmetrically on each half of an elongated oval. Arched metal arbors are sited opposite each other along
the interior border of the oval except for the end portions where they are angled. Two large palm trees
stand on each end of the interior oval. The beds are mostly each bordered by an inch or so wide strip to
contain the beds,
separate them from the
turf between them, and
hold water within the
borders. Since the
Garden replaced a
running track in that
location, the oval shape
of the Garden may
somewhat reflect the
original shape of the
track. The Garden
occupies approximately
1/3 acre of Park.
Some of the roses are
identified by name and
have plaques naming
the donor or the person being memorialized. The rose bushes are generally about four feet tall but vary in
width and foliage density. According to staff, there are currently about 60 or 70 species of roses
represented in the Garden. There are trees, large and small, that border the Garden space, create a
boundary along H Street, and the utility Garden house and ball field to the north.
The layout of the plants within patterned borders on open level land or parterre is derived largely from
Italian and French Middle Age and Renaissance garden design, adopted and modified by English
landscape professionals in the 17
th
and 18
th
centuries. Original ornamental versions were often
elaborately defined by other plantings such as box hedges and intricate expanses of grass. Water features,
a great variety oI Iigured statuary and antique` structures or elements oI European or Ioreign inspiration
or mythology were also widely used.
The spatial character of the Garden is
open, providing the strong exposure to
the sun required by rose plantings.
Shade is provided by various trees
primarily around the outside oval
border of the design.
A one story rectangular garden service
building with a hip roof stands to the
north of the Rose Garden, among some
mature trees. The date of construction
is unverified at this time. The walls are
wood board and batten and the roof
appears to have been resurfaced with
metal or composition. The original windows have been replaced.

Visual Character-defining features of Rose Garden:
Variety of rose species in flower beds
Pattern, shape, and size of flower beds
Symmetry of design in layout of beds
Border edging of flower beds
Turf material between the beds
Memorial Plaques
Two large palm trees that anchor east and west ends of the composition, benches
Metal arched arbors spaced around the oval shape containing the rose beds
Beds of other flowers around border, part of the overall design but filled with day lilies not roses
Garden service building
Large trees along outskirts of rose beds

Significance
The Rose Garden in McKinley Park meets several criteria of eligibility for listing in the
Sacramento Register. The Garden is a significant resource meeting the criteria of significance
for at least three categories of local Register designation.
The Rose Garden in McKinley Park is the work of recognized landscape architect,
Frederick N. Evans, acknowledged as a master in his field. It is eligible for the
Sacramento Register under Criterion C, as the work of a recognized master and has
high artistic value.

The Rose Garden in McKinley Park embodies distinctive characteristics of a
traditional historic landscape element with a very long term history. It is eligible for
the Sacramento Register under Criterion C, as a good and distinctive example of its
type and style of resource.

The Rose Garden in McKinley Park is an important long time community gathering
place, whose development began in 1901 with the active involvement of a local
women`s organization which promoted its transformation into a park facility for
children and various recreational activities. It is eligible for the Sacramento Register
under Criterion A as a community interpretation of the social and aesthetic forces that
helped generate aspects of the City Beautiful Movement during the early 1900s.

The Rose Garden is the wor k of a master landscape architect, Frederick N. Evans,
recognized by City in Resolution No. 231 and named for him as the F rederick N. Evans
Memorial Rose Garden.

Frederick N. Evans
Frederick N. Evans, a landscape architect, was the first superintendent of
Sacramento Parks and held that post for 26 years. He was the designer of
William Land Park and the rose garden in McKinley Park.
Evans was a Harvard educated student who left for Germany after his
graduation in 1905 to study architecture. While at the Royal Technical
School in Charlotenberg, near Berlin, Evans studied German parks and
decided to become a landscape architect. Evans returned to Harvard and
graduated in 1911 with a Masters Degree in landscape architecture. Evans
joined a well known Brookline, Massachusetts firm until he formed his own
landscape architectural firm in Cleveland, Ohio. He designed many gardens
and parks in that area until he joined the faculty of the University of Illinois.
His wife, Belle Spencer Sanford, was a native of California from
Stockton. Evans met his wife while she was studying music in Boston. The
couple moved to Sacramento in 1920 as Frederick took the job as
Superintendent of Parks, where he was in charge of more than 1,000 acres of
parks and plazas. Evans must have been intrigued by the opportunity to design a new park with the funds
left by the William Land estate and its potential for a golf course. Among a number of articles that he
wrote, Evans in 1917 wrote an article that appeared in Landscape Architecture titled, 'THE PLANNING AND
PLANTING OF GOLF COURSES.` Evans was also quoted in James M. Mayo`s 1998 book. THE AMERICAN
COUNTRY CLUB: ITS ORIGINS AND DEVELOPMENT, as one of the early major proponents of the role of the
landscape architect in golf course design. Prior to this time, only former golfers were responsible for
course layout and plant selection. Evans wrote:
Up to the present, this particular field has been regarded as one
outsiue the iealm of the lanuscape aichitect This shoulu not be
Upon his arrival in Sacramento, Evans embarked on a tree planting program in the central area of
the city. He recommended the planning of some 1,200 trees. Evans also began a program for educating
park employees on how to best plant and prune trees. He encouraged the planting of trees at the front of
even vacant lots, rather than waiting for a future home owner to do so. It is evident that Evans was at
least somewhat responsible Ior Sacramento`s well recognized urban tree canopy. Evans also initiated a
plan to create an educational program that he would take to the public schools and local clubs and civic
bodies on the importance of parks and trees. Evans also authored a long article for the Sacramento Bee in
1921 titled, 'FLOWERS ADD VALUE TO THE HOME AS WELL AS INCREASE ITS BEAUTY.` Evans wrote:
As you journey about our city our eye is caught here and there
anu helu by places which cause you to say to youiselves Ah
that place is attiactive Such a place may be of any size laige
or small, where one sees front or back yard or a flower garden
patch so brim full and overflowing with the gay color and
abundance of shrubs, vines and flowers, that the beholder
seems to be inviteu to entei anu enjoy themtheie comes into
your heart a warm feeling of friendship for the occupant of such
a homea thought that you woulu like to know the ownei
In an obituary published by the Sacramento Bee in 1946, the paper noted that Evans was
considered an authority on landscaping and parks. It also mentioned that:
gned and arranged the famous rose garden in McKinley
Park, experimenting with varieties until he had a selection best

In addition to authoring a book titled, TOWN IMPROVEMENT, Evans was a member of the American
Society of Landscape Architects, the American City Planning Institute, the American Civic Association
and the California Academy of Science. Evans was still the superintendent of parks when he died on
November 30, 1946 at the age of 65. The Sacramento City Council honored him by passing Resolution
No. 231 on December 13, 1946:
WHEREAS, Frederick N. Evans in the capacity of Superintendent of Parks of the City of
Sacramento has tirelessly devoted his talent and knowledge to the development of parks in this
community, and
WHEREAS, during his tenure the park system of this city has won a place of national distinction,
and,
WHEREAS, the rose garden at McKinley Park represents one of his outstanding accomplishments
in garden designing, beauty and botanical science,
NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
SACRAMENTO, that the rose garden in McKinley Park be, and the same is hereby dedicated as a
memorial to the invaluable services rendered by the deceased official in the development of parks and in
other field of art in this city, and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that this garden be, and the same is hereby designated and named
'FREDERICK N. EVANS MEMORIAL ROSE GARDEN. and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that an appropriate marker is hereby authorized and ordered to be
installed therein.
The Rose Garden is eligible for listing in the Sacramento Register as a Landmar k under
Criterion C for its association with Frederick N. Evans.

.
The Rose Garden in McKinley Park is a good example of its type and style of resource, and is
one of the only remaining public rose gardens in Sacramento.
Historic Overview: Landscape design and The rose
The rose flower has a very long history interwoven with mythological properties that celebrate
its perIection.` It has been associated with virtue, beauty, loyalty, love, religious worship,
paradise` on earth. purity, and commemoration since ancient times, and significant in cultures
all around the world from Europe, China and Japan to Persia and the Middle East. Roses were
cultivated by the Chinese about 2737-2697 B.C., with the peak of rose culture in China occurring
between 206 B.C. and 9 A.D. The cultivated rose was probably originally introduced into
Europe from Persia, one of the earliest west Asian civilizations and one that valued floriculture.

The earliest gardens were not ornamental; they were filled with edible or medicinal plants. The
fact that some of these plants also bore blossoms was perhaps fortuitous but not the primary
intent. Religious rites or other special activities generating wreaths of flowers used wild
flowers available in the fields and woods not cultivated. Even roses grown in Hellenistic
gardens were valued more for their fragrance than their aesthetic properties, although the Greek
poet Sappho made the rose her favorite flower.

As Greek gardens evolved, they became cultivated courts associated with buildings, like open
public rooms. A design focus was the formal and architectural qualities of garden design that
endured for many centuries and are still a part of the modern design palette.

Alexander the Great`s widespread adventures contributed to the broadening of Greek garden
concepts. Exposure to the wealth of floricultural influences from Egypt during the Ptolemy era
greatly expanded the variety of species and horticulture concepts to the Greeks, but were still
incorporated for the most part into formal and geometrical designs within interior open
peristyles of their buildings.

Roman villas following the Greeks, expanded their ornamental garden lands with elaborate
irrigation techniques, fountains, hills with falling water, lakes, but essentially retained the
formal and geometrical Greek approach. They also painted landscapes and domestic scenes on
garden walls, and painted garden statues.

The emergence of religion in the Middle Ages bestowed the caring and management of gardens
largely to monasteries and convents. The founders of monasteries took over from Roman Italy
the concept of schools in gardens, the Academies, and created monastery buildings around the
Graeco-Roman peristyle tradition. They also retained the responsibility of supporting the
community with their produce. These cloister gardens became the first real gardens of the
European Middle Ages. The Crusaders also introduced influences from foreign lands to garden
and horticultural themes in Europe during the Middle Ages. There were citrus trees from North
Africa, marble foot baths from the Orient and a slow enrichment of plant material throughout
the era.

A maior concept oI gardens oI the Middle Ages was the idea oI the paradise-garden`. with the
recreation oI the lost Eden in an enclosed space. It was a 'place apart. where nature enabled
man to commune with God and where fragrance, colors, gentle murmurings, and peace
reflected an idyllic image of the era of Humanism and the Renaissance. A multitude of various
plants and trees were mixed together flower beds, paths, even wooded areas also used for
hunting. English gardens in 14
th
century Chaucer descriptions were apparently stylized and
romantic, with gravel walks shaded by flowering trees, arbors and clipped evergreens. By the
15
th
century, roses had taken their place as the flower of love and romance.

Italian gardens with their symmetrical layout, geometrical patterns, terraces, frequent use of
sculptures reflecting antiquity, and the use of water features became the popular landscape
throughout Europe. Grand gardens became a display of power. One grand English estate
garden even imported miniature deer so that the nearby lakes and trees would appear larger and
more important by comparison. As a venue for spectacle, more flowing design and less rigidly
geometric schemes began to predominate.

With the emergence of a strong and wealthy French royalty, Italian influence subsided and
French design became the major European landscape language. Landscape vocabulary evolved
with the adoption of a number of French terms widely adopted and used today. Particularly
pertinent to this project is parterre, a flat space compartmentalized for flower beds in intricate
designs created by box hedge, grass or flowers. English style parterre used mainly grass for
naturalness often surrounded by a flower-filled border. The ultimate French landscape is the
gardens at Versailles which became the model for European landscape design for many years.
It is characterized by immense expanses of lawn, hedge, trees and shrub, geometrical planting,
many fountains and water Ieatures. small episodes like Josephine`s little Iarm` and imposing
allees, all at an almost overwhelming scale.

During the first years of the 18
th
century, English gardens were still designed after French
fashion. However, following the French Enlightenment, a greater sensitivity to nature
encouraged the concept of garden to move away from strict geometry toward what became the
English garden. This was a period where picturesque perspectives and images pervaded
English design with references to the affinity between poetry, theater and painting by a
representation of historical or mythological texts, and often a return to antiquity imagery.

By the end of the 18
th
century, taste was evolving toward more natural and individualistic
approach characterized by the work oI Lancelot Capability Brown. He created landscapes oI
great simplicity, even rearranging existing vistas to become more natural` and pleasing. His
design concepts were far reaching in 20
th
century design.

Meanwhile, social pressures and the rise of
industrialization worked to the growth of
cities and involvement of town planning.
Growth in the establishment of city parks
resulted, both in England and abroad.
Planners` attention became attracted to
urban green space, while gardens as a
consequence of the mobility of
international design, cultural preferences
and past fashions, were exposed to a
profusion of eclectic ideas and different
interpretations of picturesque.` garden.`
landscape` and nature.` However,
England then moved back into elements of
the geometric mode and Renaissance
themes, with a passion for ornamental
floriculture. Gardens of this Victorian era were stuffed with structures, plants, colors and ideas,
like their houses. The Victorian passion for flowerbeds and the English love of color were
character-defining features of these gardens. The early 20
th
century garden of Malmaison in
France contained a notable and highly fashionable rose garden, encouraging the particular
popularity of roses in Europe at that time.

The Arts and Crafts movement of the late 19
th
century looked back to English tradition and
generated renewed interest in cottage gardens. Its reiection oI industrialism renewed a pro-
nature` mind-set in the early 20
th
century and the precept that species should be planted
carefully with respect to each other and attention paid to their individual characteristics. The
harmonious combination of color and flower shape, use of perennials and sturdy rustic species,
and reduction of maintenance by noting each plant`s needs are primary characteristics.

The Rose Garden at McKinley Park reflects a number of elements of historic landscape styling
including symmetry of garden elements, geometry, color, and careful planting of individual
species with particular needs. It appears to contain English garden characteristics in the
geometric and symmetrical plan of its flower beds and their borders, and the profusion of the
plants and their colors. The use of turf between the beds to create a more natural appearance is
also a characteristic of that style. The palm trees may reflect the Victorian era love of that
species as well as their California home. The roses were planted in an area in the Park that was
formerly a running track and lacked trees. The flat, open exposure to sun and access to water
was a perfect environment for the planting of roses. Community members are found at various
times of day enjoying this corner of the Park with its beauty, contemplative and memorial
attributes.
The Rose Garden appears eligible for listing in the Sacramento Register as a Landmar k
under Criterion C iii, as a distinctive representative of its type, period and style of
resource.


The development of McKinley Park reflected a substantial community effort associated with
social and aesthetic forces that generated the City Beautiful Movement. It also served as a
commemorative to President McKinley as an element of national sentiment.
The major efforts of a local women`s group to claim a then-marshy land outside the city for a park and
children`s playground reflected public concern with the betterment of the community. It also reflected
changes in society that allowed women to become a major force in such events. The Park and its Rose
Garden has played a significant role in providing many benefits to the city over time, with its Clubhouse
library, pool, auditorium, and multiple outdoor facilities for all to enjoy. Ball games, picnic areas,
children`s playground, tennis courts, lots of grass to run on, and the rose garden are
Once a place for gardeners and those seeking solitude, the Rose Garden has been increasingly used in
more recent years as a place for small eventsmostly weddings and memorial services. The Rose
Garden has taken a quiet place in the hearts and memories oI Sacramento`s residents. the same way the
Memorial Auditorium has. The auditorium has hosted countless events and high schools graduations and
many young people, who
later married, first met there.
For the children and
grandchildren of those
unions, the Rose Garden has
become the place where
many of those who followed
were married and where
those same children have met
to memorialize the memories
who those who came before.
The Rose Garden has gained
its significance, not because
of the size and grandness of
the events held there, but
because of the countless
ordinary small events that have had meaning to so many ordinary people in Sacramento.
The Rose Garden represents a substantial community effort generated by the social and cultural
philosophies that became prominent in the early twentieth century, as cities and towns began to realize
their importance and expand their identities. A number of buildings in the central city such as the City
Hall represent this general era.
The Rose Garden appears to be eligible for listing in the Sacramento Register as a Landmar k
under Criterion A (a-i), due to its association with events that have made a significant cont ribution
to the broad patterns of the history of the city.



Recommendations:

It is recommended that the Rose Garden be proposed for listing in the Sacramento
Register as a Landmark.
It is recommended that McKinley Park be considered for listing on the Sacramento
Register as a Historic District.

Rehabilitation and maintenance activities within the Rose Garden should follow adopted
guidelines for the treatment of historic landscapes prepared by the National Park Service.






.