Lagoon and duck island at Fontenelle Park, Omaha, Nebraska
Description
Black and white photograph (24 x 19 cm.) of the lagoon and duck island in the 108-acre Fontenelle Park located at 4405 Fontenelle Boulevard in Omaha, Nebraska. The view shows three large trees in the foreground and lawn running down to the lagoon, with the duck island with trees in the middle. On the far side of the lagoon is the pavilion. On the reverse side is written in pencil is: Fontenelle Park.
Fontenelle Park is located between Ames and Pratt Streets on 108 acres of high rolling hills northwest of Omaha's original center. It was named to commemorate Logan Fontenelle, Chief of the Omaha Indians. In 1892, H. W. S. Cleveland was paid $1,650 for selection of the site and plans for the park design. It was purchased in 1893 with $90,000 in funds from the Board of Commissioner's first bond issue, despite protests from citizens who felt the land was located too far from the city. Few trees planted survived the drought of the mid-1890s, and due to lack of funds and criticism of expenditures upon distant and undeveloped parks, it remained essentially pasture land for another decade until city growth expanding to the northwest created a demand for the property's improvement. In 1911, park-building activities included grading, road construction, and laying out of a golf course, and by 1916, it was one of the most popular and best patronized parks in the system. In the 1990s, grant fund
