Published: January 04, 2008 10:32 pm         

Kenwood Historic District setting pace for rest of Enid

We like the things we’re seeing in Kenwood Historic District.

The latest bit of good news is a plan members of the residential district have worked out with Enid Public Schools to use a school playground and make it the centerpiece for a neighborhood park.

The playground is north of Lincoln Alternative School and Emerson Junior High School. It is on the site of the original Kenwood neighborhood school, which was torn down and Lincoln was built. The school district will continue to hold the deed on the playground and will approve all equipment placed in the park. In fact, according to Becky Cummings, who lives in the Kenwood district, the offer of the playground came to her organization from Superintendent Kem Keithly.

The park will be a wonderful addition to Kenwood Historic District, which includes 11 blocks of residential homes just northwest of the downtown area. We agree with Cummings, too, when she says the park will mean more people will keep a watch out for vandals in the area because they have a personal stake in the property. It will be their park.

“We’re getting more children in the neighborhood, and the kids will have a playground in the area. Suddenly there will be a kid from the neighborhood playing in the park again,” Cummings says.

When the next Cherokee Strip Days Celebration comes around in September, Kenwood will undertake another great project, a festival showcasing the district and the restoration of the homes there.

The district will be divided into three sections in an area three to four blocks long.

An American Indian section will feature a 20-foot teepee at the corner of Adams and Maple. Another section from Elm to Jefferson Streets will devoted to Hispanic culture, and the 300 block to 400 block of Elm will be dedicated to historic Kenwood.

As we said, we like the things going on in Kenwood Historic District.

We like to see people getting together and coming up with ideas to improve their neighborhood. They aren’t waiting around for someone else to do it for them. They are taking the initiative. We’d like to see this happen elsewhere in Enid, too.