Eastlake Park

Eastlake Park is the oldest park in Phoenix, and for generations it was the heart of Black Phoenix. The trolley line ended here, though the Black families who made this their gathering place were barred from riding it. Under segregation the park became a refuge where a community could hold dances, ballgames, and protest meetings: Booker T. Washington spoke here in 1911, and Juneteenth has been marked on these grounds since 1921. Since 1997 it has held the city's Civil Rights Monument, which lays out that history decade by decade.

What the plaque says

Eastlake Park has served the inhabitants of Phoenix since the late 1880s. Originally known as Patton's Park, it was developed by the Phoenix Railway Company as a recreational area for patrons of the city's trolley system. The park eventually became a place where people of color could meet to relax and celebrate special events without violating the separatist laws that existed in the nation and state during the first half of the 20th century. Eastlake Park's history is one of peace rather than confrontation.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Phoenix — 1.5 mi
  The fifth-largest US city, built on the canals of a thousand-year-old one
• Heard Museum — 2.2 mi
  The Native Southwest, told in the first person
• Taliesin West — 16 mi
  Frank Lloyd Wright's desert masterwork, grown from the ground it stands on

More markers nearby

• First Latter-day Saint Chapel in Phoenix — 1.0 mi
• Saint Mary's Basilica — 1.3 mi
• Phoenix Newspapers, Inc. — 1.4 mi
• Maricopa County Courthouse — 1.6 mi