Bronson Park: Colorful history, picturesque present
For more than 150 years, Bronson Park has provided a retreat, first for students and then for all of Kalamazoo’s citizens. The park’s history stretches back nearly to the founding of Kalamazoo. It served as the site for public gatherings of all kinds, and it continues as the site for festivals, concerts and demonstrations to this day.
Thousands gather at the park annually to usher in the new year. But it may be the more-low key moments — such as when office workers grab lunch in a serene setting — that makes Bronson Park so beloved.
Roughly bounded by S. Rose, W. South, S. Park and W. Lovell streets in downtown Kalamazoo, Bronson Park contains many surprises. Of course, visitors will find a bandshell and several delightful fountains and statues. But in the summer, a colorful peacock is created out of shrubbery and flowers in the on the South Street side of the park.
For generations, summer meant children playing in the park and festivals and concerts to entertain all. In 1980, a deadly tornado swept through Bronson Park and uprooted many mature trees. Since then, the City of Kalamazoo has replanted and groomed the park into a beautiful destination.
Enjoy the playful bronze sculptures When Justice and Mercy Prevail, The Children May Safely Play by local artist Kirk Newman in the west reflecting pool, which was erected to celebrate the American Bicentennial in 1976. View the Fountain of the Pioneers and reflecting pools on the east side of the park, which were designed by sculptor, architect and designer Alfonso Iannelli and finished in 1940. (Because Iannelli’s fountain was built to commemorate the centennial of the removal of the Pottawatomi Indian tribe from the local area to beyond the Mississippi River, the fountain, despite its abstract design, has sometimes been the site of modern-day protests.)
The 3.6 acres of Bronson Park were the site of the county’s jail and a school when Kalamazoo was still the village of Bronson, named for the eccentric potato farmer, Titus Bronson, who founded what became Kalamazoo in 1831. (Bronson’s cabin once stood where the park is now.)
Kalamazoo College students began using the area adjacent to their school as a park. By the 1850s, the area had been officially declared a park, with fencing, landscaping and graveled paths added; a fountain was added in 1879 (later replaced several times). The park wasn’t officially named Bronson Park until 1899; however, long before that, it became the site of many public meetings, gatherings and speeches. Future President Abraham Lincoln gave a speech in the park in 1856. Later, so did John F. Kennedy and many other notable politicians.
However, Bronson Park’s historical links go back farther than pioneer Titus Bronson. If you look look on the park’s south side, you’ll see one of the earthen mounds that the Hopewell Indians constructed in what’s now Bronson Park! Buried inside the mound is a time capsule due to be opened in 2054.
Posted by Ivonne Rovira
