Kenilworth Park

The land occupied by Kenilworth Park and most of the Kenilworth neighborhood was part of the land claim owned by Clinton Kelly, a Methodist minister from Kentucky who settled in the area in 1848. In 1909 the Portland Park Board purchased 9 acres from Kelly with funds from a 1908 bond measure created specifically to acquire land for parks in Portland. The park and the neighborhood, platted in 1889, are named after Sir Walter Scott's 1821 novel Kenilworth, a romantic novel set in Elizabethan England. Many of the streets in the neighborhood took their names from this novel and other novels by Scott. In 1910, Park Superintendent Emanuel Mische created a design for the park that was inspired by the park's natural topography and vegetation. The design included a bandstand, tennis courts, sports field, wading pool and play area, sand courts, walkways, and vista points. In 1912 a comfort station pavilion was added and remains an important historic feature of the park. Designed by Ellis Lawrence in the 20th Century Classic style, it is significant for its cubist form and decorative brickwork arches. Originally the arches were open and provided unobstructed views of the city; in 1983, in order to curb vandalism, metal doors were added to close off the pavilion when not in use. Today, the basic layout of the park remains intact and is indicative of the strength and appeal of Mische's original design.