Children play at the grand opening of Otto Brown Neighborhood Park. Bryan Kast, right, whose family helped name the park, plays with his daughters — from left, Zeana, 8, Kiyla, 6, and Inga, 7. The park is 7.9 acres and named after Otto Alexander Brown, a Hockinson native who made a wooden bicycle. (James Rexroad for The Columbian)Photo Gallery
Nearly 100 people gathered for the grand opening of Otto Brown Neighborhood Park on a mild Saturday morning, the culmination of two decades of financing, planning and construction.
Near the intersection of Northeast 96th Street and Northeast 162nd Avenue in the Heritage neighborhood, the 7.9-acre park cost $1.4 million and features a play structure, picnic tables, open grassy fields, a biking trail, a sport court, a wooded area and a rock feature.
Locals and organizers alike expect that it will be well-used and well-loved for years to come.
“This is what the Parks Advisory Board hopes for when we open a new park, so many people coming and excited about it,” Kelsey Potter, co-chair of the board, told the crowd. “Living next to a neighborhood park myself, I can tell you it’s such a great way to meet your neighbors, stay connected in your community, and just to take pride in something so close to your house.”
A gaggle of kids held a ceremonial ribbon as another wielded the customary golden scissors.
Then, they scattered — to the play structure, where swings, slides, and a metal climbing structure shaped like a giant bicycle frame beckoned, and to the refreshment table where slices of celebratory cake waited to be claimed.
The park bears a bicycle theme, linked to its namesake. As a page on Clark County Public Works’ website states:
“The park is named after Otto Alexander Brown, who was born in the Hockinson area in 1878. Brown built a bicycle almost entirely of wood and rode it to Vancouver for the city’s Fourth of July festivities. A Vancouver bicycle shop owner was so impressed that he gave Brown a new bicycle in exchange for the wood one, which he displayed in his store window for years.
In 2010, neighbors asked that the park be named for Brown in recognition of making his own bicycle.”
That’s all true, but it’s not the whole story.
In 2010, community members answered an online survey to propose potential features and names for the park. Brian Kast proposed the name Otto after his son, who at the time was just a toddler.
To Kast’s surprise, the name won, landing him in the unusual position of trying to justify naming an entire park for a kid. A little Googling on his part turned up the story of Vancouver’s own Otto Brown, who gave the park some historic gravitas, and whose link to cycling gave the play structure a unique, ready-made theme.
That Otto Kast and Otto Brown shared a first name was just a bit of luck, Brian Kast said.
Otto himself, a freckled, redheaded 10-year-old getting ready to start fifth grade, said at the opening that it’s “cool” to have a whole park inspired by his name.
A benched project
Opening a community park in the Heritage neighborhood took a decade longer than initially planned.
The county bought the land back in 1997. Eight years later, voters approved the Greater Clark Parks District that would guarantee the creation of 35 parks within unincorporated Clark County, including one in the Heritage neighborhood. But when the economy crashed in 2009, the project had to be shelved, leaving the multi-acre lot vacant.
However, the setback allowed some time for the community around the land to grow into its future park, said project and construction manager Scot Brantley.
“When we purchased this stuff there was no houses around here. Now, if you go up there’s subdivision after subdivision of single family housing,” Brantley said.
Now, there’s more people nearby who will take advantage of the public amenity, added Bill Bjerke, parks and lands division manager for county public works.
“This park has become kind of the centroid of this neighborhood,” Bjerke said.
Otto Brown is No. 31 of the 35 parks promised by the district vote, according to Jeff Mize, information officer for county public works.
“We still have four more parks to go,” Mize said. “The going has not been as quick as any of us here would want, particularly county staff, but I can tell you one thing: we are committed to getting the job done for our community, and we hope to get those last four parks built pretty soon.”
Remaining on the county’s To Do list are two neighborhood parks, Kozy Kamp and Salmon Creek Community Club, as well as community parks Curtin Creek and Pleasant Valley.
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