| Walnut Street Park | |
| Type: | Public, city |
| Location: | Hillsboro, Oregon United States |
| Coords: | 45.5256°N -122.9872°W |
| Area: | 2.5acres |
| Created: | 1998 |
| Operator: | Hillsboro Parks & Recreation Department |
| Status: | open |
| Parking: | On-street parking |
Walnut Street Park is a small municipal park in Hillsboro in the U.S. state of Oregon. Opened in 1998, the park covers 2.5acres along southeast Walnut Street several blocks east of Tenth Avenue in a predominantly Hispanic neighborhood.
The park was built around 1998 in the mainly Hispanic neighborhood southeast of Downtown Hillsboro.[1] During a gang fight in 2001 at the park, one person was hospitalized with a stab wound,[2] and around 2005 a picnic table was stolen from the park.[1] The park was added by the Hillsboro School District to the list of parks used for the district's free summer lunch program in 2006.[3]
Walnut Street Park was the scene of a shooting in March 2008,[4] and an arrest for a stabbing in July 2011.[5] The shooting was considered gang related,[4] while the stabbing was a domestic disturbance at a nearby home after which the suspect hid in the park.[5] Sexual Minorities of Washington County adopted the park in 2009 as part of the city's Adopt a Park program.[6]
In 2012, a federal grant paid for improvements at the park, including a splash pad.[7] Other improvements paid for by the $175,000 grants included new park benches and grass.[7] The park received new sod in October 2012 as part of the same renovations.[8] The used sod came from a former softball field at the Gordon Faber Recreation Complex that was removed to make way for the new Hillsboro baseball stadium.[8] A man was arrested in March 2014 for firing gunshots in the park.[9] [10]
The 2.5acres park is in a residential neighborhood, surrounded by housing, and does not have any natural areas.[1] Walnut Street Park does have many older deciduous trees throughout, along with grassy areas.[1] Other features of the park include sidewalks, picnic tables, a children's playground, picnic shelter, soccer field, and a basketball court.[11] The park only has on-street parking along Walnut Street.[1]