CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Without question, Corpus Christi’s Cole Park is the city’s most popular and most used municipal park. It’s also one of the city’s oldest parks and was the first city park to be built on the Bayfront.
The story of its creation began in 1926 when a city employee accidentally plowed up six acres of Bayfront land owned by real estate developer E. B. Cole.
Cole had come to Corpus Christi during the “Ropes Boom” in 1890. He would eventually buy and later develop a huge tract of land that today includes the Del Mar, Lindale, and Six Points neighborhoods.
Because of the accidental plowing of his land, Cole could have sued the city. Instead, he offered to donate the land to the city as long as the city agreed to develop a public park on the site and guarantee that it would remain a park in perpetuity.
In June 1930, the city formally accepted the gift, said to be valued at $40,000, and began planning its development. Because of the Depression, development was slow in the beginning, but by early 1933, trees had been planted, the ground sodded with grass, and terracing had begun to stabilize the Bluff side of the park.
The improvements were enough to satisfy the requirements established by Mr. Cole. On April 2, 1933, Mayor Edwin Flato announced that the deed to the property had been transferred to the city.
In 1934, a 600-foot-long fishing and swimming pier was constructed by the Civil Works Administration, using materials donated by Corpus Christi citizens and businesses.
The following year, lighting was installed in the park, including a flood light at the end of the pier that would allow night swimming for a period of four hours each night. It was also in 1935 that the city constructed a beautiful “sunken garden” and pond called the “Pool of Destiny”.
In 1936, Mr. Cole donated $900 to pay for a formal park entrance sign—bearing his name, of course.
Extensive landscaping with flowering plants and shrubs would further beatify the new park. Despite having the deed and constructing all of the amenities, Cole Park was not formally dedicated until April 23, 1939 — on E. B. Cole’s 83rd birthday.
The new park was an instant hit with the public. Crowds of people showed up to fish off the pier, swim on its shoreline, picnic in the park, or visit the Pool of Destiny, which was stocked with goldfish.
In 1942, the city created the “Woods of Remembrance and Bird Sanctuary” in Cole Park. Each planting in this large grove of native trees at the north end of the park was dedicated to the memory of an individual or family who had contributed to the growth and prosperity of Corpus Christi.
Mr. Cole would die in 1951 at the age of 96. He frequently expressed his admiration for the city’s efforts in creating one of the most beautiful Bayfront parks on the Gulf Coast.
But it is not likely that he would even recognize the park that bears his name today. In the late 1960s, the original six acre park would be expanded to twenty-six acres and be totally altered with a new look and many new amenities. That story coming in Part 2.
Robert Parks is a special contributor to KRIS 6 News. Parks was a history teacher at Carroll High School for 19 years and is now retired. His knowledge of Corpus Christi history makes him a unique expert in the subject.
