Bismark Park At 6408 Harrisburg Blvd.

[sevfiv]

Oh yeah - the swimming pool/baths, too.

In 1917 there was an entry for Bismark Park that reads "see Eden Park" -- I can't find anything about a Bismark Park from prior years (maybe it was just a short-lived name) but also not much more about Eden Park except for an ice cream and ice cream cone manufacturer (Eden Park Say-So Cone Factory - high grade ice cream and ice cream cones, 314 Dallas Ave.).

Also, the shooting gallery was the Amos Williams Shooting Gallery and the hamburger stand was run by someone named Charles Kennedy.

[FilioScotia]

In 1917 there was an entry for Bismark Park that reads "see Eden Park" -- I can't find anything about a Bismark Park from prior years (maybe it was just a short-lived name).

Short-lived indeed.

In 1917, a lot of German names were short-lived. When the U-S declared war on Germany in 1917, anything and anyone with a German name got very unpopular overnight. German Street through Houston's east end was renamed Canal Street. It appears that a Bismarck Park in that area lost that name, and perhaps became Eden Park. Even though Otto Von Bismarck died in 1898, he was remembered as one of the architects of the German Empire -- the Second Reich -- that started that "Great War", as it was known then.

All over the country, many people of German extraction changed their names by simply "Anglicizing" them. Braun became Brown. Schmidt became Smith. Stein became Stone. Heinrich became Henry, etc. Even the English Royal family changed their last name from Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, because there was so much anti-German sentiment. King George V renounced all the German titles belonging to him and his family and adopted the name of his castle, Windsor. One of George's cousins, Prince Louis of Battenberg, a grandson of Queen Victoria and in line to the throne, changed his family name to Mountbatten. Just a few examples of the anti-German turmoil that was going on in 1917.

Of course, a lot of people with German names refused to change them, and they had to endure a lot of public and private scorn and discrimination for a few years. They are to be admired, because most of the anti-German feeling dissipated in the Roaring Twenties. The same sort of thing, on a much larger scale, happened to Japanese-Americans during WWII.

Edited May 29, 2010 by FilioScotia

[sevfiv]

Of course...! And German St. made the change to Canal by 1918..

[Highrise Tower]

From the newspaper The Houston Post dated June 25, 1915.

Special Notice
Bismark Park
Harrisburg Road

A natural playground in the city limits, ideal for Picnics, Parties, etc. Street car and "jitney" service unsurpassed.  For reservations apply to E. Weil, 707 Prairie Ave., Preston 4017.

Newsboys of Houston Who Enjoyed Themselves as Guests of the Post at Bismark Park Wednesday.
In the Above Picture, the Newsboys Are Shown Enjoying a Plunge in the Natatorium  at Bismark Park.

 

 

[NenaE]

Interesting... This is the park I was referring to in the Colonial Park topic post. It's the park that the Labor Day festivities were moved to, after storm damage at Colonial Park.  I never knew it was called Bismark Park. I've seen "Delmonico" on one map, but never this name. Makes sense that it was Eden Park later. The natatorium was at Eden. Seems that it was a popular place when Magnolia Park neighborhood was being promoted. The carousel was placed at the park front to attract attention, especially at night.

 

Edited December 5, 2022 by NenaE