Union Park Gardens, Wilmington, Delaware

Union Park Gardens
Location Wilmington, Delaware
Area 58 Acres
Built 1918
Architect Ballinger & Perrot
Governing body City of Wilmington

Union Park Gardens is a neighborhood located between Union Street and Lancaster Avenue in Wilmington, New Castle County, Delaware, United States, and designed by landscape architect John Nolen and the architect Emile G. Perrot of the firm Ballinger & Perrot during the First World War.[1][2] Union Park Gardens first served as housing for shipyard workers of the United States Shipping Board's Emergency Fleet Corporation.[3]

History

The Liberty Land Company and Lynch Construction Company built houses in Union Park Gardens for the United States Shipping Board during World War I. The term "Union Park" comes from the name of the amusement park once located on the site of the neighborhood. "The Gardens" name originates from the English Garden Suburb movement of the late 19th Century. "A curved parkway, open spaces, a variety of architectural styles and materials, and the garden-like setting were essential in creating the warm, inviting atmosphere which remains to this day."

On February 27, 1922, the Emergency Fleet Corporation "received $1,573,231 for Union Park Gardens, Wilmington, Del., which was sold recently by the Gerth's Realty Experts," according to an article in the New-York Tribune.[4] "The property sale consisted of all 503 houses, four stores, one store and apartment, one six-family apartment house, one brick building with one store and one apartment and two tracts of ground." The average house sold for $3,000 each.[5]

Union Park Gardens Historic Marker.
Street layout of Union Park Gardens in Wilmington, Delaware.

World War II

Seven Union Park Garden residents were killed in action during World War II while serving in the United States military. There is a small monument honoring them at the front of the neighborhood. The monument was dedicated during a service on April 19, 1953.[6]

  • Seaman Charles L. Caulk, Jr., 2137 Linden Street, United States Navy, KIA 13 November 1942[7]
  • Sgt. Paul L. Caulk, 2137 Linden Street, United States Marine Corps, KIA 21 July 1944[8]
  • Capt. Warren W. Grier, Jr., 2118 Biddle Street, United States Army, KIA 2 May 1945[9]
  • Tech. Sgt. Donald E. Layton, 2043 Linden Street, United States Army, KIA 30 September 1944[10]
  • Staff Sgt. Willard M. Parker, 629 Harrington Street, United States Army Air Corps, KIA 23 July 1943[11]
  • Maj. Clinton F. Schoolmaster, United States Army Air Corps, KIA 25 May 1944[12]
  • Cpl. Joseph M. Vignola, 2119 Gilles Street, United States Army Air Corps, KIA 20 April 1944[12]

References

  1. ↑ "Delaware By DESIGN - Union Park Gardens". stateplanning.delaware.gov.
  2. ↑ The News Journal (Wilmington, DE), February 9, 1954, page 68.
  3. ↑ "John Nolen's Union Park Gardens: Where Neighborliness Abounds / Wilmington, Delaware (2014) - Library of American Landscape History". 25 June 2014.
  4. ↑ New-York Tribute., March 12, 1922, Page 13, Image 35
  5. ↑ Evening Public Ledger, Philadelphia, Feb. 27, 1922, Final, Page 24, Image 24.
  6. ↑ The Sunday Star, April 12, 1953, Page 12.
  7. ↑ "S2 Charles Leonard Caulk, Jr (1913-1942) - Find A..." www.findagrave.com.
  8. ↑ "SGT Paul L Caulk (1919-1944) - Find A Grave..." www.findagrave.com.
  9. ↑ "Capt Warren William Grier, Jr (1920-1945) - Find A..." www.findagrave.com.
  10. ↑ "Tec. 5 Donald W. Layton (1919-1944) - Find A Grave..." www.findagrave.com.
  11. ↑ "World War II Memorial Volume created by the Delaware Public Archives Commission" (PDF).
  12. 1 2 "World War II Memorial Volume created by the Delaware Public Archives Commission" (PDF).

Coordinates: 39°44′42″N 75°34′41″W / 39.745°N 75.578°W / 39.745; -75.578

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