Sun always shines at Aurora's McCarty Park

Since moving into Aurora in 1962, Juany Garza has seen the potential of what was once a dreary, less-than-desirable McCarty Park and has worked ever since to improve it.

Thanks to efforts by Garza, who is now a Second Ward alderman, 4-year-old Lylah Colin will remember McCarty Park as the place her father took her to play in the water.

Despite their age differences, both Garza and Colin celebrated the park's $700,000 facelift during a Friday grand reopening by jumping right into the park's new 28-jet water spray area.

"I love, love it," Garza said after her first trip through the sprinklers. "It's very fun for the children and our residents."

Colin liked it, too.

"We're right down the street, so I think we'll be here a lot," said girl's father, Jesse Colin, who also had his son Miguel, 7, with him. "It turned out a lot better than we expected."

Along with the new spray pad, other new amenities in the park include new landscaping, new entryways, new flagpole and a decorative pergola.

Jim Pilmer, city director of parks and recreation, said the design was created with a goal to remember the history behind the city's oldest park while doing something new.

"How can you make a difference if you are afraid to be different?" Pilmer asked. "Everything about this park, the maintenance, the operation, the design, is different from anything we've ever known before in Aurora but has also been carefully gone over to preserve the integrity of the history of this park over the years."

The one-block square park was first plotted as open space on the original plat map of McCarty Mills in 1835. The park was first known as Lincoln Park and was renamed McCarty Park in 1929.

"It's historical significance to our city is absolutely amazing," Mayor Tom Weisner said. "I think that the end product is a beautiful one and something that all of us in Aurora not only can be proud of but also something that we can share for many years to come."

The new park features Victorian-style benches with jatoba wood, similar to the benches provided by a neighborhood group in 1987. The steel garbage cans, cast iron drinking fountain and wrought iron fence are a nod to the historic neighborhood designation. And the native stone veneer on the main entrances and seat benches hearken back to the limestone quarry once mined in the city.

The $700,000 spent for the improvements came from a combination of city funding and state grant money.