National Historic Register status for Beach Park is “about making sure we respect our heritage and preserve it for our children,” Gov. Christine Gregoire said in Des Moines April 14.

Gregoire addressed about 300 people gathered in one of the remaining historic buildings to celebrate the heritage of the park on a rainy Friday morning.

Gregoire scored Des Moines a “perfect ten” in their commitment to keeping their history alive.

“It’s a celebration of our future,” said Mayor Bob Sheckler. It’s a start to “reclaim our position as one of the premiere waterfront communities in the Puget Sound.”

In attendance were Jim Draper Langston, whose great-grandfather opened an orphanage near the park and owned some of the land that is the present day park, and Kris Van Gasken, director of the Des Moines Food Bank, whose great-grandfather owned the first sawmill that operated on Des Moines Creek.

Langston currently lives in the house that was a former print shop where children from the orphanage would print stationery and put out a newspaper.

“The family is really excited,” said Langston.

Looking at the audience, Gregoire noted that many of them must have played at the park when they were children.

“It is the heart of a thriving community,” she said.

Gregoire then presented a plaque to Sheckler and, while noting it was small, said, “it’s your big heart” that the plaque represented.

Councilwoman Susan White, who worked to obtain funding and get the park on the register, spoke about the park’s importance in the community.

“It’s an economic development tool and a sense of place in the community,” said White.

“If not for her (White), we would not be here celebrating today,” said Sheckler.

Councilwoman Carmen Scott, also a member of the Des Moines Historical Society, shared the history of the park from it's early beginnings as a sawmill owned by the Van Gasken family, then used by the Draper Family as a playground for an orphanage, and for many years used as a church camp before being bought by the city.

“We have fantastic plans for turning it into the best it ever was for the community,” said Scott.

The city council approved on April 6 a design to renovate the auditorium in the park. Work will begin later this year or early 2007. White estimates the cost at a little under $1 million.