Kiest Park, Dallas

Kiest Park is a 263-acre park in southern Dallas, Texas, United States, established in 1931 by Edwin John Kiest, publisher of the Dallas Times Herald and a member of the Dallas Park Board in the 1930s who donated the land for the park. Named in memory of Kiest's late wife, artist Elizabeth Patterson Kiest, it is the largest City of Dallas Park in Oak Cliff and features hike-and-bike trails, tennis courts, baseball diamonds, playgrounds, picnic tables and several Works Progress Administration-era structures, including stone gates at three entrances to the park, a stone picnic shelter and a stone field house. The WPA also built a formal garden at the heart of Kiest Park. A pergola was built at the head of the garden in 1934 with WPA funds but fell into ruin and was cleared away. The nonprofit organization Friends of Oak Cliff Parks restored the historic garden and the City of Dallas rebuilt the pergola in 2014 based on the original plans, using $2 million in bond funds. ()