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Message From the Director
Excerpt from Fifty Years in the Making, The Story of Redwood City’s Parks 1937-1987
“Like all good stories, the story of Redwood City’s Parks, Recreation and Community Services Department starts simply.”
Close your eyes and imagine that it is July of 1937, “a young man with red hair is driving down Roosevelt Avenue in a gray Model T Ford. When he gets to the softball field at Hawes Park, he unloads the bats and balls he always keeps in the back of his car. Then he gets out the old line marker and fills it with chalk, and starts to line the field. Once that is done, he puts 4 quarters into the machine that turns on the field lights. By then, players are warming up and spectators are arriving. When the 200 seat bleachers are just about filled, twilight has fallen. The lights glow brighter, and as the players take the field, the crowd begins to cheer. It’s time to play ball.”
That red haired man was Alfred “Red” Morton, who was hired that year to be the City’s first recreation director. He had two part time assistants to help oversee the recreation facilities at Hawes, Mezes, and Chestnut Parks. That same year FDR was President of the United States, Lou Gehrig and Joe DiMaggio represented the Yankees in the 5th All Star Baseball Game, and the Golden Gate Bridge was opened as the longest suspension bridge in the world at 4,200 feet.
While much has changed about Redwood City, the State of California, the United States and the world since the inception of the Department in 1937, in essence our core has remained the same. Today we continue the work of Alfred “Red” Morton to bring people in the community together to reap the benefits of: beautiful public places, quality recreation programs and facilities, excellent community services and opportunities to interact with the larger community. As we move into the 21st the Department has defined its mission ”to create community through people, parks and programs.
We operate based on the values of:
- Excellence: Passion to do our best in each moment
- Integrity: Do the right thing not the easy thing.
- Service: We care and it makes a difference.
- Creativity: Freedom to imagine and the courage to act.
I invite you to take advantage of each of our 26 parks, our 5 community centers, 2 swimming pools, and the hundreds of programs and services designed to meet the needs of our diverse Redwood City population.
Corinne Centeno
Director of Parks, Recreation, and Community Services
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