A Look At An Actual Fort Worth Pavilion Which Has Seen Better Days

In the picture you are in Oakland Lake Park's picnic pavilion which overlooks Fosdick Lake and the Fosdick Sputtering Fountain.

This picnic pavilion looks to have been built in the CCC era back in the 1930s, making that guess due to the style of stonework construction, which looks like other CCC structures I have seen elsewhere.

But this is Texas. Was the CCC allowed to build public works projects in Texas? Or was there an obstructionist Greg Abbott type governor of Texas way back then?

In its original glory the Oakland Lake Park picnic pavilion must have been a nice place to picnic. Large fireplaces are at both ends of the pavilion, currently boarded up and useless. It appears that at some point in the distant past running water may have been available.

I have seen a photo of a long ago drinking water fountain located near the picnic pavilion. Running water still runs under Oakland Lake Park, as evidenced by the fountain which sputtered back to life a couple  years ago, which you can see below if you look past the flock of Fosdick ducks.

If you have ever visited that area of Fort Worth that is called Panther Island Pavilion and wondered where the pavilion was you might have wondered if Fort Worthers know what a pavilion is. The Oakland Lake Park picnic pavilion is a good indicator that at some point in distant time Fort Worthers did know what a pavilion is.

Regarding this pavilion nonsense, additional nonsense occurs to me, as in the nonsense regarding how Fort Worth names things.

For decades Fort Worth's downtown had signs pointing to Sundance Square, where there was no square, confusing Fort Worth's few tourists. Now there is a square, goofily named Sundance Square Plaza, which apparently did not occur to the people naming it such that the name seems a bit redundant.

Then what is known as America's Biggest Boondoggle started calling a chunk of land "Panther Island" where there is no island. And then called an area of the imaginary island "Panther Island Pavilion" where there is no pavilion.

And then we have Oakland Lake Park, where there is no Oakland Lake in Oakland Lake Park. The lake in Oakland Lake Park is called Fosdick Lake.

Changing the subject from walking with the ducks to my other exercise woes.

Swimming went well this morning, which surprised me, because the air was chilled to 48. Tomorrow morning may be my last swim for awhile, because on Saturday the low is predicted to be 31.

Brrrrr.....