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The history of Boise's Municipal Park

It is now known as Kristin Armstrong Municipal Park in honor of Boise's own 3-time Olympic gold medalist. But what you might not know is that the park itself has an interesting history spanning more than 100 years.

Historians say in 1910 the Boise School District was responsible for building and maintaining all public playgrounds.

Leaders decided to buy 23 to 25 acres for a baseball stadium, but Boise High School athletes didn't like it.

In 1918, the property became Boise Tourist Campground. About ten years later the city agreed to buy the park from the school.

During the Depression many homeless people came to the park giving it a reputation as a hobo and gypsy jungle and it was closed in 1938.

"Eventually just the sheer number of folks that used it as a campground, it eventually outgrew from a maintenance standpoint the ability to keep it up and so that's why the city purchased it, and instead of keeping it a campground turned it into just a regular city park, which prohibited camping," said Boise Parks and Recreation Director Doug Holloway.

The park was officially named Boise Municipal Park when it was changed to a day-use park. And just Sunday it was renamed Kristin Armstrong Municipal Park in honor of Boise's golden girl.

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