It was a dairy farm in the ‘30s. Now it’s a community center with a belly dancing class
A newly-remodeled community center in East Pierce County recently received recognition for maintaining and implementing historical features.
The Frederickson Community Center at Cross Park is at 4420 Military Road E. The $6.5 million project won Pierce County Parks an award from the American Public Works Association (APWA) Washington State Chapter, in the historical/preservation $5 million-$25 million project category.
The award “recognizes the best in management and administration for successfully completing public works projects,” according to the county’s website. The county issued a news release about the award in mid-April.
Cross Park is 64 acres and was the home of the Mayflower Dairy in the 1930s, said Benjamin Barrett, design and construction supervisor for Pierce County Parks. Two dairy barns sat on the property, which the county later purchased in 2003.
The county engaged in a master plan process soon after to figure out the community’s needs and settled on a park and community center. Sometime in 2019, crews lifted both barns and placed them together into one, which is now the community center.
The county worked to preserve the building’s character, Barrett said. The barns were re-roofed with a metal roof, replicating the old, corrugated roof that the barn would have had back then, he said.
The barn also used to have a concrete wall, which the county tried to preserve by keeping pieces of it intact in the community center. The front entrance features pieces of old milking stanchions, where cows would put their heads through to eat hay.
Construction ended in September 2020 but the county only opened the adjacent outdoor playground to the public at the time due to the pandemic. Space rentals for the community center began in summer 2021.
The community center educates visitors about local history as well as sustainable building practices, according to the news release.
Barrett said the county rents the community center for different activities and events such as weddings. A belly dancing class is held there every Wednesday.
The $6.5 million restoration project was funded in two ways – $2 million from grants and contributions from the nFriends of Cross Park and $4.5 million from the county’s budget.
