Washington Park — Attraction in Quincy

An historically significant park in the heart of downtown Quincy, with numerous activities to offer throughout the year. From spring to fall there are weekly farmers markets that include live music, refreshments, and art activities for kids. In spring and summer, weekly Blues in the District, Q-Fest, and a number of other arts-related festivals are held there, and the accessible fountains are fun for all ages to play in. In the fall, the Tin Dusters car show is centralized around the park. In the winter, the park is decorated and lit up for the holidays, and around Christmas, there is a hut set up for Santa for kids to visit. All year long, there are informational areas set up showcasing Quincy's place in aiding the Mormons in the 19th century, and in the Lincoln-Douglas debates. Numerous small local businesses including stores and restaurants surround the square within easy walking distance. The architecture is beautiful and mostly well kept up, and there is an informational area set up indoors across from the park to provide even more of the history of the area. As great as all of these things are, however, the park itself is lacking. There is no playground here and surprisingly little picnic-style seating. The fountains used to shoot higher when first installed but now they are not only quite low, but don't all work properly. The lights around the fountains also don't all work. The bathrooms are unfortunately often dirty and while there is parking all the way around the park, it is shared with the businesses that line the square, so it isn't always possible to find a spot. One of the streets that lines the park is a highway, and not the safest parking option for those with children. Last, the businesses around the park tend to close with little to no warning, and new places don't open that often. Those that are present are pretty much all the same: couture clothing, antiques/pawn shops, and bar-type restaurants. (Updated to reflect that O'Griffs, a former staple of the square, has since closed.) All in all, this is a decent place to enjoy events that are located here, to spend some time outdoors, and to play in the water with children. It is definitely more of a spot to come relax, however, and if you bring kids while the fountains are on, prepare for...

It is a park in the middle of Quincy historic district a gazebo a fountain green grass for your doggy to pee on but if he poops you better pick it up the cause you'll get a fine by the City of Quincy they say that it's a Environmental hazard but I wonder how it went back in the days of buffaloes when they pooped all over the Great Plains I wonder if the Indians had a poop cleaning up Department or if they tried to find the buffalo even maybe just maybe that's why they killed them all because the Buffalo wouldn't clean up their poop and they didn't know how to find them because the Buffaloes had no owners leaving big piles of environmental hazard everywhere I refuse to pick up my doggies poop if they want to pick it up pick it up I myself prefer not to handle poop and bathrooms the park almost always has one or two homeless people either sleeping in the gazebo sleeping Under The Canopy of the bathrooms or if they're drunk enough they just lay down in the park I would not go there at night like most places in Quincy you really don't want to see...

An unknown place that changed the world. Site of the 5th of 6 Lincoln-Douglas debates and an impressive open air memorial. In this place we as a nation were held up to the bright light and asked the hard question of whether we could be the Land of the Free while holding a portion of our poulation in bondage. Douglas won the senate, but two years later Lincoln was President. His comments on slavery in this venue led directly to SC secession. The opening shots of the US civil war were fired in this small square. If you pause here to reflect on the event, the sense of history...