Montgomery-Waller Community Park — Attraction in San Diego

Lost n lots of open wide space for many events, exercise, playing basketball area, double playground & twice a month they have WRESTLING or LUCHA LIBRE LIVE !!!! Low Rider Cars get together & many vendors to shop from. SAN DIEGO—Large enough to be seen from vantage points across the border in Mexico, the wing of a World War II era Liberator bomber stands upright on the hill in Otay Mesa where some historians say pioneer aviator John J. Montgomery made the first controlled flight on a glider ever made in the United States.

The flight reportedly occurred August 28, 1883, two decades before the Wright Brothers made their first powered flight, but Montgomery’s achievement wasn’t recorded until the 1894 publication of Progress in Flying Machines, a compendium of aeronautical achievements compiled by the engineer Octave Chanute. As there were no independent witnesses of the flight, other aeronautical historians have expressed doubts about the feat.

The pioneers of aviation—including Montgomery and the Wright Brothers—conducted their testing in great secrecy in order to be the first to bring their inventions to the patent office, so it is not surprising that only relatives claimed to be witnesses to the 600-foot flight Montgomery made in a flying machine with curved wings.

Montgomery’s brother, Jim, described the event as follows: “I towed John into the air in his little glider at the end of a 40 foot rope. He flew over my head and landed beautifully about six hundred feet down the hill.”

At 90 feet high, the wing which now towers over the recreation center at Montgomery-Waller Park in the Otay Mesa area of San Diego is fully 15 percent as long as Montgomery’s first flight. The monument dedicated in 1950 was created by architect Lloyd Ruocco, who also designed such well- known landmarks in the City of San Diego as the County Administration Building between Harbor Drive and Pacific Coast Highway, and the Civic Theatre at 3rd Avenue at B Street. The wing commemorating Montgomery’s first flight was in itself a piece of San Diego history, as Consolidated Aircraft in San Diego manufactured the B-24s.

Montgomery-Waller Park is named both for the pioneer aviator as well as for Luckie Waller, who donated the land for the park and for whom the local Little League is named. The park is one of several places named for John J. Montgomery, with others being the nearby Montgomery High School and Montgomery Middle School in the Sweetwater Union High School District, Montgomery Elementary School in Chula Vista, and another Montgomery Middle School in the San Diego Unified School District. More closely related to Montgomery’s aeronautical achievements is Montgomery Field, a general aviation airport in the Kearny Mesa area of San Diego.

In 1962, ceremonies at the unusual looking monument included flyovers by antique and contemporary aircraft, a performance by a local Navy band, and an exhibit of a replica of the glider in which he flew.

The inscription at the site reads: “John J. Montgomery Made Man’s First Controlled Winged Flight From This Hilltop in August 1883. He opened for all mankind the great highway of the sky”

Consolidated Vultee Aircraft’s successor, Consolidated Vultee (which later became known as Convair) and Columbia Pictures were among the corporate sponsors of the Ruocco-designed monument.

Montgomery’s life was chronicled in the 1946 Columbia Picture Gallant Journey, directed by William Wellman and starring Glenn Ford as Montgomery and Janet Blair as Ginny Cleary, the woman who believed in him. Paul Mantz was the stunt pilot for that film. Surprisingly, although the film dramatizes a San Diego historical event, none of the public or university libraries in the county listed Gallant Journey in their catalogues as of mid-June 2010. And the story to this park is larger…...

What a mass of beautiful greenery. Any outdoor sport you want to practice, this is the park to do so.

Community Parks create memories for birthdays, holding hands, kickball, learning to ride the bike and sometimes relaxing under the sun. By the way this is a good park to learn to roller skate.

Montgomery Waller is surrounded by homes, near schools, the community library, senior housing and actual vibrant neighborhoods. It is quite a beautiful layout of this park. From a couple of baseball fields, full on outdoor basketball courts, paved walkways and walking trails, and play areas. It's a lot of land. If you can't social distance here, then there's a problema.

As you walk the unmarked course around the park you may see cheerleaders practicing, litte league baseball, Pop Warner football, AYSO soccer, father's pushing baby carriages, celebration of birthdays and dog walkers.

I really enjoy how this park is elderly friendly and safe. The paved walkways is very clean and flat and no cracks, crevices or unleveled ground. There are several manageable inclines and declines. If I was too start a walking or running club I would train at this park. In fact, I see groups doing yoga, tai-chi and cartwheels. It's biiiig.

There are two areas of play structures that will likely become boring after a couple of times because expansion needs to happen.

The rec center where classes are offered is atop the hill and classes are usually free. I saw Zumba having a blast.

Also, there are dog poop bag boxes which offer free bags. Don't let your dog poop on the paved clean walkway.

The cons to this park are a few:

Limited toilets. I saw one outhouse, and two single toilets in this big park. I guess because this neighborhood is 90% diverse, perhaps they don't use toilets. I guess. Cause this is ignorant for this space to not have real toilets around the entire Park area. The other con, is the walkway should be marked with mileage markers.

Parking is available in the lots or around the park. I come here once a week and enjoy it a lot. It is mostly an unshaded park from morning to evening. It's not impossible to find shade but it is a task. Bring your umbrella and/or canopy. You will thank me later.

Absolutely, I would recommend this park if you are near the area. Would I make a special trip? Ummm, probably because it is a best kept secret; many people don't know it exists. If you're a trainer or have an exercise class or meet up outdoor meditation, this is a perfect...

My all time favorite park in southbay area. Montgomery-Waller park has been a part of my life growing up in 70s and 80s and during the 90s and 2000s, it’s been my children’s go-to practice park for soccer. Many family events and birthday party celebrations at either the rec center or on the large grass area of park. Looking back, I can honestly say that we didn’t frequent the playground much. No major reason.

I like doing my walks at this park during mid mornings. The cemented loop trail, up and down walks, inside the park will give your heart rate a good boost. The open air, fresh breeze and perfect skies, what more can you ask for during any walk. You will seldom see runners on the trail but will sometimes see them on the outskirts of the park. On same note, last week, there was a skateboarder going downwards on the trail, just not sure if this was the appropriate park for the skater since walkers monopolized the trail.

The parking lot can get full during sporting events/practices - the worse part. No issues finding parking though, during weekday mornings. Expect a crickety looking parking lot, without parking stall lines.

What I didn’t like during my walk was staff driving the lawnmower, did not stop the equipment when myself and friend walked by on the cemented trail. The mower was on the other side of the fence. We could have potentially gotten hurt by flying object(s) that were spurting out from the mower. Glad we had our sunglasses on. Training issue?

This park may appear out dated but it’s large, clean and good...