Big Eleven Lake

Landscape architects, Hare and Hare, turned an ‘unsightly hole’ into a 3.8-acre ‘Waterway Park Complex’ in 1911 that is today known as Big Eleven Lake. Twenty years after their effort, additional improvements were made to the lake, requiring it to be drained. Locals had many suspicions of what lay beneath the surface, including ghosts! Today, Big Eleven Lake is a recreational destination and features a memorial to KCK’s very own, Charlie Parker.

Big Eleven Lake is located in the heart of Kansas City, Kansas, and has been a green amenity for the city since its opening in 1911. Originally, local landscape architecture firm Hare & Hare was selected to design a park, taking a neighborhood ‘eyesore’ (between State Ave., Washington Blvd, 11th St., and Waterway Dr.) and turning it into a grand Waterway Park complex. The original design featured a park surrounding a sunken water garden and reflection pool, anchored by two lakes–one of which included Big Eleven. 

While the buildout didn’t quite achieve this vision, Big Eleven Lake and the surrounding area became a destination. In the 1920s, the park saw its first redevelopment, with the filling of the sunken garden and Southern lake as a result of high maintenance costs. While the park lost quite a bit of space to parking, the remaining portion of the Waterway Park received a newly-constructed shelter to create a community gathering space. A few years later (roughly the 1930’s), additional changes were made to Big Eleven, most notably adding a concrete base and limestone borders along the shore. This project was taken on by WPA and involved complete drainage of the lake. This caused quite a stir in the community, as the lake had long been home to ghost stories and neighbors were worried about what may be uncovered during draining. While only a few non-newsworthy items were found, the number of spooky stories that were whipped up as a result of the project helped give the lake a lasting legacy.

Big Eleven has been no stranger to the pollution problems associated with excess fertilizer use leading to increased algal blooms, which are very dangerous to aquatic environments. In the 1980s, an oxygenation system was installed in Big Eleven to help mitigate the threats of algal blooms by cleaning the water and aiding in the survival of aquatic life. Today, the lake is regularly monitored with the water quality measured in an effort to maintain a safe and healthy ecosystem. 

Big Eleven remains a gathering place for the community with a variety of recreational opportunities. A walkway surrounds the park and the community regularly hosts local games at its soccer fields.

Big Eleven Lake, Friends of the Kaw. Accessed June 8th 2022. https://sites.google.com/site/friendsofthekaw/fisherman-s-corner/big-eleven-lake.

Bushnell, Michael . Big Eleven Lake – an Urban Oasis, Northeast News. July 11th 2018. Accessed June 8th 2022. http://northeastnews.net/pages/big-eleven-lake-urban-oasis/.

Know Your KCK History – Big Eleven Lake, KCKPL Programs. Accessed June 8th 2022. https://kckplprograms.org/2021/01/21/know-your-kck-history-big-eleven-lake/.