John Champion Park Overview
Between 1980 and 1997, if you walked along the Truckee River south of downtown you were likely to run into a man wearing a big floppy outback hat, fly fishing, wrapping trees with chicken wire, planting trees and shrubs, teaching kids to fish, or simply talking to someone about the river. That man was John Champion.
John Champion Park is a two-acre memorial park located on the Truckee River east of downtown Reno. The park was built less than a year after the death of John Champion. At the time of construction, the park was owned by The Reno Gazette Journal and leased to the City of Reno. In 1981 the property was deeded to the City of Reno. The park was designed by Louise Kehmeier of Schoenberg Design. It was constructed as a lasting example of work done by the volunteer group, Champions of the Truckee, named in honor of John Champion. Krump Construction, Reno Lawn & Landscape, Operating Engineers #3, Moana Nursery, Rainbow Rock, and Wester Turf were among more than 40 companies that donated time and/or materials. On September 26th and 27th 1998, 150 volunteers put the finishing touches on the park, planting shrubs, trees, flowers, building a dry creek bed, placing benches, and many of the other tasks that make a park. A memorial plaque was erected with the quote, “The sun shines not on us but in us. The river flows not past but through us.” In 1999 the park won a Medallion Award from the American Society of Landscape Architects.
_edited_p.png)
