In the early spring of 1968, a handful of community members led over 120 of their Historic McGee-Spaulding District neighbors in petitioning the city to buy this property for use as a tot lot and to prevent further apartment development in this area. The city council approved the purchase, and neighbors built the playground with car tires, telephone poles, rope, chains, and a culvert. They maintained the new park, and it quickly became a popular venue for neighborhood meetings and social events. 

In the early 1970s, two noted U.C. Berkeley architects and their students created the design for a large, three-tiered play structure that was built by neighbors under the supervision of a skilled Berkeley builder/carpenter.  In 1975 the park was awarded a citation by the California Parks and Recreation Society for “neighborhood participation in design concepts and volunteer labor.”

In the mid-1980s, the City took charge of the park and replaced all previous structures.  In 1997 the city council renamed the park in memory of Berkeley park activist Becky Temko and authorized placement of a plaque “detailing the Park’s history and recognizing the people who contributed to its development.”

In 2018 the City did a complete park remodel, installing new equipment and a water play area, using Regional Parks bond funds.

Plaque donated by the McGee-Spaulding-Hardy Historic Interest Group 

www.berkeleyplaques.org