Werry Park

Werry Park is a square of grass and shade on Dartmouth Street that has been a park for as long as College Terrace has existed. When Alexander Gordon drew up the neighborhood in 1887, he set aside four small parks in the grid. Werry is one of them. Today it holds a children's playground, a lawn, a picnic table and a few benches. In a neighborhood of narrow lots on a tight grid, it works as a shared backyard for the families on the surrounding blocks.

The address is 2100 Dartmouth Street, on the block between College Avenue and Stanford Avenue. The city describes a "1.1 acre rectangular open grassy area, defined by a low stone wall." Its full name is William C. Werry Park. This guide covers what is there, the playground replacement on the city's list, the postmaster behind the name and the walks that start from its corner.

Werry Park at a glance

The city's feature list for Werry is short: picnic tables and playgrounds. Other details come from the residents' association and the city's capital program:

• Playground: a children's play area. Older city listings mention sand, swings and a climbing structure for toddlers.
• Lawn: a large open grassy area inside a low stone wall, the biggest part of the park.
• Seating: benches and a picnic table.
• Other: a drinking fountain and a bike rack, both named in the city's renovation plan. The park page's feature list does not include them.
• Restrooms: the city's page lists no restroom.
• Fees: none.

Its neighbor across College Avenue, Weisshaar Park, has the tennis courts. Cameron Park on Wellesley Street has the other College Terrace playground. Between the three, families in the neighborhood rarely need to drive to a park.

Playground replacement on the list

Werry's equipment is due for an update. A construction leads listing drawn from the city's 2026 to 2031 Capital Improvement Program describes Werry Park Playground Improvements, project PG-22000. Its scope:

1. Replace the existing playground and add accessibility improvements.
2. Replace benches, tables, trash receptacles, the bicycle rack and the drinking fountain, which the city says have reached the end of their useful life.
3. Replace the perimeter landscaping.

The September 2026 listing put the cost at about $380,000, with a conceptual start date of March 2028. Treat that as a target. Capital projects shift with the city budget. The city normally holds community meetings on playground designs before construction. Recent examples at Robles and Boulware parks went through more than one round of public input. Watch the city's Werry Park page for meeting dates and closures.

Expect the playground to close while the work is under way. Cameron Park, nearby on Wellesley Street, is the natural fallback.

From Eton Park to Werry Park

The parks came with the neighborhood. In 1870 two German immigrants, Peter Spacher and Frederick Weisshaar, bought about 120 acres next to what would become Stanford. In 1887, as construction began on the university, they sold to Alexander Gordon. Gordon laid out lots, named the cross streets after colleges and reserved four squares as parks. He first called his town Palo Alto, then agreed at Leland Stanford's request to call it College Terrace. The tract was annexed by Mayfield in 1891 and joined Palo Alto with Mayfield in 1925.

Gordon gave his parks collegiate names. This one was Eton Park, after the English school. In 1968 the city renamed all four for people tied to the area. Eton became William C. Werry Park.

According to the College Terrace Residents' Association, Werry was a longtime Mayfield resident who served as Palo Alto's postmaster from 1924 to 1935. Those years spanned the 1925 merger that folded Mayfield into Palo Alto, along with its streets, its post office customers and College Terrace itself. Our history of Mayfield, Palo Alto's rival town covers that merger.

The four College Terrace parks

Cameron Park honors Donaldina M. Cameron, a Presbyterian missionary in San Francisco's Chinatown who lived locally. Mayfield Park recalls the former town. All four have open lawns and all four are free.

When to visit

Werry is a neighborhood park first. Weekday mornings bring parents and caregivers with toddlers. After school the lawn fills with older kids from the surrounding blocks. On weekends it is a gathering spot for College Terrace families, especially in spring and early fall when the weather is mild and the grass is dry.

The lawn is large enough for a game of catch or a small birthday picnic, though the city does not take reservations here. Shade trees cover parts of the park, which helps on hot afternoons. In winter, expect soft ground after rain and plan on the paths. Visitors from outside the neighborhood often combine Werry with a walk on the Dish or a stop at the library, which makes a good half-day outing with young children.

Hours and rules

Posted hours on the city's page are sunrise to sunset. Palo Alto's municipal code sets a 10:30 p.m. closing for city parks. There are no lights. Dogs must be on a leash. The nearest fenced dog run is at Peers Park across El Camino Real. Drones are banned in city parks and feeding wildlife is not allowed.

College Terrace streets are narrow and parking is tight, especially on weekdays when Stanford commuters look for spaces. Walk or bike if you can.

Walks from Werry Park

Werry sits a block from Stanford Avenue, the neighborhood's northern edge. That makes it a good starting or ending point for longer walks:

• The Stanford Dish. Follow Stanford Avenue west to the Stanford Gate at Junipero Serra Boulevard, the main entrance to the paved loop. Dogs and bikes are not allowed on the Dish. See our Dish guide for hours.
• The Stanford campus. Escondido Village, a large Stanford housing area, faces Stanford Avenue. Beyond it, the central campus and Main Quad are a short bike ride away.
• The College Terrace loop. Our College Terrace walking tour covers all four parks, the 1936 library and the college street names in about two miles.

Schools, library and food

Two elementary schools sit close by on Stanford land: Nixon Elementary at 1711 Stanford Avenue and Escondido Elementary at 890 Escondido Road. Assignments go by address, so check the district's school finder for any home.

The College Terrace Library at 2300 Wellesley Street, built in 1936 as a WPA project, is a few minutes' walk away and has a children's room with storytimes. It has recently been open Tuesday through Saturday, so check the library's website for current hours before you plan around it. It makes a good pairing with the playground on a cool morning.

For food, a few businesses sit at the El Camino Real end of the neighborhood, including a neighborhood grocery. California Avenue, across El Camino Real, has the full range of cafes and restaurants and a farmers market every Sunday.

Frequently asked questions