. "Lorenzi Park is an oasis in downtown Las Vegas. It is an urban retreat for human beings and ducks.\n\n I had inclined toward visiting Lorenzi Park from the time of last January. The lake had been closed for refurbishment, there were other parks to explore; and a year flew by. On a recent Saturday, I set out to explore Lorenzi Park before a night on Fremont Street.\n\n When I spent some time in Lorenzi Park, I saw a rectangular parcel alongside Washington Avenue (between Valley View and Rancho). The man-made lake with the encircling walking paths and Sammy Davis Jr. Plaza took up the west section. Grassy spaces that could use a slight increase in water and a playground took up the central section. Ample parking, tennis courts, and baseball diamonds took up the east section.\n\n In my eyes, the man-made lake is the gem of Lorenzi Park. It featured some of the best natural entertainers in Las Vegas: ducks and geese. I am an admirer of ducks (geese are cool too) and I never get bored watching them play. The water they played in is clean and stocked with fish. When I looked beyond the lake, I saw the Stratosphere clear and tall. When the ducks and geese grew tired of the water, they rested in their own island. The man-made lake reminds me of a smaller version of the one in Sunset Park. I'd see the man-made lake from the vantage point of the encircling concrete pathways. If I were spending hours here, there were a handful of benches to sit and watch the ducks and geese. The lake also included a man-made island for people.\n\n At the time I was walking the concrete walkways, the information kiosks taught me facts about Lorenzi Park history. Some of this knowledge that I want to pass on is that Lorenzi Park was Twin Lakes Lodge, which was a retreat back when much of Vegas was the great outdoors. The boathouse is not a typical park building. It is a historic building dating back to when this was a lodge. And the man-made lake dates back all the way to 1921. Another thing I want to share with you that the information signs taught me, is that before development Lorenzi Park was contiguous to today's Spring's Preserve. If US 95 was torn apart, Lorenzi Park and Spring's Preserve would be continuous. I feel that I walked out of Lorenzi Park intellectually smarter than I walked in.\n\n I walked into Lorenzi Park street-smart. Owing to the fact that it is an inner-city park and anybody could walk in, I was mindful of my surroundings. If it had been sparsely populated like Charlie Frias Park had been I would of done an abbreviated tour of the park. I felt safe with all the people sharing the park. They included people fishing, moms and children in the playground and people like me walking around. I didn't see anybody enjoying a picnic at a sheltered table overlooking the man-made lake. Looking toward the parking lot, I saw a City Marshal patrolling. The park in general did well on being graffiti and vandalism-free. I only saw a couple of instances of tagging.\n\n By the time I left Lorenzi Park and drove toward Fremont Street, I left with the impression that if you are traveling a distance that Lorenzi Park is a nice spot to combine with another downtown attraction. After reading the information sign, I would recommend combining Lorenzi Park with Springs Preserve. Both attractions together are an eventful way to spend time in an oasis that is a Las Vegas before major development. Whether you combine Lorenzi Park with another downtown attraction or by itself, it lives up to being a decent urban retreat."^^ . . . "3"^^ . "9"^^ . "2013-12-30T00:00:00"^^ . "17"^^ . "5"^^ .