Renaming Classen Park to Gallagher Park

On Wednesday, February 23rd Classen Park was officially renamed to Gallagher Park. The park is located next to Old St. George, now Crossroads. The honor is being bestowed on Paul Gallagher for a lifetime of volunteerism.

Mr. Gallagher, has dedicated his life to public service. He has lived on Klotter Avenue in the CUF neighborhood since 1970. Now long retired, he served for many as a Cincinnati Firefighter at the Corryville and Ludlow Fire Stations.   

However, Mr. Paul Gallagher’s volunteer work to plant and care for thousands of trees throughout the city as well as his many years of volunteer work and advocacy on the importance of expanding the city’s tree canopy are unmatched. In his 50+ years of community service, Mr. Gallagher has served on the CUF Community Council Board of Trustees, the Clifton Heights Urban Re-development Corporation, the CUF Tower Fund and the Urban Forestry Board. He has made a lifetime of greening Cincinnati planting, watering and caring for thousands of trees in yards, public rights of way and parks in CUF, Clifton, Camp Washington, Central Parkway, Liberty Street, Findlay Market and other places. For years, he has used his red truck outfitted with a large water tank to single handedly water trees. For more about Mr. Gallagher, please click here. 

Classen Park was originally named after the adjacent Classen Street and Cincinnati Parks archives identified no further historical significance associated with the name.