Fredenhagen Park, the gateway park at the entrance to North Central College and downtown Naperville, opened on November 27, 2003. Its official dedication was May 22, 2004.
As one of the city’s most visible community endeavors, the tribute to Grace and Walter Fredenhagen from their children, Rita Harvard and Ted Fredenhagen, also represents generous gifts from hundreds of local residents, businesses and service organizations. Their names and commemorative messages are featured on the arbors, gardens, plazas, bricks and granite stones throughout the park.
What’s more, a peaceful walk reveals the carefully chosen expressions of gratitude, love and significance, meticulously spaced letter by letter, word by word, and line by line, on every brick and granite stone in the plaza. The messages gently ignite community connection, past and present.
With the Exchange Club Memories Fountain as its centerpiece and a Century Walk sculpture of Grace and Walter Fredenhagen titled “Two in a Million” near the Clock Tower, Fredenhagen Park adorns the Riverwalk for all ages to experience with reflection and joy.
Twenty-two years later, the gateway park again sparkles with much of its original splendor that has provided a photo backdrop for graduations, engagements and weddings. Exchange Club Memories Fountain again is flowing in the Riverwalk park designed with ideas to fulfil Rita Harvard’s wishes to create a quiet place to pause and reflect in the heart of Naperville.
This online edition features notes that date back to 1931…
Did you know? When Fredenhagen Park was dedicated in May 2004, the plaza around Exchange Club Memories Fountain already included commemorative bricks that paid tribute to folks with a great fondness for this community while also recognizing CAN-DO spirit that had attracted residents to accomplish many good things by working together.
Did you know? Prince Castle is among the memorable places classmates recall from their childhoods in Naperville. Designed in the new millennium with features imagined by Rita Harvard as a tribute to her parents, Fredenhagen Park has been located where the popular ice cream store with square scoops welcomed the community from 1931 to 1955 until the ice cream business changed its name to Cock Robin. Today Fredenhagen Park is graced with the Century Walk sculpture titled “Two in a Million,” depicting Grace and Walter Fredenhagen for their community connections and longstanding enterprise that created “one in a million” memories for nearly 70 years in the heart of Naperville. A story in the window display at the Fredenhagen Park Pavilion tells the history. Those two window displays soon will be updated.
Did you know? Without going into all the details that took considerable time and talents beginning in the late 1990s, Rita Harvard and her brother, Ted Fredenhagen, essentially gifted the one-acre property for $10 to the City of Naperville to become Fredenhagen Park. The Walter Fredenhagen family businesses—Naperville Creamery, Prince Castle and later Cock Robin Ice Cream Shop—stood there along Washington Street from 1931 to 2000. Rita imagined a Riverwalk “gateway” park to North Central College and downtown Naperville where folks could pause and reflect in the heart of the city. Back then, Cliff Preston served as Chairman of the Riverwalk Commission, a title he held for a decade of the 17 years he officially volunteered his service to Riverwalk.
Did you know? About the same time as Rita Harvard was thinking about Fredenhagen Park design features, Glen Ekey, former Executive Director of the Naperville Park District, had an idea for a memorial park. Several years earlier, Glen served with Ed Channell as co-chairmen of the successful Riverwalk 2000 Campaign that had raised funds for the extension of the Riverwalk from the Washington Street Bridge to the Hillside Road Bridge.
Did you know? Instead of a memorial park, plans surfaced for “Memories Fountain” to be the centerpiece of Fredenhagen Park design. Ed Channell was tabbed by Rita Harvard to lead the campaign, this time with John Schmidt as co-chairman.
Did you know? In the late 1990s, about two years before Cock Robin closed, Rita Harvard provided the Penick family with letters of the alphabet and an extendable pole so they could help update the message on the readerboard marquee sign when Rita decided she no longer could handle changing it by herself. The last message displayed included, “Thanks Naperville.”
Did you know? Following agreed-upon official guidelines created by Exchange Club members Don Emery and Dave Wentz with the Naperville Riverwalk Foundation, Exchange Club member Donna Sable became the dedicated point person to coordinate every purchase for a commemorative brick and granite stone in Fredenhagen Park. Every sale contributed to the $250,000 fundraising initiative that gave Exchange Club the “naming rights” for Memories Fountain.
Did you know? Fredenhagen Park won the 2004 Outstanding Civil Engineering Achievement Award in the under $5 million category from the Illinois Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). Always mindful of the collaborative efforts of the community to design the Naperville Riverwalk, Christopher B. Burke Engineering, Ltd. (CBBEL) and Allan L. Kracower and Associates received the achievement award for Fredenhagen Park. Members of the Naperville Riverwalk Commission and Naperville Riverwalk Foundation attended the awards presentation in Chicago.
Did you know? During the Riverwalk Commission meeting on July 13, 2022, then-Riverwalk Foundation President John Cuff who also was serving then as Riverwalk Commission liaison reported that the plaque restoration enhancement project came with a $30,000 cost in private funding. Also, Cuff noted working with the park district to get estimates for the cost to repair the fountain, the sparkling centerpiece in Fredenhagen Park, was in progress.
Did you know? Several years ago when the fountain stopped flowing, members of the Riverwalk Commission and Riverwalk Foundation also recognized needs to re-stain the wooden arbors, clocktower and pillars as well as restore the bronze plaques. While the Washington Street Bridge was rebuilt, the gateway park set idle, waiting for the care and maintenance it received this spring, thanks to the Naperville Park District and its vendors. This summer, the park again shows its original splendor as the backdrop for memorable graduation, engagement and wedding photos. The fountain is bubbling again. Cheers!
Did you know? Skeet emailed (July 12, 2026) that he appreciated the front page about Fredenhagen Plaza featured in July 2026. As a “fun follow up,” he mentioned the “Champion” Ash tree on site, the largest European Ash in the area, over 50 inches in diameter. The tree has been featured a bunch of times on this website. Here’s a PN photo taken in late June 2026.
“John and Rita Harvard met with me at Cock-Robin many years ago,” Skeet emailed. “As part of the donation of the land, there is a stipulation that ‘Skeet must be the Certified Arborist to care for this tree.’ For over 25 years we have donated over $1,500.00 of treatments each year to help combat Emerald Ash Borer.”
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