Fairy Doors, Gnomes and a Dispute Over McKinley Park

A Fairy Village Has Sparked a Real Debate at McKinley Park

McKinley Park’s wooded trails hold more than trees and a pond. Visitors have found fairy doors, gnomes, painted stones and other small creations tucked among the greenery. In September, Parks Tacoma began removing some of the art, setting off a disagreement about how much room there should be for handmade surprises in a public park.

Much of the park’s character is tied to longtime volunteer steward Danny Patnode. He has spent years clearing brush, tending trails and helping care for McKinley Park, while adding folk-art touches of his own. Parks Tacoma celebrated that work in an earlier volunteer profile, describing the fairy doors and sculptures as part of what visitors encountered on a walk with him.

The district now says installations placed without approval can interfere with maintenance and encourage people to bring more objects into the park. It is especially concerned about items screwed or nailed into trees. Crews have removed some hanging objects, including wind chimes and a bicycle lodged between branches. Birdhouses were expected to stay; the future of the fairy gardens was still uncertain.

Some neighbors see the displays as an expression of care for a park that volunteers have worked hard to restore. Local artists Hawthorne Hawkins and Maxwell Stagg started a petition asking Parks Tacoma to keep the art, and it had drawn more than 600 signatures by late last week. Supporters have asked whether there is a way to address the district’s concerns without losing the park’s distinctive feel.

Parks Tacoma says it has a process for approving art in parks and wants to balance creative features with protection of the natural area. That leaves an unresolved question: which pieces might stay, and could neighbors and the district agree on a way forward? The fairy village has become a small, visible part of a much bigger conversation about who shapes a neighborhood park.