2 Seal Beach Parks Renamed, Ending Years of Complaints

After nearly two decades of sniping among College Park East residents over the names of two city parks, the City Council has approved a name change for both.

Shapell Park, named after College Park East developer Nathan Shapell, will be renamed Almond Park. And Gummere Park, named after late City Councilman Lloyd (Pops) Gummere, will return to its original name, Bluebell Park.

Local historian Gordon Shanks said there has been long-simmering resentment against naming of the parks after the two men. The community was founded in 1968 without parks or schools during a time when Gummere was an influential city leader.

“Pops Gummere ran the city when all these deals were made,” Shanks said. “We were all terribly resentful when the park was named after him.”

The new names match the names of nearby streets. A third park, College Park, will be renamed Arbor Park. There are five parks in the community, including Heather and Iris parks.

Funding for new park signs will await approval by the city Recreation Commission, which proposed the name changes to the City Council.

“The residents have always complained,” said Councilman Frank Laszlo, who represents the College Park East community. “It’s easier to refer to the parks by the names of the streets that they are on.”

Recreation Commissioner Dorothy Whyte said there was nothing political behind her proposal to rename the parks.

“Some people had approached me with that, but that was not my reason,” she said. “Everything in this tract is named after trees and flowers. It’s just a matter of consistency.”