[5] Had the women's club been less insistent, the land of what is now Graceada Park would likely have been absorbed by the city within a year, and buildings placed on it.

[6] Mrs. William Wilkinson donated 3.5 acres of adjoining land to the club to make an artificial lake (which, historically, was a feature of the park).

[8] The early streets of Modesto were not laid in cardinal directions but were planned to be parallel and perpendicular to the railroad tracks.

[5][note 1] By the time the park was donated to the city, the club had spent $32,000 in total of their won money for its beautification and upkeep.

At the park, speeches were given, songs were sung by a sixty-person chorus, and a banquet was served in the tennis area on long tables laden with delicacies for which Stanislaus County is famous.

Honored among the veterans during the evening were the eighty-five Stanislaus County soldiers who lost their lives in World War I.

[18] On Arbor Day on March 7, 1928 (a holiday instituted by the Women's Improvement Club), Modesto citizens gathered at Graceada Park to celebrate both the efforts to plant trees of the Women's Improvement Club and the firemen of the city, as well as to ceremonially place the city fire bell in the park.

The fire bell, also used to announce curfew for youth, had been put to service in 1884 and was originally mounted on a tower at the Modesto Water Works building at 819 10th Street.

[19] The bell remained at Graceada Park for sixty-three years until it was moved to the front of Fire Station No.

As the first event of the festivities, on May 12, 3,000 people attended the dedication of the Mancini Music Bowl (a stage for symphonic concerts).

The Bowl, named in honor of Francesco Nicolo "Frank" Mancini who was a music teacher at a Modesto high school, could seat up to 1,000 people.

[21] On July 23, 1980, U.S. Representative John B. Anderson made an appearance at Graceada Park when he ran for president as an independent, hosting a picnic lunch event.

[23] The original mansion, which was demolished in the 1940s, was designed by American architect Frank Delos Wolfe in his signature "California Prairie" style.

Since that time, the park has been slowly improving and remains one of the most iconic public spaces in the city of Modesto.

"It's by far the most used park in our system," said Steve Lumpkin in 2011, Superintendent of Building Services and Forestry for the city, "Graceada is where almost all the special events are.

[39] In 2017, surveillance cameras were installed in Graceada Park in an effort to deter crime and homeless encampment.

The effort was a partnership between Rank Investigations and Protection, the College Area Neighborhood Alliance (CANA), and the city.

[32] The band's longtime conductor George Gardner who has conducted MoBand for forty-five years announced his retirement in 2024.