The grounds began to wane by the 1980s and was shut down for several years before local, volunteer donations and efforts renovated the park in the early 21st century.

[3][7] Plans such as the building of bath houses, water and sewer systems, and more accommodating access from Ocean Beach Highway, were undertaken before it was to be officially transferred.

[15] In 1924, the Alexander family donated an additional acre to expand the recreation area[16] and a 20 foot (6.1 metres) diving platform was constructed.

[20] The park was noted on a national level in 1928 for hosting the baking of the "World's Largest Strawberry Shortcake" and again three years later for the cooking of a record-breaking omelet.

[25] A major flood occurred during December 1933 that eroded the banks of the Chehalis River at the park, jeopardizing the loss of the beach.

[11] With increasing liability concerns due to vandalism, coupled with budget and maintenance issues, the park became "overgrown and abandoned" and was closed by the city in 1988.

[11][29] In 2004, a prior resident, Jim Lintott, donated $25,000 in honor of his father, beginning a movement to renovate the closed park.

[42] On July 24, 1931, during a Farmers and Merchants Picnic,[43] the park hosted a record-breaking event where a 7,200 egg omelet[a] was cooked in a 1/2-ton custom-built frying pan.

[21][44] The gathering, also known as the Egg Festival,[45] was attended by an estimated crowd of 7,000 to 8,000 people, backing up traffic into the city's residential areas.

[46] After the event, the frying pan was put on temporary display throughout the city, including at the Peacock Theater where movie reels of the record omelet festival filmed by Universal Pictures were also shown.

Containing 6,000 locally provided eggs, the omelet also used other regional ingredients, including 250 pounds (110 kg) of Darigold cheese.