Barron Park

Barron Park, the southwest section of Palo Alto, has always had a rustic, pastoral feel. But certainly no image of the neighborhood could attest to Barron Park's countrified flavor like the sight of a man jogging through Bol Park with a donkey on leash. That would be Pericles (Perry to close friends), one of two donkeys who live at Bol Park and serve as would-be neighborhood mascots. Donkeys have lived in the 13-acre Bol Park since its farmland days in the Great Depression and are now cared for by local volunteers. But perhaps you feel like you’ve seen Perry before? You probably have. In the early '90s, the then Palo Alto-based Pacific Data Images (which later merged with DreamWorks) stopped by Bol Park and took more than 100 images of Perry to serve as the model for Shrek's famed sidekick, "Donkey." Those who know Perry attest that his somewhat edgy personality did indeed make it to the big screen.

Condensed and adapted from PaloAltoHistory.com