Q: The beginning of a 1997 novel by Stephen King features a park in Kansas. The name of the novel is The Dark Tower IV: Wizard and Glass. What’s the name of the Kansas park – and where’s it located?
A: Gage Park in Topeka
Established in 1899, Topeka’s Gage Park covers 160 acres in the heart of the city. The park is home to the Topeka Zoo, the Kansas Children's Discovery Center, a miniature train, an outdoor theater and rose garden. Gage Park is also the setting for the opening scenes in Stephen King’s 1997 novel The Dark Tower IV: Wizard and Glass. In the book, the city of Topeka is deserted, because this part of the world has been depopulated by the influenza of King's novel The Stand.