Guide to the Don Sherwood Parks History Collection
1876-1979

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Overview of the Collection

Collector: Sherwood, Donald N., 1916-1981
Title: Parks History Collection
Dates: 1876-1979 ( inclusive )
Quantity: 28.8 cubic ft. (72 boxes)
Collection Number: 5801-01
Summary: Records and photographs relating to Seattle Department of Parks and Recreation, 1876-1979, compiled by Don Sherwood.
Repository: Seattle Municipal Archives

PO Box 94728
600 Fourth Avenue, Floor 3
Seattle, WA 98124-4728
Phone: 206/233-7807
Email: archives@seattle.gov
http://www.seattle.gov/cityarchives

Languages: Collection materials are in English. 
Sponsor: Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Biographical Note

Donald N. Sherwood (c. 1916-1981), architect, commercial artist, and historian, was born and raised in St. Louis, Missouri. He attended Ohio State University, receiving a degree in commercial art. On a family vacation to the Pacific Northwest, Sherwood found the climate more agreeable with his asthma than Ohio's, and in the early 1950s moved to Seattle with his wife, Miriam, and two children.

Soon after his arrival in Seattle, Sherwood accepted the position of Junior Engineer with the Department of Parks. In that job he occasionally was able to utilize his commercial art skills producing brochures and recreational programs. Soon after accepting the position, the department architect left, and Sherwood was asked to design small park buildings and to supervise their construction. Working in an office which held property maps and records of park improvements, Sherwood found himself responding to information requests from the general public.

At the suggestion of the Superintendent's Office, Sherwood began compiling sketch maps of the parks, annotating them with historical information as he discovered it. He began writing individual histories for each facility when the amount of historical information grew to the point where it would no longer fit on the maps.

In the early 1970s, Sherwood discovered that older department files were being destroyed as employees retired. Aware of at least four earlier destructions (c. 1930, 1960, 1965, and 1968), Sherwood urged that valuable Parks records be sorted, under the supervision of a librarian, and that appropriate materials be preserved. In 1972 he was assigned the responsibility. Although given little time with which to perform this duty, Sherwood threw himself into the activity with vigor. As he pulled together the records, he described the collection as "the correspondence and miscellaneous items found in file [Sherwood's emphasis] that seem to best describe the history of this park or playground."

Sherwood continued this work until his position was eliminated, due to a budget reduction, in 1977. Some additional material was added to the collection after this date by various Park Department employees. Sherwood continued his research and writing on the history of Seattle parks until his death in November 1981. The histories and drawings of the parks he generated after leaving City employment were donated to the Museum of History and Industry following his death.

Sherwood labored for the Department of Parks and Recreation for 22 years. During this period, in addition to his historical research, he designed and illustrated numerous departmental brochures, maps, and annual reports; designed exhibits for the Children's Zoo; and illustrated Gordon Newell's text for Totem Tales of Old Seattle (Seattle: Superior Publishing Co., 1956). Sherwood was a lifetime member of the Sierra Club, a charter member of the Pacific Northwest Historians Guild, a member of the Historical Society of Seattle and King County, and a member of the American Historical Association.

Historical Note

Seattle Department of Parks and Recreation: Administrative History

The Parks and Recreation Department administers Seattle’s parks system and community recreation programs. It maintains over 6000 acres of city parks, 20 miles of shoreline, and 22 miles of boulevards. The department operates the city’s 25 community recreation centers, the Woodland Park Zoo, the Seattle Aquarium, nine swimming pools, a tennis center, and more than 400 smaller facilities. In addition, it is custodian for four public golf courses, three moorages, and several other athletic and cultural facilities.

In 1884 David Denny donated a five-acre tract that was the site of a cemetery to the City of Seattle, stipulating that it be designated a public park. The site, initially named Seattle Park and later renamed Denny Park, was the first ordinance-designated public park in Seattle. The ordinance that accepted the property (Ordinance 571) also made allowances for its conversion from a cemetery to a park and included a provision that three Park Commissioners be appointed to oversee the conversion.

At that time, the City of Seattle was operating under its 1869 charter which provided for a relatively small government of 13 elected officials and three other officers, in whom all municipal authority was vested.

Legislation in 1887 (Ordinance 874) created the Board of Park Commissioners, consisting of three members to be appointed by Council, and who served three-year terms. This unpaid body was charged with all management responsibilities for Seattle's parks and was expected to report to Council as often as each quarter, making recommendations for improvements and for the acquisition of new properties.

In 1890 the City of Seattle adopted its first home-rule charter. The city’s population had expanded from 3533 in 1880 to nearly 43,000. The new charter mandated a dramatically larger city government composed of 34 elected officials, 13 departments, and six regulatory commissions, including a Board of Park Commissioners. A park fund was also established, consisting of: proceeds from the sale of bonds issued for that purpose; gifts; appropriations made by Council; and 10% of the gross receipts from all fines, penalties, and licenses.

The new Board of Park Commissioners, appointed by the Mayor, consisted of five paid ($300 per year) members who served five-year terms. Although the Board had all management responsibilities for Seattle's parks, including the authority to appoint a superintendent and to negotiate for property, Council retained the authority to purchase property.

In 1892 the Board appointed E. O. Schwagerl, a noted landscape architect and engineer, to be the second Superintendent of Parks. During the four years that he held the office, Schwagerl developed the first comprehensive plan for Seattle's parks. This plan may have guided Assistant City Engineer George F. Cotterill. Cotterill organized volunteers to construct 25 miles of bicycle paths, the routes of which were utilized by the Olmsted Brothers in their 1903 city-wide plan for a system of parks and boulevards.

In 1896 Seattle adopted a new home-rule charter. This charter redefined the Board of Park Commissioners as the Park Committee: five unpaid appointees who reported annually to Council. In addition, all management responsibilities of the parks, including the authority to obtain new properties, were vested with the City Council. The Superintendent of Parks position was eliminated and its responsibilities were assumed by the new Superintendent of Streets, Sewers, and Parks, one of the three members of the Board of Public Works.

In 1903, City Council adopted the Olmsted Brothers plan to expand and develop a system of parks and boulevards. At the same time, the Charter was amended, re-establishing the Board of Park Commissioners and giving it the kind of independence that park commissions in the metropolitan cities of the East enjoyed. While Council retained the authority to approve the purchase of property, the Board assumed all management responsibilities of the parks, as well as the exclusive authority to spend park fund monies. In addition, all park-related authority was removed from the Board of Public Works, and the Board of Park Commissioners elected to appoint a superintendent.

Public support, both for the implementation of the Olmsted plan as well as for the new, empowered Board, was substantial. In 1905 a $500,000 park bond was passed; followed by $1,000,000 in 1908; $2,000,000 in 1910; and $500,000 in 1912.

In 1907 the Superintendent was joined by a new staff position, the Assistant Superintendent, and in the following year the first directorship, Playgrounds Director, was created. In 1912 the first full-time engineer appeared under the title Chief Engineer, later to be changed to Park Engineer. By 1922 a Head Gardener had been appointed, and two more directorships created: the Zoo Director and the Bathing Beaches Director.

In 1925 the charter was amended such that no more money could be spent in the acquisition of park properties than was available through the park fund. In that same year, the Park Engineer was replaced by a new position, the Landscape Architect. In 1926 the Board abolished the position of Superintendent, distributing that position's responsibilities between the Head Gardener and the Landscape Architect. In 1927 the position title of Park Engineer was re-established, but with the duties and responsibilities of the old superintendent, while the new Junior Park Engineer directly managed engineering and construction activity.

In 1926 Mayor Bertha K. Landes appointed a Municipal Recreation Committee, comprised of Park Board members, School Board members, and a representative of the community at large, to analyze ways in which they could cooperatively contribute to the municipal recreation program. The Committee submitted its report to the Mayor in January 1928. The report detailed which facilities were provided by the Park Board and which by the School Board; how the facilities could be more efficiently utilized; and what additional facilities were required.

A ten-year plan for the Department of Parks was announced in 1931. This plan, based upon a projected population for the Seattle metropolitan area in 1940, was a program of development aimed at making better use of existing properties, adding to those properties that needed more space, and acquiring new properties in those parts of town that were experiencing growth. Much of this plan would be realized by the Works Projects Administration later in the decade.

In 1939 administration of playground programs and bathing beaches was consolidated under the newly created position. In 1940, with the opening of the West Seattle Golf Course (the city’s third municipal golf course) the position of Golf Director was established. A 1948 Charter amendment required the Board of Park Commissioners to appoint a park superintendent, and the position was to be excluded from the classified civil service.

A Charter amendment in 1967 reconstituted the Board of Park Commissioners as an advisory body to the Mayor, Council, the renamed Department of Parks and Recreation, and other City agencies. The amendment placed the fiscal and operational admistration of the department under the control of the Superintendent of Parks, who was now appointed by the Mayor to serve a four-year term. The specific duties of both the Superintendent and the Board, as well as the number of members and term length for the latter, were to be prescribed by ordinance. Council passed an ordinance in 1968 (Ordinance 96453) which defined the Board as a seven-member body with three-year terms of service.

The $65 million Forward Thrust bond was approved by voters in 1968. By 1974, with matching funds, interest, etc., it had grown to 92 million dollars in working capital; by 1976, over 40 new properties had been obtained by the Department of Parks and Recreation utilizing these funds.

By 1969 golf had ceased to warrant a director-level position and came under the administration of the Recreation Director. A new directorship, the Aquarium Director, was added in 1973. By the following year there were only four executive positions reporting directly to the Superintendent: Zoo Director, Aquarium Director, Assistant Superintendent of Management, and Assistant Superintendent of Operations. In 1977, a charter amendment abolished the four-year term for the Superintendent of Parks established by the 1967 amendment.

The Olmsted Brothers Plan

In 1903, on the recommendation of the Board of Park Commissioners, Council contracted with the Olmsted Brothers of Brookline, Massachusetts to conduct a thorough survey of Seattle's park possibilities, and to submit a comprehensive plan that could be used to guide future work. This move was largely brought on by the public interest generated through the purchase of two large tracts, Woodland and Washington Parks, in 1900, and by the desire to prepare Seattle for the 1909 Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition.

The Olmsted Brothers had inherited the nation's first landscape architecture firm from their father, Frederick Law Olmsted, the designer of New York's Central Park, San Francisco's Golden Gate Park, and the campus of the University of California at Berkeley. John C. Olmsted, the stepson of Frederick Law and the senior partner in the firm, spent several weeks in the summer of 1903 studying the topography of Seattle and its parks. His report was accepted by Council on October 19th of that year.

Although J. C. Olmsted's primary goal was to locate a park or a playground within one half mile of every home in Seattle, the dominant feature of the plan was a 20-mile landscaped boulevard linking most of the existing and planned parks and greenbelts within the city limits. Furthermore, it emphasized the speed with which the plan should be realized; desirable sites would soon be developed privately or priced beyond the means of the City.

The Olmsted Brothers plan included numerous playgrounds and playfields, a manifestation of the new concept of public recreation which had been introduced with success in the East. These sites included buildings devoted to recreation (field houses) and facilities like ball fields, tennis courts, and playground apparatus which had unique maintenance requirements relative to park facilities. Hence, from quite early on, the Parks Division and the Recreation Division of the Department each had their own maintenance personnel.

During the first ten years after its submission, most of the primary elements of the plan would, through purchase, gift, condemnation, or bonded indebtedness, be incorporated into the city's structure.

Seattle became a city with hundreds of vistas, turns in the path or the road that offer views in every direction, each slightly different from the one just before or just after; and these were wonderfully exploited in the Olmsted boulevards and the new parks they connected. In a city that was little more than fifty years old one could claim to find something older cities could not match. (Seattle, Past to Present, Roger Sale [Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1976], 85).

The Olmsted Brothers continued to work in Seattle, for both private and public clients, until 1936, when J. C. Olmsted made his last visit to the city to plan the Washington Park Arboretum. Over that 33-year period the firm would see more of its designs realized in the region: the campus of the University of Washington, the 1909 Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition (which would dictate the future of the U.W. campus), and the State Capitol plan.

Content Description

The Sherwood files comprise an artificial collection that was, for the most part, accumulated and arranged during the mid-1970s by Don Sherwood, an employee of the Seattle Parks and Recreation Department. In the late 1970s the records were housed in the local government documents branch, then called the Government Research Assistance Library, of the Seattle Public Library located on the third floor of City Hall. In 1991, prior to the branch move from City Hall to the library’s main branch, the Sherwood Collection was transferred to the Seattle Municipal Archives.

The records are arranged in eight subseries: Annual Files; Parks History Files; Olmsted Brothers Correspondence; Former Department Property; Proposed Parks Sites; Subject Files; Parks Naming Files; and Photographs. A detailed content description of each subseries is found below, followed by a folder inventory for the respective subseries. The inventories include the box and folder number, the folio title, and inclusive dates of the records.

Other Descriptive Information

The following essay was written by Don Sherwood two years after leaving the employ of the Parks Department. It has not been edited except for punctuation, capitalization, and, in a few places, the use of added bracketed words to clarify passages. As the reader will note from the final paragraphs, Sherwood did not complete this essay.

"Interpretive Essay on The History of Seattle's Parks & Playgrounds" by Don Sherwood, July 13, 1979

In order to establish possession of lands recently acquired from England, Spain-Mexico, France, as well as the native Indian tribes, the Federal government divided the land into a grid pattern that was applied across prairie, mountain, lake and river, and established a system of Donation Land Claims whereby every white citizen would be given the land that he staked out and homesteaded upon. The program began in Ohio in 1785 and was enacted in 1850 for the Oregon Territory, a portion of which became Washington Territory in 1853. The Oregon donation was for 160 acres per person, 320 to a married couple. One of the founders of the townsite that became Seattle was a bachelor named David Denny, who staked his claim north of the line that became Denny Way. The following year, 1853, he was married. In 1864 the couple deeded a portion of Denny's claim for "Seattle Cemetery." It was a long way from the town that was clustered around the "Pioneer Square District" and was accessible only by country roads. The town became a city in 1869 and began to grow by annexing land; the Dennys' claim was included in the 1883 annexation.

The Dennys must have responded to the same feelings voiced by Joni Mitchell: "Don't it always seem to go, that you don't know what you've got till it's gone... took all the trees and put 'em in a tree museum, and charge all the people just to see 'em!" At any rate, the Dennys decided to rededicate the 5-acre "Seattle Cemetery" to park purposes and, unlike the European concept of combined park and cemetery grounds, ordered the gravesites relocated at city expense.

Thus was Seattle's system of parks and playgrounds born, on July 22, 1884. First known as "Seattle Park" it was renamed c.1887 in honor of its donors as Denny Park.

Seattle was so busy in becoming a city -- and so surrounded by wilderness -- that the “park concept” was slow to grow. By 1892 there were only three major parks: (Denny, City [now Volunteer], and Kinnear) plus five small ones. Nonetheless, in that year the [Board of] Aldermen appointed James Taylor to assist the Park Commissioners by supervising the work in and of the parks. The following year, E.O. Schwagerl, "one of the most prominent landscape architect/engineers in the country" (i.e. St. Louis and Cleveland) was hired to superintend the work. Schwagerl stayed only three years and then vanished, but it was enough time to prepare the basis for a park system. A major portion of the 1892 Annual Report of the Park Commissioners is devoted to the Study Of Parkway Lying Between Madison Point And Through Hunter's Glenn, Reaching To The Peninsula On The West Shore Of Lake Washington. The report devotes itself to proclaiming the wonders of Seattle's natural beauty, how fast it is being ravaged, what other cities are doing, the need to commence a system of parks and boulevards in Seattle including a code of park laws, the need for the power of condemnation to acquire park land, and the need to increase the limit of bond indebtedness to more than $100,000. The report goes on to propose two major parks on Lake Washington, with the boulevard linking four of the "already most popular gardens." The report stresses that "This proposition is the heart and center of the magnificent system possible for the city." Mr. Schwagerl further proposed a similar plan for the Puget Sound shoreline; two major parks with two boulevards linking Woodland Park and Ravenna Park (both private) and the new University grounds. In the 1893 Annual Report he identifies the proposed "Northwest Park as overlooking Salmon Bay on Puget Sound (this became an Army post in 1897; Ft. Lawton; finally Discovery Park in 1971), Northeast Park as overlooking Union Bay on Lake Washington and Southeast Park as the peninsula on Lake Washington (acquired in 1911 as Seward Park)." The popular gardens were all private: Laurelshade, Madison, Madrona, and Leschi Parks. The Southwest Park was not identified: Duwamish head was settled as the town of West Seattle. Alki Beach became a park in 1910. Mayor J. T. Ronald vigorously endorsed the 1892-1893 plan...but no major action occurred until 1900 when the City Council appropriated $100,000 for the purchase of Woodland Park (including a portion of Green Lake) from the estate of Guy Phinney. There was an "enormous outcry" over spending that much money for a park so far from town! That same year, George F. Cotterill, Assistant City Engineer, published a map of bicycle paths for the city of 55,000 residents who owned 10,000 bicycles. (The first automobile appeared on Seattle streets in 1900.). Cotterill had walked about the city and developed a 25 mile system of paths, chosen for grade and to take advantage of the scenic beauty.

In 1873 the distinguished founder of American Landscape Architecture, Frederick Law Olmsted, prepared a city plan for the new railroad terminus town of Tacoma, but it was voted down. In 1895, according to R.C. Nesbitt (Judge Thomas Burke’s biographer), Virgil Bogue outlined a plan to consolidate Seattle's railroad/port-depot into a civic pier; it was rejected (E.O. Schwagerl was Superintendent of park work at the time.). But the Olmsted concept was catching on, all over the nation. So, in 1902, Seattle hired the sons of Frederick Law Olmsted, the Olmsted Brothers of Brookline, Mass., to prepare A Comprehensive System of Parks and Parkways for the city. It was adopted by Council in 1903 and fully reported in the 1904 Annual Report. A Supplemental Report on Annexed Territory and General Development was prepared in 1908 and appears in the 1909 Annual Report: the annexations were Ballard, Columbia, Rainier Beach, South Seattle and West Seattle. They are wordy reports and many of the place names have changed, which made precise identification difficult. The two-color print of the "Olmsted System: 1908" on a city map is off-register, too, although the 1911 Bogue Plan for Seattle includes a "park map" which shows Olmsted proposals. The Olmsteds were further retained (until 1930) to prepare landscape plans for 37 parks. Evidently a written report accompanied each park design project to identify the landscape materials shown on the plan by a number, plus a specific description of the intent and manner of each park improvement. One general letter is critical of Seattle's existing parks: "they all look alike with the same plants and design appearance; each park should have an individual appearance." Only 18 reports are in file plus some scattered correspondence.

The Olmsted Report recommended: the creation of a Park Commission independent of the City Council; financing of property acquisitions and improvements by long-term loans (bonds) and also from direct taxation for park purposes; employment of a competent staff of a superintendent, foreman, realtor, lawyer, designer, etc. (the hiring of a superintendent became a condition of the Olmsted contract in 1904); and the establishment of a policy re: donated property to be free of donor's requests for specific improvements. The 1908 report felt the need to define the types of parks and playgrounds and boulevards and the improvements thereon. Also that the park area should equal 32 acres per square mile of the city.

The accomplishments of the Olmsted Plan are enormous. Cotterill's bicycle paths became the basis for Lake Washington Boulevard, Interlaken Boulevard, Magnolia Boulevard, and their parkway from Montlake [and] the University of Washington grounds (via 17th Avenue) to Ravenna Park/Boulevard to Green Lake and Woodland Park was also accomplished. But their parkway from Woodland Park to Queen Anne and to Golden Gardens was not done, nor Beacon Avenue developed as a real parkway. Lake Washington Boulevard from Seward Park to Atlantic City Park was successfully opposed and the Dunlap Canyon, Duwamish Hill, South Borne, Sound Bluffs and South Seattle parkways were not accomplished as such, but four parks and greenbelts did develop within some of the "parkways". Duwamish Head Parkway was envisioned around the top of the bluff; instead it became Alki Avenue and Harbor Avenue on a fill along the beach and Sound Bluffs Parkway envisioned atop the slopes from Williams Point to Alki Point became Beach Drive, a residential street. The Longfellow (Creek) Park became a greenbelt [between] 1954-1965. Ballard Bluff Park became a greenbelt. Parks which the Olmsteds proposed/endorsed [included] Seward, Ravenna, Discovery, Colman, Mt. Baker, Observatory, Gas Works, Edwards, Lincoln, Magnolia, Hamilton Viewpoint; playground sites at (or adjacent [to]) Garfield, Mercer (Seattle Center), Beacon Hill, Peppi's, Ballard, Gilman, Loyal Heights, Hiawatha, South Park, Hutchinson, Van Asselt, South Seattle, Rainier, Brighton, and Rainier Beach. (In 1907 the Olmsteds were hired by realtors to develop Mt. Baker, Licton Springs, and Golden Gardens Parks, since acquired and redeveloped.) The Olmsteds were contracted to design plans for 37 parks, producing 375 drawings of which only 39 were found in major designs. Major designs were for Volunteer, Woodland, Green Lake, Colman, Frink, Hiawatha, Jefferson, Schmitz and Seward. (They designed the Arboretum in Washington Park for the University of Washington in 1932.) In addition, the Olmsteds recommended the adoption of the new concept of public recreation in Seattle: playgrounds and buildings for year round indoor recreation (fieldhouses), staffed and programmed by teachers.

To begin the accomplishment of the Olmsted Plan, Seattle approved its first park bond in 1906 for $500,000, followed in 1908 with another bond for $1,000,000, and a third in 1910 for $2,000,000. With these funds, 26 parks and playgrounds were acquired and many of them developed.

In 1909, "urged by certain individuals, the American Institute of Architects (Seattle office) called a meeting, during which was formed the Municipal Plans League, from which was formed the Municipal Plans Commission in 1910." The Commission called upon Virgil Bogue to prepare a Plan for Seattle. His plan encompassed all phases of Seattle's activities; highways, civic center (five blocks southwest of present Seattle Center), park improvements, municipal decorations, harbor improvements, Port of Seattle and transportation steam trains, rapid transit, tunnels, interurban cars, street trolley cars and ferries. His 43 proposed sites included: a 65-acre park encircling Bitter Lake (seven acres were acquired in 1961); 27 acres in vicinity of Black River Junction (Ft. Dent Athletic Center--55 acres acquired in 1972); 185 acres/or all 4,000 acres of Mercer Island; parks at Richmond Beach, Lake Ballinger, Lake Burien, Three Tree Point to Black River Junction, around Lake Sammish to Snoqualmie Falls, to Tacoma along the bluff overlooking the Sound, to Mt. Rainier, around the Olympic Peninsula, etc. He proposed that these plans should be accomplished by either the city, county or state or done cooperatively. Bogue had engineered railways in Peru, Mexico, New Zealand, Nova Scotia and Alaska. He concluded his park plan with: "The Goves were God's first temple...the grand scene of Mt. Rainier, hoary with its thousand ages, is awe inspiring and the beholder is deeply impressed with a sense of the Infinite Presence and begins to understand why the native Indian had but one god - the Great Spirit." Nevertheless, even though no bond issue was asked for, the plan was vetoed by the voters, its opposition stemming from specific proposals like creating a whole new Civic Center/business, port, railroad, transportation, etc. away from the heavy business investments around Pioneer Square to the south end of Lake Union. (Yet 21 of his 36 park/playgrounds came to be, and most of the seven roads, though not as boulevards.)

In 1912 another park bond issue was approved by voters: $500,000, mostly for the development of properties already acquired. In 1924 a $30,000 park bond was also approved, this one entirely for development and construction.

In 1928 Mayor Bertha K. Landes initiated a Survey of Recreation Facilities. Produced jointly by the Park and School Boards, it was an inventory of the facilities of each Board and recommended minimum standards for recreation. The Mayor's intent was to establish joint planning between the two boards, but that didn't formally begin until 1950. The two boards had jointly used the playground at Highland Park School in 1919.

Acting upon the Olmsteds' recommendation, the Park Board, in 1904, through initiative petition, freed itself of City Hall control and became self-governing except for financial support (tax revenues, Council appropriations, and bond funds for specific voter-approved projects.)

This financial dependency, regulated by Council's approval or disapproval of each request for funds, became a real drag, especially if Council proceeded to fund a project over the objections of the Park Board. This came to a head in 1928 when Council authorized the purchase of a portion of property adjoining that given by Morgan Carkeek for Carkeek Park, plus the Matthews Beach. The Park Board objected on the grounds that council had not provided sufficient funds to maintain and develop property already owned. A minority of the Board attempted to complete the split with the City Council by proposing a "Metropolitan Park District" capable of self-support through taxation. But the voters were negative towards additional taxation, and the Governor vetoed the necessary revision to State law. In 1958 City Hall attempted to take control of the Park Department away from the Board, but the voters supported the Board. Yet, in 1967, the voter-climate had so changed that they approved the Charter Amendment returning control of the department to City Hall, changing the name to Department of Parks and Recreation and the Superintendent becoming a 4-year political appointee.

To cope with the nation-wide unemployment of The Great Depression of 1929, the federal government initiated a public works program: the Federal [government] paid for the labor and the cities, counties and states provided the materials and equipment for the approved projects. To this end, the Park Engineer, E. R. Hoffman, prepared A Ten Year Program in 1931, which detailed and inventoried facilities and provided cost estimates of the needs of each park and playground in Seattle as a basis for projects of the Works Projects Administration (WPA). As a result, Seattle's park system benefited greatly through this program. Only partial/quarterly summary lists of completed projects have been found, so a final recap of finished projects is difficult to establish, though some of the last projects were cut back due to the diversion of funds and workers into World War II efforts. The largest WPA project in this district ($1,090,920 WPA/$108,941 City funds) was the development of the West Seattle Golf and Recreation/Camp Long area. Hoffman's program also recommended new sites, of which the following were acquired: E. C. Hughes Playground (1945), Van Asselt Playground (1933), Rainier Beach Center and Pool (1969), Loyal Heights Playfield (1941), Montlake Playfield (1933), Pritchard Island Beach (1934), Matthews Beach (1951), Snoqualmie Ski (1933-38), Arboretum (UW, 1934), Ft. Lawton (1972); [and] also recommended acquiring 2000 acres of south end of Mercer Island (suburbia got it!) -- the fort or island were proposed new sites for the zoo and an aquarium.

The joint development program between the Park and School Boards was formally inaugurated with the construction of a gymnasium adjoining Laurelhurst School and park playfield in 1950. Both the development of plans and financing were done jointly. From this date has come a long and often difficult program of joint-use and development of recreation centers, playfields and indoor swimming pools.

The Seattle Zoning Commission was created in 1919 but dealt only in real estate. In 1925 it was expanded into a cumbersome 25-member planning commission which was reduced in 1946 to 11 members, but given a budget and a staff. Almost immediately this commission began to study a "Comprehensive Plan for Seattle" -- zoning, highways, parks, etc. -- and in 1954 produced a report Planning for Recreation. It was produced in cooperation with all city departments, official agencies, citizen groups and private individuals, to provide a general framework for public and private growth requirements as forecast for the next 25 years. Elements of the plan were subject to continuous review, adjustment and refining to represent the best long-range guide based upon the current information. Elements included land use, arterial thoroughfares, community and neighborhood boundaries. The basic purpose [was] to locate and integrate the various elements like parks, playfields and recreation centers. The plan identified needs: 69 new playgrounds prioritized, 33 were acquired; nine new playfields, six acquired; six community centers, five new; three major parks, three [acquired]; 32 minor parks, 24 acquired; 15 waterfront acquisitions; two new boat moorages; eight launching ramps; and 14 greenbelts (in Building Department jurisdiction). Thornton Creek Parkway was proposed as an urban trail in 1969 instead of a separate parks area. The abandonment of the Burlington Northern Railroad was hoped for as a marine drive; instead, it was the "Burke/Gilman" Railroad along Lake Washington that became a trail in 1974. The "Central Freeway" became the route of Interstate Highway 5 (1960). In 1958 a "Betterments Program" implemented the 1954 Plan.

The conclusion of the WPA program in 1941 -- the outbreak of U.S. involvement in World War II -- was followed in 1944-1946 by the Federal Lanham Act Grant for recreation leadership, programs, and improvements related to servicemen/areas where they were stationed or "processed." In 1946 the State funded $1,000,000 for developments in Seattle parks and playgrounds. A $2,500,000 Park Bond was voter approved in 1948, almost entirely programmed to improve a "worn out" park system. Then the voters turned against park bond proposals in 1952, 1954, and two submitted in 1958. In 1960 the Department joined with the Engineering Department in a bond proposal which was approved, providing $4,500,000 for park improvements.

Ever since year one, the City Charter had required each of the departments to submit annual budgets to the Council for review, revision, adoption, and funding. The Park Department budget was prepared by the park staffs, based upon needs for salaries, maintenance, repairs, development, and proposed property acquisitions. As such, the budget was a plan for the year ahead based upon the staff assessment of needs. But all the proposed budgets were subject to Council review and revision -- which often was extensive and resulting in an exasperating "tug-of-war" with Council. In 1960 the annual budget was replaced with a six-year Capital Improvement Program. This program schedules capital expenditures under a priority system for the six-year period, which is advanced each year, based upon an annual review and revision regarding changing conditions and projections.

In 1961 the Federal government initiated the Open Space Program with funding to be available through the existing HHFA (Urban Renewal) agency: this was expanded by the Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Act of 1965, then by the Bureau of Outdoor Recreation (BOR) in the Department of the Interior in 1965. The funding was to be administered by each state: in Washington by the Interagency Committee (IAC) for Outdoor Recreation. The IAC was also charged with the administration of funding from the State Outdoor Recreation Bonds (Referenda 11 and 18) and the unreclaimed Recreation-Use Gasoline Tax refund. Both Federal and State funding was predicated upon a percent basis for participating agencies: BOR = 50%, IAC = 25%, City = 25% of the total cost of a project approved at all three levels. A firm requirement of the BOR and IAC was that before any local agency could qualify for funding it must develop an Outdoor Recreation and Open Space Plan approved by the local government, including the availability of matching funds. The staffs of the Park Department and of the Planning Commission prepared Seattle's plan in 1965. It established standards for parks and recreation and produced a current inventory of both park and school facilities which revealed deficient areas of Seattle, which was followed with an action program with priorities that would bring the City up to national standards -- predicated upon funding assistance from the BOR and IAC.

That same year, 1965, a Seattle/King County "Committee of 200" was organized by attorney James Ellis, who had "fathered" METRO (Municipality of Metropolitan Seattle) which, approved by district voters in 1958, established the development of a metropolitan sewer system which successfully ended the pollution of waters adjacent to Seattle. The new "Committee of 200" assessed the total needs of Seattle and King County in all categories, as the Bogue Plan had done, but prepar[ed] then 13 separate plans rather than one plan as Bogue had done. The entire package was titled "Forward Thrust" and was the result of 30,000 hours of committee work. The committee identified the needs (but not specific sites or development details as Bogue had done) for each neighborhood, community, town and city in King County; the sites were to be selected by citizen workshops. They would participate in the formation of design developments to be included in each park or playground. The program established funding for design [and] a Design Review Commission, as well as dollar estimates for acquisition, development or rehabilitation. The Forward Thrust program was submitted to the voters in 1968, presented as 13 separate bond proposals. The voters approved only six, including $118 million for parks and recreation in King County, of which $65 million was allocated to Seattle projects. It was the third largest park and recreation bond issue to be approved in the U.S. Legal requirements determined that the bond proceeds must be allocated to a maximum 12-year period so that the County would not exceed 85 percent of its debt limitation.

The dollar estimates of the Forward Thrust program could not anticipate the approval of any project by the BOR or IAC, so, after the program was prioritized and put into action, various projects were submitted for IAC and BOR approval. Before the mid-point of the Forward Thrust program was reached, matching funds from IAC and BOR for approved projects plus bond investments, the Model City Program, private/community sources, etc., had stretched the working capital of Forward Thrust to $92 million. Due to the massive scope of the work envisioned in the program plus the 12-year accomplishment limitation, the Department staff was greatly increased for the management of finances, project design and implementation, inspection, and the citizen workshops. However, at the time Forward Thrust was conceived, it was agreed that staffing and maintenance should derive from funds normally allocated in the budget to the Capital Improvement Program. So, the battle of the budget continues.

Outstanding accomplishments of the Forward Thrust park and recreation program in Seattle are: seven new indoor swimming pools (the siting of several became community controversies; all were planned in cooperation with schools); Waterfront Park; Seattle Aquarium; Freeway Park; expansion of the Children's Zoo (the PONCHO Theater was a gift); development of the Burke/Gilman Trail for hiking/biking; Occidental Square and redevelopment of Pioneer Square with help from J.E. Casey; improvement of Gas Works Park; Madrona Dance Studio; Seward Park Art Studio; Bathhouse Theater; upgrading of West Seattle Stadium; enlarging the [West Seattle] golf course; six new playfields; indoor tennis courts; eight playgrounds; 25 mini-parks; [and] more waterfront. Two major parks were the gifts of the Federal government: most of Fort Lawton (Discovery Park) and a portion of Sand Point Naval Air Station (Magnuson Park) are under development. The Daybreak Star Center in Discovery Park is an outstanding improvement by the United Indians of All Tribes. The undetailed improvement of the Zoo in the Forward Thrust program created a great furor of objection when designer Bartholick located one of the specified exhibits buildings as a "lid" over Aurora Avenue -- the controversy was ended by voters in 1974.

In 1973 the City Council and Mayor created the Seattle 2000 Commission, composed of citizens and city government officials. They prepared a plan, Goals for Seattle/Year 2000, [that] was adopted by the Council and Mayor to "serve as a basis for continuing administrative and legislative decision-making." The Goals for Parks, Recreation and the Arts included "the protection, preservation and best use of Seattle's natural assets; like shorelines, streams, views, topography, trees and natural vegetation; to improve opportunities for ALL citizens for recreation, use of leisure time, and the understanding, enjoyment of and participation in the arts." The report points out that a broader base of funding is needed, with possible facility/activity user-fees and that development funding should include costs of maintenance.

However, the "base of funding" continued to shrink, and by 1979 the operation of golf activities, the new tennis center, and some park maintenance was being done by concessionaires or through Community Councils. Concession operation produced income for the Department rather than salaries against players fees.

Use of the Collection

Restrictions on Access :  

Records are open to the public.

Preferred Citation :  

[Item and date], Don Sherwood Parks History Collection, Record Series 5801-01. Box [number], Folder [number]. Seattle Municipal Archives.

Administrative Information

Arrangement :

The Sherwood Parks History Collection is arranged in eight subseries:

I: Annual Files

II: Parks History Files

III: Olmsted Brothers Correspondence

IV: Former Department Property

V: Proposed Parks Sites

VI: Subject Files

VII: Parks Naming Files

VIII: Photographs

Within each subseries, records are arranged alphabetically or chronologically.


Detailed Description of the Collection

The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.

Subseries I:  Annual Files, 1884-1979
7.2 cubic ft.

The Annual Files are primarily records used in compiling the department’s annual reports and for other basic administrative functions. The records include annual reports, correspondence, financial materials, brochures, inventories, copies of legislation, maps, newspaper clippings, policies and procedures, schedules, and Don Sherwood's notes and essays (photocopies).

The records document the administration and activities of the department as represented in its annual reports. Subjects include property acquisition, park improvements, recreation programs, capital improvement planning, civil defense, education programs, department finances, security, training, cooperation with the public schools, personnel and payroll issues, community recreation needs, and youth groups and activities, among others. Also included is the department’s interaction with with or relation to the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition, the City Planning Commission, Works Projects Administration, and Forward Thrust.

Of special interest is the Seattle Cemetery Removal and Reburial Register. This volume includes information regarding the exhumation of bodies from the cemetery land donated by the Denny Family to the City for its first park and the reburial of those bodies in other cemeteries. The volume lists the plot number, its owner, and names of those interred in the old cemetery, followed by the respective cemetery and plot where the bodies were reburied. Also included are the reports of the Commissioners who oversaw the process, a financial statement of costs, drawings showing the position of the new park in relation to the old cemetery, and a map of the cemetery.

Container(s)
Description
Dates
Box/Folder
1/1 Seattle Cemetery Removal and Reburial Register 1884
1/2 Great Fire of 1889, Burn Area Map 1889
1/3 Annual Report 1892
1/4 Annual Report 1894
1/5 Annual Report 1884-1904
1/6 Correspondence and Financial Records 1904
1/7 Correspondence and Financial Records 1905
1/8 Correspondence and Financial Records 1906
1/9 Annual Report 1906-1907
1/10 Estimate of Expenses 1907
1/11 Annual Report 1907-1908
1/12 Correspondence and Financial Records 1908
1/13 Annual Report 1909
1/14 Correspondence 1909
1/15 Parks, Playgrounds, and Boulevards of Seattle 1909
1/16 Ravenna Park - Big Tree Park 1909
1/17 Recreation and Education 1909
1/18 Annual Report 1910
1/19 Correspondence and Financial Records 1910
2/1 Construction and Maintenance 1911
2/2 Correspondence and Financial Records 1911
2/3 Recreation and Education 1911
2/4 Annual Report 1912
2/5 Construction and Maintenance 1912
2/6 Correspondence and Financial Records 1912
2/7 Recreation and Education 1912
2/8 Annual Report 1913
2/9 Correspondence and Financial Records 1913
2/10 Recreation and Education 1913
2/11 Correspondence and Financial Records 1914
2/12 Recreation and Education 1914
2/13 Correspondence and Financial Records 1915
2/14 Personnel 1915
2/15 Recreation and Education 1915
2/16 Annual Report 1916
2/17 Correspondence and Financial Records 1916
2/18 Personnel 1916
2/19 Recreation and Education 1916
2/20 Correspondence and Financial Records 1917
2/21 Personnel 1917
2/22 Correspondence and Financial Records 1918
2/23 Construction, Maintenance, and Facilities 1919
2/24 Correspondence and Financial Records 1919
2/25 Recreation and Education 1919
2/26 Safety and Security 1919
3/1 Construction and Maintenance 1920
3/2 Correspondence and Financial Records 1920
3/3 Inventory 1920
3/4 Personnel and Payroll 1920
3/5 Recreation and Education 1920
3/6 Correspondence and Financial Records 1921
3/7 Annual Report 1922
3/8 Correspondence and Financial Records 1922
3/9 Correspondence and Financial Records 1923
3/10 International Association of Park Commissioners Meeting 1923
3/11 Inventory, Woodland Park Zoo 1923
3/12 Recreation and Education 1923
3/13 Construction and Maintenance 1924
3/14 Correspondence and Financial Records 1924
3/15 Recreation and Education 1924
3/16 Correspondence and Financial Records 1925
3/17 Recreation and Education 1925
3/18 Correspondence and Financial Records 1926
3/19 Correspondence and Financial Records 1927
3/20 Recreation and Education 1927
3/21 Annual Report 1928
3/22 Correspondence and Financial Records 1928
3/23 Survey of Recreational Facilities 1928
4/1 Correspondence and Financial Records 1929
4/2 Metropolitan Parks Proposal 1929
4/3 Recreation and Education 1929
4/4 Annual Report 1923-1930
4/5 Correspondence and Financial Records 1930
4/6 Recreation and Education 1930
4/7 View Maps 1930
4/8 Annual Report 1931
4/9 Correspondence and Financial Records 1931
4/10 Recreation and Education 1931
4/11 Ten Year Program for the Seattle Park Department 1931
4/12 Ten Year Program for the Seattle Park Department: Draft 1931
4/13 Annual Report 1932
4/14 Correspondence and Financial Records 1932
4/15 Personnel 1932
4/16 Recreation and Education 1932
4/17 Annual Report 1933
5/1 Correspondence and Financial Records 1933
5/2 Annual Report 1934
5/3 Construction and Maintenance 1934
5/4 Correspondence and Financial Records 1934
5/5 Recreation and Education 1934
5/6 Annual Report 1935
5/7 Correspondence and Financial Records 1935
5/8 Recreation and Education 1935
5/9 Annual Report 1936
5/10 Correspondence and Financial Records 1936
5/11 Annual Report 1937
5/12 Correspondence and Financial Records 1937
5/13 Annual Report 1938
5/14 Correspondence and Financial Records 1938
5/15 Personnel 1938
5/16 Annual Report 1939
5/17 Construction and Maintenance 1939
5/18 Correspondence and Financial Records 1939
5/19 Personnel and Payroll 1939
5/20 Recreation and Education 1939
5/21 Zoo Inventory 1939
5/22 Annual Report 1940
5/23 Construction and Maintenance 1940
6/1 Correspondence and Financial Records 1940
6/2 Personnel and Payroll 1940
6/3 Recreation and Education 1940
6/4 Zoo Inventory 1940
6/5 Annual Report 1941
6/6 Correspondence and Financial Records 1941
6/7 Personnel and Payroll 1941
6/8 Recreation and Education 1941
6/9 Zoo Inventory 1941
6/10 Annual Report 1942
6/11 Construction and Maintenance 1942
6/12 Correspondence and Financial Records 1942
6/13 Military Use of Parks, Civil Defense 1942
6/14 Penny Milk Program 1942
6/15 Personnel 1942
6/16 Recreation and Education 1942
6/17 Annual Report 1943
6/18 Construction and Maintenance 1943
6/19 Correspondence and Financial Records 1943
6/20 Defense Plans 1943
6/21 Military Use of Parks, Civil Defense 1943
6/22 Personnel 1943
6/23 Recreation and Education 1943
6/24 Wartime Rationing 1943
7/1 Annual Report 1944
7/2 Correspondence and Financial Records 1944
7/3 Military Use of Parks, Civil Defense 1944
7/4 Personnel and Payroll 1944
7/5 Post-War Park Improvement Program, Proposed Five-Year 1944
7/6 Recreation and Education 1944
7/7 Recreation Survey: Northwest District 1944
7/8 Annual Report 1945
7/9 Correspondence and Financial Records 1945
7/10 Recreation and Education 1945
7/11 Report on Proposed Public Buildings Areas 1945
7/12 Zoo Inventory 1945
7/13 Annual Report 1946
7/14 Construction and Maintenance 1946
7/15 Correspondence and Financial Records 1946
7/16 Recreation and Education 1946
7/17 Annual Report 1947
7/18 Construction and Maintenance 1947
7/19 Correspondence and Financial Records 1947
7/20 Recreation and Education 1947
7/21 Zoo Inventory 1947
7/22 Annual Report 1948
7/23 Correspondence and Financial Records 1948
7/24 Parks Bond Issue 1948
7/25 Personnel 1948
7/26 Recreation and Education 1948
8/1 Annual Report 1949
8/2 Correspondence and Financial Records 1949
8/3 Recreation and Education 1949
8/4 Annual Report 1950
8/5 Civic Memorial Arts Center Site 1950
8/6 Correspondence and Financial Records 1950
8/7 Annual Report 1951
8/8 Correspondence and Financial Records 1951
8/9 Annual Report 1952
8/10 Correspondence and Financial Records 1952
8/11 Location of Municipal Facilities in the Northern Annexation Area 1952
8/12 Preliminary Report on Sites (Puget Sound Parks Study) 1952
8/13 Annual Report 1953
8/14 Community Recreation Facilities Summary 1953
8/15 Correspondence and Financial Records 1953
8/16 Growth by Annexations: City of Seattle, 1869 - 1953 1953
8/17 Population Trends and Projections Seattle Standard Metro Area 1953
8/18 Recreation Areas and Facilities 1953
8/19 Seattle's Land: A Preliminary Land Use Plan 1953
8/20 Too Little! and Too Late? Public Beaches, Parks and Parkways 1953
8/21 Annual Report 1954
8/22 Correspondence and Financial Records 1954
8/23 Parks Bond Issue 1954
9/1 Planning for Recreation 1954
9/2 Recreation and Education 1954
9/3 Annual Report 1955
9/4 Correspondence and Financial Records 1955
9/5 Metropolitan Seattle: The Shape We're In! 1955
9/6 Seattle Park Department Civil Defense Code 1955
9/7 Seattle's Land Use, 1952 - 1954 1955
9/8 Annual Report 1956
9/9 Correspondence and Financial Records 1956
9/10 Future Suburban Parks (Robert Moses Article) 1956
9/11 Our Vanishing Shoreline 1956
9/12 Procedures for Capital Improvement Programming 1956
9/13 Annual Report 1957
9/14 Administrative Survey, Volume IV, Park Department 1957
9/15 Construction and Maintenance 1957
9/16 Correspondence and Financial Records 1957
9/17 Recreation and Education 1957
9/18 Annual Report 1958
9/19 Bond Issue 1958
10/1 Correspondence and Financial Records 1958
10/2 Maps and Miscellaneous Materials 1958
10/3 Seattle's Central Business District: A Land Use Survey 1958
10/4 Annual Report 1959
10/5 Correspondence and Financial Records 1959
10/6 Personnel 1959
10/7 Publications 1959
10/8 Recreation 1959
10/9 Annual Report 1960
10/10 Bond Issue 1960
10/11 Capital Improvement Program, 1960 - 1965 1960
10/12 Correspondence 1960
10/13 Public Recreation in the Central Puget Sound Region 1960
11/1 Recreation 1960
11/2 Annual Report 1961
11/3 Bonds 1961
11/4 Capital Improvement Program, 1961 - 1966 1961
11/5 Correspondence and Financial Records 1961
11/6 Recreation 1961
11/7 Survey and Evaluation of the Public Recreation Program 1961
11/8 Annual Report 1962
11/9 Capital Improvement Program, 1962 - 1967 1962
11/10 Correspondence 1962
11/11 Downtown Park Sites for the City of Seattle 1962
11/12 Annual Report 1963
11/13 Analysis of Typical Shelter Houses and Comfort Stations, 1908 - 1963 1963
11/14 Capital Improvement Program, 1963 - 1968 1963
12/1 Correspondence 1963
12/2 Park and Recreation Training Institute 1963
12/3 Recreation 1963
12/4 Annual Report 1964
12/5 Capital Improvement Program, 1964 - 1969 1964
12/6 Correspondence 1964
12/7 Recreation 1964
12/8 Annual Report 1965
12/9 Bonds 1965
12/10 Correspondence 1965
12/11 Guide for School Planning 1965
12/12 Outdoor Recreation and Open Space Plan 1965
13/1 Recreation 1965
13/2 Southeast Seattle Community Study 1965
13/3 Annual Report 1966
13/4 Beautification Projects 1966
13/5 Capital Improvements 1966
13/6 Correspondence 1966
13/7 Pioneer Square Redevelopment (John Graham and Company) 1966
13/8 Preliminary Report on Land Use Goals, Principles and Standards 1966
13/9 Recreation 1966
14/1 Annual Report 1967
14/2 Capital Improvements 1967
14/3 CAMP, Operation Street Tree Planting and Beautification 1967
14/4 Correspondence 1967
14/5 Neighborhood Youth Corps 1967
14/6 Outdoor Athletic Fields Study 1967
14/7 Recreation 1967
14/8 Study of Current and Future Recreation Needs of Teenagers 1967
14/9 Annual Reports 1968
15/1 Capital Improvements 1968
15/2 Correspondence 1968
15/3 Personnel 1968
15/4 Publications, Brochures 1968
15/5 Recreation 1968
15/6 Annual Report 1969
15/7 Annual Population Report 1969
15/8 Capital Improvements 1969
15/9 Correspondence 1969
15/10 Parks and Recreation in the Urban Crises 1969
15/11 Recreation 1969
15/12 Summary and Recommendations, Survey of Vacant and Undeveloped Natural Ravine and Creek Sites 1969
15/13 Annual Report 1970
16/1 Capital Improvements 1970
16/2 Correspondence 1970
16/3 Forward Thrust 1970
16/4 Parks Property Inventory 1970
16/5 Personnel 1970
16/6 Publications, Brochures, Maps 1970
16/7 Recreation 1970
16/8 Annual Report 1971
16/9 Correspondence 1971
16/10 Organization and Staffing Proposal 1971
16/11 Recreation 1971
17/1 Annual Report 1972
17/2 Capital Improvement Program, Parks 1972
17/3 Correspondence 1972
17/4 Here in Seattle, 1972 1972
17/5 Property and Facilities 1972
17/6 Recreation 1972
17/7 Annual Report 1973
17/8 Capital Improvement Program, Parks 1973
17/9 Correspondence 1973
17/10 Forward Thrust Progress Report 1973
17/11 Property and Facilities 1973
17/12 Recreation and Program Guides 1973
17/13 Annual Report 1974
17/14 Capital Improvement Program, Parks, 1974 - 1983 1974
17/15 Correspondence 1974
17/16 Forward Thrust at the Halfway Mark 1974
17/17 Newspaper Clippings 1974
18/1 Open Space Reports 1974
18/2 Publications, Brochures 1974
18/3 Annual Reports 1975
18/4 Correspondence 1975
18/5 Newspaper Clippings 1975
18/6 Urban Resource Inventory of Seattle 1975
18/7 Annual Report 1976
18/8 Correspondence 1976
18/9 Newspaper Clippings 1976
18/10 Publications, Brochures 1976
18/11 Annual Report 1977
18/12 Newspaper Clippings 1977
18/13 Publications 1977
18/14 Newspaper Clippings 1978
18/15 Newspaper Clippings 1979

^ Return to Top

Subseries II:  Parks History Files, 1892-1985
13.4 cubic ft.

The Parks History Files document the acquisition, development, improvements, and use of over 200 department maintained facilities, including parks, boulevards, bathing beaches, golf courses, moorages, playgrounds and playfields, squares and mini-parks, stadiums, the Seattle Aquarium, and the Woodland Park Zoo. The largest files include: Alki Beach Park, Discovery Park, Green Lake, Jefferson Park, Madison Park, Pioneer Square, Ravenna Park, Seward Park, Volunteer Park, Woodland Park, and the Zoo.

The records in this subseries include correspondence, excerpts from annual reports, Board of Park Commissioners committee reports, brochures, City Council committee reports, maps and drawings, copies of legislation, petitions, reports and studies, and newspaper clippings. Also included are copies of drawings, notes and essays by Sherwood for most of the parks.

Container(s)
Description
Dates
Box/Folder
19/1 Alki Beach Park 1910-1970
19/2 Alki Beach Park, Finances and Concessions 1911-1965
19/3 Alki Beach Park, History and Origins 1910-1965
19/4 Alki Beach Park, Newspaper Clippings 1927-1985
19/5 Alki Beach Park, Natatorium and Field House 1911-1966
19/6 Alki Beach Park, Natatorium and Field House, Finances and Concessions 1934-1955
19/8 Alki Beach Park, Natatorium and Field House, Safety and Sanitation 1911-1954
19/9 Alki Playground 1915-1970
19/10 Alki Playground, Finances and Concessions 1915-1958
19/11 Alki Playground, Newspaper Clippings 1944-1975
19/12 Alki Playground, Alki Avenue and Parklands Master Plan 1974
19/13 Alki Playground, Alki Beach Development and Neighborhood Recreation Study 1950
19/14 Andover (West) Street 1949-1959
20/1 Aquarium 1928-1949
20/2 Aquarium 1950-1958
20/3 Aquarium 1959
20/4 Aquarium 1961-1970
20/5 Aquarium, Newspaper Clippings 1957-1961
20/6 Aquarium, Other Cities 1956-1964
20/7 Armeni Boat Ramp and Park 1953-1983
20/8 Atlantic City Park 1910-1970
20/9 Atlantic City Park, Project Development 1926-1972
20/10 Atlantic City Park / Beer Sheva Park 1977-1980
20/11 Bagley Viewpoint 1916-1964
20/12 Ballard Parkway 1914-1962
20/13 Ballard Playground 1914-1962
20/14 Ballard Pool 1965-1972
20/15 Banner Place 1962-1970
20/16 Bar S Play Field 1968-1970
20/17 Barnett Park 1963-1970
21/1 Bayview Playground 1915-1964
21/2 Beacon Hill Playground 1912-1955
21/3 Beacon Place 1911-1957
21/4 Bellevue Place 1963-1967
21/5 Belvedere Place 1927-1966
21/6 Belvedere Place, Newspaper Clippings 1939-1965
21/7 Belvoir Place 1957
21/8 Benefit Playground 1979-1980
21/9 Bergen Place 1965-1975
21/10 Bhy Kracke Park 1969-1974
21/11 Bike Routes 1920-1971
21/12 Bike Routes, Comprehensive Bikeway Plan 1972
21/13 Bitter Lake Playground 1915-1960
21/14 Blaine Place 1945
21/15 Blue Ridge Circle 1960
21/16 Boat Moorages and Ramps 1955-1969
21/17 Boat Moorages and Ramps, Seattle Pleasure Boat Moorage 1950
21/18 Boren - Interlaken Park 1904-1976
21/19 Boren - Interlaken Park, Maps and Drawings 1919-1940
21/20 Interlaken Park, Newspaper Clippings 1942-1975
22/1 Bradner Playground 1958-1970
22/2 Brighton Play Field 1911-1973
22/3 Broadway Play Field 1904-1955
22/4 Broadway Play Field, Capitol Hill: Broadway Recreation Study 1948
22/5 Broadway Play Field, Newspaper Clippings 1934-1973
22/6 Broadway Play Field, Renamed Bobby Morris Playground 1979-1980
22/7 Bryant Playground 1966-1977
22/8 Burke - Gilman Trail 1952-1974
22/9 Burke - Gilman Trail, Draft Environmental Impact Statement 1975
22/10 California Place 1959-1964
22/11 Canal Park 1978-1979
22/12 Carkeek Park 1926-1939
22/13 Carkeek Park 1940-1959
22/14 Carkeek Park 1960-1976
22/15 Carkeek Park, Newspaper Clippings 1927-1975
22/16 Carleton Center 1930
22/17 Cascade Playground 1931-1971
23/1 Cheasty Boulevard 1916-1960
23/2 City Hall Park 1915-1973
23/3 Cleveland Play Field 1930-1943
23/4 College Street Mini Park 1970
23/5 Collins Playground 1905-1939
23/6 Collins Playground 1940-1976
23/7 Collins Playground, Maps and Drawings 1926-1932
23/8 Colman Park 1904-1970
23/9 Colman Playground 1912-1973
23/10 Columbia Park 1911-1970
23/11 Commodore Park 1919-1978
23/12 Commodore Park, Final Environmental Impact Statement 1971
23/13 Condon Way 1942-1968
24/1 Dahl Play Field 1946-1974
24/2 Dahl Play Field, History of Waldo J. Dahl Play Field 1962
24/3 Dahl Play Field, Proposed Recreation Area at East 80th Street and 25th Avenue NE 1948
24/4 Davis Park 1958-1972
24/5 Day Playground 1915-1975
24/6 Dearborn Park 1929-1970
24/7 Delridge Play Field 1909-1950
24/8 Denny Park 1908-1963
24/9 Denny Park, Maps and Drawings 1927-1928
24/10 Denny - Blaine Lake Park 1924-1966
24/11 Denny - Blaine Park 1908-1970
24/12 Denny (O.O.) Park 1922-1974
25/1 Discovery Park 1910-1947
25/2 Discovery Park 1962-1970
25/3 Discovery Park 1971-1976
25/4 Discovery Park 1977
25/5 Discovery Park 1978-1979
25/6 Discovery Park, History of Fort Lawton 1957
25/7 Discovery Park, Maps and Drawings 1902-1972
25/8 Discovery Park, Newspaper Clippings 1928-1979
25/9 Discovery Park, Project Development 1957-1969
25/10 Discovery Park, Project Development 1970-1976
25/11 Discovery Park, Project Development 1977
25/12 Discovery Park, Project Development 1978-1979
25/13 Discovery Park, Revised Master Plan, Fort Lawton 1974
26/1 Duwamish Park (King County) 1974
26/2 Edwards Park 1955-1976
26/3 Fairmount Playground 1957-1958
26/4 Fairmount Park 1912-1965
26/5 Fauntleroy Park 1911-1970
26/6 Fauntleroy Triangle 1929-1969
26/7 Firehouse Mini Park 1969-1972
26/8 First Hill Park 1934-1978
26/9 Fletcher Place 1945-1970
26/10 Fort Dent Athletic Center 1967-1976
26/11 Fort Lawton Buildings 1975
26/12 Fort Lawton Feasibility Study Volume One 1974
26/13 Fort Lawton Feasibility Study Volume Two, Buildings Survey 1974
26/14 Fort Lawton Park Master Plan 1972
26/15 Fort Lawton Park Plan 1972
27/1 Fort Lawton, Special Report on Improvement of the Fort Lawton Military Reservation (Olmsted Brothers) 1910
27/2 Forty -Third Street Mini Park / Christie Park 1969-1981
27/3 Freeway Park 1955-1976
27/4 Freeway Park, East Plaza Parking Garage Final Environmental Impact Statement 1973
27/5 Freeway Park, Newspaper Clippings 1970-1977
27/6 Frink Park 1906-1985
27/7 Froula Playground 1920-1943
27/8 Garfield Play Field 1915-1974
27/9 Gas Works Park 1916-1975
27/10 Gas Works Park, Lake Union Study 1963
27/11 Gas Works Park, Newspaper Clippings 1929-1976
27/12 Genesee Play Field 1917-1970
28/1 Genesee Play Field, Appraisal 1961
28/2 Genesee Play Field, Report on Possible Airport Sites in Seattle 1946
28/3 Georgetown Play Field 1915-1970
28/4 Georgetown Play Field, Comprehensive Plan for Duwamish Bend Area 1957
28/5 Georgetown Play Field, Development of Industrial Sites in the Duwamish - Green River Valley 1946
28/6 Georgetown Play Field, Duwamish Bend Land Disposition Study 1953
28/7 Gilman Playground 1930-1939
28/8 Golden Gardens 1923-1939
28/9 Golden Gardens 1940-1959
28/10 Golden Gardens 1960-1971
28/11 Golden Gardens, Economic Data for Proposed Shilshole Breakwaters 1948
28/12 Golden Gardens, Newspaper Clippings 1929-1974
28/13 Grand Army of the Republic Cemetery 1922-1976
28/14 Green Lake 1904-1919
29/1 Green Lake 1920-1939
29/2 Green Lake 1940-1959
29/3 Green Lake 1960-1976
29/4 Green Lake, Aqua Theater / Shell House 1939-1970
29/5 Green Lake, Bathhouse Theater 1970-1976
29/6 Green Lake, Boats, Racing, Regattas, Concessions, Etc. 1929-1970
29/7 Green Lake, Boats, Racing, Regattas, Concessions, Etc.: News 1929-1976
29/8 Green Lake, East Beach 1924-1971
29/9 Green Lake, East Beach: Newspaper Clippings 1927-1973
29/10 Green Lake, Engineering and Ecological Study for Rehabilitation 1960
29/11 Green Lake, Fishing 1924-1971
30/1 Green Lake, Green Lake Path User Study 1980
30/2 Green Lake, Green Lake Rehabilitation Program Preliminary Design 1961
30/3 Green Lake, History and Miscellaneous n.d.
30/4 Green Lake, Newspaper Clippings, General 1935-1978
30/5 Green Lake, Pitch 'n'Putt 1943-1960
30/6 Green Lake, Play Field 1915-1966
30/7 Green Lake, Report on Algae Control (WPA 667-4110-5638) 1938
30/8 Green Lake, Small Craft Center 1979-1980
30/9 Green Lake, West Beach 1928-1962
30/10 Hamilton Viewpoint 1929-1970
30/11 Hamilton Viewpoint, WPA Slide Control Drainage Projects 1935-1941
30/12 Hamlin Park 1924-1970
30/13 Hamlin Park, An Interpretive Master Plan 1970
30/14 Handicapped Center 1964-1968
30/15 Harbor Vista Park 1962
30/16 Harborview Park 1908-1973
30/17 Harrison Ridge Park 1948-1971
30/18 Harrison Street Mini Park (Prentiss Park) 1966-1982
30/19 Hiawatha Play Field 1909-1939
30/20 Hiawatha Play Field 1940-1983
31/1 High Point Recreation Center 1943-1979
31/2 Highland Park Play Field 1924-1949
31/3 Hing Hay Mini Park 1969-1975
31/4 Howell Park 1909-1953
31/5 Hughes (E.C.) Playground 1937-1948
31/6 Hunters Boulevard 1909-1968
31/7 Hutchinson Playground (Baseball History) 1916-1975
31/8 Interbay Play Field 1938-1976
31/9 Interlaken - Boren Park, Plants of 1981
31/10 Jackson Park, Bridge Trail 1949-1956
31/11 Jackson Park, Golf 1925-1929
31/12 Jackson Park, Golf 1930-1939
31/13 Jackson Park, Golf 1940-1949
32/1 Jackson Park, Golf 1950-1959
32/2 Jackson Park, Golf 1960-1976
32/3 Jackson Park, Golf: Newspaper Clippings 1927-1975
32/4 Jackson Street Mini Park (Flo Ware Park) 1969-1982
32/5 Jefferson Park 1909-1965
32/6 Jefferson Park, Armed Forces Recreation Camp 1941-1947
32/7 Jefferson Park, Community Center 1919-1968
32/8 Jefferson Park, Golf 1910-1919
33/1 Jefferson Park, Golf 1920-1929
33/2 Jefferson Park, Golf 1930-1934
33/3 Jefferson Park, Golf 1935-1939
33/4 Jefferson Park, Golf 1940-1945
33/5 Jefferson Park, Golf 1946-1959
33/6 Jefferson Park, Golf 1960-1970
33/7 Jefferson Park, Golf: Brochures, Publications, etc. 1949-1967
33/8 Jefferson Park, Golf: Drawings 1930-1957
33/9 Jefferson Park, Golf: Newspaper Clippings 1928-1977
33/10 Jefferson Park, Lawn Bowling 1931-1970
33/11 Jefferson Park, Lawn Bowling: Newspaper Clippings 1956-1975
33/12 Jefferson Park, Mercer School 1930-1974
33/13 Jefferson Park, Veterans' Hospital 1945-1955
34/1 Judkins Playground 1942-1970
34/2 Judkins Playground, Final Environmental Impact Statement for Central Area Play Fields and Parks 1974
34/3 Judkins Playground, Newspaper Clippings 1966-1975
34/4 Kerry Viewpoint 1909-1970
34/5 Kerry Viewpoint, Newspaper Clippings 1962-1974
34/6 Keystone Square 1942
34/7 Kilbourne Park 1951-1963
34/8 Kinnear Park 1892-1961
34/9 Kinnear Park, Newspaper Clippings 1936-1974
34/10 Kiwanis Park 1956-1975
34/11 Kobe Terrace 1957-1976
34/12 Lake City Mini Park 1980-1981
34/13 Lake City Playground 1966-1970
34/14 Lake City Playground, Lake City Improves for Tomorrow 1969
34/15 Lake View Park 1910-1966
34/16 Lake Washington Boulevard 1909-1973
34/17 Lake Washington Boulevard, Drawings 1912-1939
34/18 Lake Washington Boulevard, Environmental Assessment of the East Pine Street Pumping Station 1972
34/19 Lake Washington Boulevard, Observations on the Lake Washington Boulevard Shoreline 1972
34/20 Lakeridge Park and Playground 1959-1969
34/21 Lakewood Moorage 1916-1975
34/22 Lakewood Playground 1928-1949
34/23 Lakewood Triangle 1959
35/1 Landing Parkway 1911
35/2 Langston Hughes Center 1911-1970
35/3 Langston Hughes Center, A Recreation Study for the Central Community District 1953
35/4 Langston Hughes Center, Planning for Neighborhoods: Yesler and Atlantic 1959
35/5 Laurelhurst Park 1925-1971
35/6 Lawton Park 1955-1974
35/7 Lawton Park, Lawton Neighborhood Recreation Study 1950
35/8 Leschi Park 1904-1919
35/9 Leschi Park 1920-1939
35/10 Leschi Park 1940-1959
35/11 Leschi Park 1960-1970
35/12 Leschi Park, Drawings 1915-1961
35/13 Leschi Park, Planning for Neighborhoods: Leschi 1964
35/14 Leschi Park, Seattle Pleasure Boat Moorage 1950
35/15 Lewis Park 1905-1923
35/16 Licton Springs 1919-1974
35/17 Licton Springs, An Interpretive Master Plan 1970
35/18 Licton Springs, Drawings 1960
35/19 Lincoln Park 1923-1939
35/20 Lincoln Park 1940-1949
35/21 Lincoln Park 1950-1975
35/22 Lincoln Park, Newspaper Clippings 1941-1974
36/1 Lowman Beach 1910-1919
36/2 Loyal Heights Playground 1931-1974
36/3 Madison Park 1915-1939
36/4 Madison Park 1940-1949
36/5 Madison Park 1950-1970
36/6 Madison Park, A Preliminary Report on Madison Park Recreational Needs 1950
36/7 Madison Park, Drawings 1927-1936
36/8 Madison Park, Madison Park Recreation Study 1951
36/9 Madison Park, Madison Park Recreation Study 1953
36/10 Madison Park, Newspaper Clippings 1926-1974
36/11 Madison Pool 1911-1972
36/12 Madison Pool, Haller Lake Community Study, Recreation Committee Report 1965
36/13 Madison Pool, Helene Madison Biographical Notes n.d.
36/14 Madison Pool, Newspaper Clippings 1932-1972
36/15 Madrona Park 1908-1939
36/16 Madrona Park 1940-1973
36/17 Madrona Park, Brochures and Notices 1931-1976
36/18 Madrona Park, Drawings 1912-1926
36/19 Madrona Park, Newspaper Clippings 1929-1977
36/20 Madrona Playground 1928-1970
36/21 Madrona Playground, Drawings 1929-1966
37/1 Magnolia Boulevard 1903-1939
37/2 Magnolia Boulevard 1940-1970
37/3 Magnolia Boulevard, Drawings 1916-1968
37/4 Magnolia Boulevard, Paving Plans 1951-1952
37/5 Magnolia Park 1909-1974
37/6 Magnolia Play Field 1934-1949
37/7 Magnolia Play Field 1950-1971
37/8 Magnolia Play Field, Community Shopping Center, Suggested Plan, Magnolia Village 1951
37/9 Magnolia Play Field, Drawings 1931-1942
37/10 Magnolia Play Field, Newspaper Clippings 1947-1976
37/11 Magnolia Play Field, Proposed Combined School - Recreational Development, Magnolia District 1949
37/12 Magnolia Play Field, Proposed Recreational Development for the Magnolia District 1949
37/13 Magnolia Playground (East) 1929-1937
38/1 Magnolia Tidelands Park 1934-1970
38/2 Magnolia Tidelands Park, Newspaper Clippings 1970-1975
38/3 Magnuson Park 1916-1970
38/4 Magnuson Park, Drawings 1965
38/5 Magnuson Park, Newspaper Clippings 1919-1978
38/6 Magnuson Park, Project Development 1976-1977
38/7 Maple Leaf Playground 1927-1966
38/8 Maple Wood Play Field 1935-1977
38/9 Marshall Viewpoint 1904-1977
38/10 Matthews Beach 1927-1976
38/11 Mayfair Park 1970-1975
38/12 McCurdy Park - East Montlake Park 1920-1970
38/13 McCurdy Park - East Montlake Park, Drawings 1895-1962
38/14 McCurdy Park - East Montlake Park, Newspaper Clippings 1932-1974
38/15 McGilvra Boulevard 1930-1959
38/16 McGilvra Place 1968
38/17 McGraw Square (Drawing) 1919-1959
38/18 Mee Kwa Mooks Park 1977
38/19 Meadowbrook Recreation Center 1952-1975
38/20 Meadowbrook Recreation Center, Newspaper Clippings 1967-1974
38/21 Miller Playfield 1912-1970
39/1 Montlake Center Strip (Drawings) 1909-1951
39/2 Montlake (West) Park: Yacht Club (Drawings) 1911-1978
39/3 Montlake (West) Park: Yacht Club Newspaper Clippings 1965-1978
39/4 Montlake Playfield 1930-1949
39/5 Montlake Playfield 1950-1974
39/6 Montlake Playfield, Drawings 1935-1984
39/7 Montlake Playfield, Newspaper Clippings 1939-1975
39/8 Montlake Playfield, Preliminary Draft of Portage Bay Study 1950
39/9 Mount Baker Boulevard 1913-1970
39/10 Mount Baker Park 1907-1939
39/11 Mount Baker Park 1940-1971
39/12 Mount Baker Park, Maps and Drawings 1907-1964
39/13 Mount Claire Park 1916-1955
39/14 North Beach Community Park 1970
39/15 North Seattle Park 1955-1970
39/16 Northacres Park 1957-1970
39/17 Observatory Courts 1930-1962
39/18 Occidental Park 1970-1973
40/1 Parkmount Place 1942
40/2 Parson's Gardens 1945-1967
40/3 Passage Point, North and South 1957-1976
40/4 Peppi's Playground 1953-1968
40/5 Peppi's Playground, Petition for Rezoning Leschi 1963
40/6 Peppi's Playground, Planning for Neighborhoods: Leschi 1964
40/7 Pinehurst Playground 1955-1970
40/8 Pioneer Square 1911-1939
40/9 Pioneer Square 1940-1975
40/10 Pioneer Square, Brochures 1954-1980
40/11 Pioneer Square, Changes in Downtown Seattle, 1960 - 74 and Housing Conditions in Downtown Seattle 1974
40/12 Pioneer Square, Drawings 1953-1972
40/13 Pioneer Square, News Clippings 1956-1975
40/14 Pioneer Square: Pioneer Square Study, A Preliminary Draft 1949
40/15 Pioneer Square, Rehabilitation of Seattle's Historic Pioneer Square 1959
40/16 Pratt Park 1931-1975
40/17 Prefontaine Place 1915-1971
40/18 Pritchard Island Beach 1908-1970
40/19 Puget Park 1933-1971
41/1 Queen Anne Boulevard 1908-1912
41/2 Queen Anne Boulevard 1913-1939
41/3 Queen Anne Boulevard 1940-1977
41/4 Queen Anne Boulevard, Newspaper Clippings 1902-1951
41/5 Queen Anne Bowl (Rodgers Park) 1915-1970
41/6 Queen Anne Playfield (West) 1932-1970
41/7 Queen Anne Playfield (West), Newspaper Clippings 1929-1976
41/8 Queen Anne Playfield (West), Report of the Queen Anne Parks and Recreation Committee 1970
41/9 Queen Anne Playground (East) 1915-1969
41/10 Rainier Beach Lake Park Cottage Tract 1937-1970
41/11 Rainier Beach Recreation Center 1929-1974
41/12 Rainier Beach Recreation Center, Drawings 1927-1975
41/13 Rainier Beach Recreation Center, Impact of Southeast Education Center on Rainier Beach 1969
41/14 Rainier Beach Recreation Center, Newspaper Clippings 1973-1974
41/15 Rainier Playfield 1911-1966
41/16 Rainier Playfield, Newspaper Clippings 1927-1949
41/17 Ravenna Boulevard 1915-1970
41/18 Ravenna Boulevard, Newspaper Clippings 1973
42/1 Ravenna Park 1904-1919
42/2 Ravenna Park 1920-1949
42/3 Ravenna Park 1950-1971
42/4 Ravenna Park, Drawings 1919-1942
42/5 Ravenna Park, Environmental Assessment 20th Avenue Northeast Bridge Closure 1974
42/6 Ravenna Park, Newspaper Clippings 1920-1976
42/7 Red Barn Ranch 1969-1974
42/8 Ridgeway Place 1927-1931
42/9 Rizal Park 1928-1974
42/10 Rizal Park, Filipino - American Community Services of the Pacific Northwest, Incorporated Progress Report 1959
42/11 Rizal Park, Site Analysis and Development Plan n.d.
42/12 Roanoke Park 1924-1978
42/13 Rodgers Park 1928-1967
42/14 Rodgers Playground 1924-1975
42/15 Ross Playground 1924-1959
42/16 Roxhill Playground 1938-1970
42/17 Sacajawea Playground 1957-1970
42/18 Salmon Bay Park 1915-1959
42/19 Sandel Playground 1931-1970
42/20 Sandel Playground, A Recreation Study for the Greenwood Community District 1954
42/21 Sandel Playground, North Greenwood Neighborhood Plan 1975
43/1 Sayres Memorial Park 1929-1969
43/2 Sayres Memorial Park, Drawings 1912-1965
43/3 Sayres Memorial Park, Newspaper Clippings 1929-1979
43/4 Schmitz Overlook 1941-1974
43/5 Schmitz Park and Boulevard 1915-1929
43/6 Schmitz Park and Boulevard 1930-1949
43/7 Schmitz Park and Boulevard 1950-1971
43/8 Schmitz Park and Boulevard, Drawings 1909-1955
43/9 Schmitz Park and Boulevard, Interpretive Master Plan 1969
43/10 Seola Park 1958-1964
43/11 Seward Park 1913-1929
43/12 Seward Park 1930-1934
43/13 Seward Park 1935-1939
43/14 Seward Park 1940-1949
43/15 Seward Park 1950-1971
43/16 Seward Park, A Design Proposal for Seward Park n.d.
43/17 Seward Park, Drawings 1919-1954
43/18 Seward Park, Newspaper Clippings 1920-1977
44/1 Sick's Stadium 1919-1974
44/2 Sierra Place 1941
44/3 Snoqualmie Ski Area 1933-1954
44/4 Snoqualmie Ski Area, Drawings 1931-1934
44/5 Soundview Playfield 1954-1966
44/6 Soundview Terrace 1972
44/7 South Park Playfield 1909-1971
44/8 Southwest Community Center and Pool 1969-1976
44/9 Spring Street Mini Park 1969-1970
44/10 Spruce Street Mini Park 1969-1970
44/11 Stevens Triangle 1935-1955
44/12 Sturges Park 1916-1929
44/13 Sunset Hill Park 1928-1968
44/14 Tashkent Park 1969-1974
44/15 [Seattle] Tennis Center 1951-1977
44/16 [Seattle] Tennis Center, Analysis of Potential Site 1974
44/17 [Seattle] Tennis Center, Study and File 1968-1969
44/18 Thirtieth Avenue Mini Park (William Grose Park) 1941-1983
44/19 Thirty - Seventh Avenue South Park 1973-1974
44/20 Thomas Mini Park 1969-1971
45/1 Thornton Creek 1952-1970
45/2 Thornton Creek, Drawings 1952-1971
45/3 Thornton Creek, Study of Lake City Area and Thornton Creek Environs 1969
45/4 Tillicum Place 1919-1976
45/5 Tillicum Place, Chief Sealth Statue by James A. Wehn 1962
45/6 Tillicum Place, Drawings 1962
45/7 Tillicum Place, Newspaper Clippings 1912-1975
45/8 Twelfth Avenue South Viewpoint 1958
45/9 Twenty - Sixth Avenue Mini Park 1969-1970
45/10 Union Station Square 1913-1957
45/11 University District Mini Park 1975
45/12 University Lake Shore Place 1968
45/13 University Place 1931-1961
45/14 University Playfield 1911-1974
45/15 University Playfield, University and Wallingford Recreation Study 1949
45/16 University Playfield, University Neighborhood Plan 1969
45/17 Van Asselt Playground 1929-1949
45/18 Victory Heights Playground 1954-1959
45/19 View Ridge Playground 1955-1966
45/20 Viretta Park 1901-1966
45/21 Volunteer Park 1906-1919
45/22 Volunteer Park 1920-1939
45/23 Volunteer Park 1940-1949
46/1 Volunteer Park 1950-1959
46/2 Volunteer Park 1960-1969
46/3 Volunteer Park 1970-1978
46/4 Volunteer Park, Drawings 1952
46/5 Volunteer Park, Newspaper Clippings 1929-1975
46/6 Wallingford Playfield 1909-1970
46/7 Washington Park 1908-1919
46/8 Washington Park 1920-1939
46/9 Washington Park 1940-1959
46/10 Washington Park 1960-1974
46/11 Washington Park, Brochures and Bulletins 1940-1971
46/12 Washington Park, Newspaper Clippings 1935-1976
46/13 Washington School 1915-1973
47/1 Waterfront, Central Waterfront Park Phase One Development, DEIS 1972
47/2 Waterfront, Planning the Future of Seattle, Central Area Criteria, Etc. 1959
47/3 Waterfront, Report on the Proposed Seattle Aquarium at Golden Gardens Park 1959
47/4 Waterfront, Seattle Aquarium: An Economic Feasibility Study 1971
47/5 Waterfront Park 1969
47/6 Waterfront Park 1970-1971
47/7 Waterfront Park, Newspaper Clippings 1970-1976
47/8 Waterfront Park, Seattle Aquarium 1958-1976
47/9 Waterfront Park, Seattle Central Waterfront Proposals for Environs 1970
47/10 Wedgwood Square 1951-1956
47/11 Wedgwood Square, Wedgwood Elementary School Study 1951
47/12 West Seattle Recreation Center 1935-1959
47/13 West Seattle Recreation Center, Camp Long 1932-1973
48/1 West Seattle Recreation Center, Brochures and Publications 1944-1953
48/2 West Seattle Recreation Center, Golf Course 1930-1939
48/3 West Seattle Recreation Center, Golf Course 1940-1949
48/4 West Seattle Recreation Center, Golf Course 1950-1971
48/5 West Seattle Recreation Center, Golf Course, Newspaper Clippings 1935-1965
48/6 West Seattle Recreation Center, Stadium and Playfield 1914-1965
48/7 Westcrest Park 1930-1969
48/8 Westcrest Park, West Seattle Reservoir Park 1975
48/9 Westlake Square 1911-1973
48/10 Williams Place 1957-1972
48/11 Woodland Park 1903-1919
48/12 Woodland Park 1920-1939
48/13 Woodland Park 1940-1959
48/14 Woodland Park, Athletic Fields 1911-1971
48/15 Woodland Park, Athletic Fields, Drawings 1948
48/16 Woodland Park, Aurora Avenue 1928-1939
48/17 Woodland Park, Auto Tourist Camp 1915-1947
49/1 Woodland Park, Concessions 1904-1929
49/2 Woodland Park, Concessions 1930-1939
49/3 Woodland Park, Concessions 1940-1961
49/4 Woodland Park, Concessions, Newspaper Clippings 1940-1974
49/5 Woodland Park, CWA Project (503) 17 - 39 1933
49/6 Woodland Park, Drawings 1930-1975
49/7 Woodland Park, Flag Pole 1949
49/8 Woodland Park, Floral Hall 1928-1959
49/9 Woodland Park, Gifts 1932-1970
49/10 Woodland Park, Harding Memorial 1925-1976
49/11 Woodland Park, Lawn Bowling 1928-1949
49/12 Woodland Park, Lawn Bowling 1950-1967
49/13 Woodland Park, Newspaper Clippings 1942-1976
49/14 Woodland Park, Picnic Area 1930-1950
49/15 Woodland Park, Proposed Stadium 1936-1945
49/16 Woodland Park, Proposed Stadium, Newspaper Clippings 1939-1945
49/17 Woodland Park, Rose Garden 1925-1967
49/18 Woodland Park, Veterans' Area, Artillery 1915-1948
50/1 Woodland Park Zoo 1906-1949
50/2 Woodland Park Zoo 1950-1959
50/3 Woodland Park Zoo 1960-1969
50/4 Woodland Park Zoo 1970-1973
50/5 Woodland Park Zoo, Animals - Popular / Totem 1916-1949
50/6 Woodland Park Zoo, Animals - Popular / Totem 1950-1971
50/7 Woodland Park Zoo, Animals - Popular / Totem News Clippings 1956-1976
50/8 Woodland Park Zoo, Brochures and Publications 1937-1976
50/9 Woodland Park Zoo, Brochures and Publications 1970
50/10 Woodland Park Zoo, Children's Zoo 1948-1963
50/11 Woodland Park Zoo, Children's Zoo 1964-1967
50/12 Woodland Park Zoo, Children's Zoo, Newspaper Clippings 1961-1963
51/1 Woodland Park Zoo, Environmental Assessment Woodland Park Zoo Development 1973
51/2 Woodland Park Zoo, Facts and Figures and Zoo's Symposium 1970
51/3 Woodland Park Zoo, Financial Records 1942-1958
51/4 Woodland Park Zoo, Long Range Master Plan Study 1970
51/5 Woodland Park Zoo, Maps 1953-1975
51/6 Woodland Park Zoo, Monthly and Annual Reports 1933-1936
51/7 Woodland Park Zoo, Newspaper Clippings 1965-1976
51/8 Woodland Park Zoo, Reports on Tours of Other Zoos 1940-1948
51/9 Woodland Park Zoo, Seattle Zoological Society, Meeting Notices and Minutes 1965-1971
51/10 Woodland Park Zoo, Seattle Zoological Society, Meeting Notices and Minutes 1965-1968
51/11 Woodland Park Zoo, Staff 1905-1971
51/12 Woodland Park Zoo, Staff, Newspaper Clippings 1948-1976
52/1 Yesler - Atlantic Neighborhood Improvement Project 1967
52/2 Yesler Recreation Center 1934-1969
52/3 York Playground 1930-1969

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Subseries III:  Olmsted Brothers Correspondence, 1902-1984
0.4 cubic ft.

The major portion of this subseries consists of correspondence from the Olmsted Brothers regarding the planning and development of the system of parks and boulevards in Seattle. Subject matter also includes the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition, the Olmsteds’ ideas regarding responsibilities of a Parks Superintendent, the hiring of J.W. Thompson as superintendent, and John C. Olmsted’s trips to Seattle.

In addition to correspondence, the records include agreements, news articles and clippings, brochures, drawings, expense accounts, plan index cards (photocopies), reports, and Don Sherwood's notes and essays. The photocopies of the plan index cards, which were obtained from Olmsted Associates, Inc., include the subject, scale, and date of Seattle parks and facilities drawings that the firm has on file.

Container(s)
Description
Dates
Box/Folder
53/1 Olmsted Brothers, Correspondence 1902
53/2 Olmsted Brothers, Correspondence 1903
53/3 Olmsted Brothers, Correspondence 1904
53/4 Olmsted Brothers, Correspondence 1904
53/5 Olmsted Brothers, Correspondence 1905
53/6 Olmsted Brothers, Correspondence 1906
53/7 Olmsted Brothers, Correspondence 1908
53/8 Olmsted Brothers, Correspondence 1909
53/9 Olmsted Brothers, Correspondence 1910
53/10 Olmsted Brothers, Correspondence 1911
53/11 Olmsted Brothers, Correspondence 1912
53/12 Olmsted Brothers, Correspondence 1913-1919
53/13 Olmsted Brothers, Correspondence 1920-1929
53/14 Olmsted Associates, Inc., Correspondence 1972-1975
53/15 Olmsted Brothers, Agreement with Board of Park Commissioners 1904
53/16 Olmsted Brothers, Articles and Special Reports 1906-1914
53/17 Olmsted Brothers, Drawings (Copies from Microfiche) 1906-1929
53/18 Olmsted Brothers, Frederick Law Olmsted Historic Site 1975-1984
53/19 Olmsted Brothers, Biographical, Miscellaneous Correspondence, Obituaries 1919-1973
53/20 Olmsted Brothers, Olmsted Documentation Project - Park Department 1974-1975
53/21 Olmsted Brothers, Plan Index Cards (Photocopies) n.d.

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Subseries IV:  Former Department Property, 1905-1974
0.5 cubic ft.

This subseries includes information on over 20 properties that were once administered by the Department of Parks and Recreation and either have been placed under the jurisdiction of another City agency or are no longer owned by the City. An example of the former is the Mercer Playfield property, which is now under the jurisdiction of the Seattle Center.

Records in these files include correspondence, excerpts of annual reports, maps and drawings, copies of legislation, newspaper clippings, petitions, reports, and Don Sherwood's notes and essays (photocopies).

Container(s)
Description
Dates
Box/Folder
54/1 Armory Park 1973
54/2 Aurora Triangle 1934-1965
54/3 Beacon Hill Lots 1910-1944
54/4 Bell Street Pier 1916-1941
54/5 Brooklyn Boat Ramp 1952-1958
54/6 Former City Property, Miscellaneous 1929-1956
54/7 Fortson Square 1905-1964
54/8 Forty-third Avenue NE Center Strip 1933-1951
54/9 Graham School and Playground 1944-1957
54/10 Greenwood Park 1927-1940
54/11 Handicapped Center / Stadium Homes 1954-1968
54/12 Harvard Place 1931-1939
54/13 Irving (West) School 1940-1949
54/14 James Street Cable Barn 1946
54/15 Johnson Park 1930-1951
54/16 Lacy Murrow Bridge Launch Approach 1971-1974
54/17 Lake Way Triangles 1940-1942
54/18 Laurelhurst Triangle 1962-1968
54/19 Little's 85th Street Addition 1951
54/20 Mercer Playground 1913-1960
54/21 Mercer Playground, Civic Memorial Arts Center Site 1950
54/22 Ronald (Judge J.T.) Playground (Fulton School) 1946-1969
54/23 South Seattle Playfield 1951-1967
55/1 South Seattle Playfield 1912-1967
55/2 South Seattle Playfield, South Seattle Industrial Park 1966
55/3 South Seattle Playfield, Workable Program for Community Improvement 1964
55/4 South Seattle Playfield, Urban Renewal 1964-1966
55/5 University Boulevard 1907-1962
55/6 Unnamed Strip, University of Washington 1915-1963
55/7 Washington Place 1931-1956
55/8 Wildwood Lane 1907-1954
55/9 Yesler Slide 1899-1963

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Subseries V:  Proposed Parks Sites, 1905-1976
1.0 cubic ft.

This subseries contains files on more than 40 proposed sites for Department of Parks and Recreation parks and facilities. The proposals are from the general public, the Board of Park Commissioners, community groups, or other parties interested in the development of park facilities.

Records in this subseries include correspondence, petitions, proposals, reports and studies, maps and drawings, and newspaper clippings.

Container(s)
Description
Dates
Box/Folder
55/10 Alki: Marine Drive Sites 1927-1957
55/11 Ammersfoordt Beach 1927-1929
55/12 Armour School 1955-1956
55/13 Aurora Avenue, Report on Preservation of Scenic Outlook 1945
55/14 Beacon Avenue and 56th Avenue South, Proposed School Site 1952-1953
55/15 Boyer and Roanoke Viewpoint 1967
55/16 Brookwood Park 1958
55/17 Cambridge Arms Playfield 1938-1959
55/18 Central School Property 1950-1954
55/19 Civic Arts Center 1946
55/20 Community Beach 1952
55/21 Dravus West and Arapahoe 1947
55/22 Dunlap School 1961-1976
55/23 East Park 1913-1916
55/24 Glendale Golf Course 1956
55/25 Gatewood Playfield 1951-1952
55/26 Golf Course, Snohomish County 1962
55/27 Harvard - Miller Frontage Road Viewpoint 1969-1970
55/28 Hawthorne Hills 1946-1953
55/29 Lake City Treatment Plant 1968-1970
55/30 Lake Union Sites 1962-1970
55/31 Lake Youngs Watershed 1970
55/32 Lakeridge Park 1954-1955
55/33 Miscellaneous Proposed Sites 1927-1957
56/1 Miscellaneous Proposed Sites 1962-1970
56/2 Miscellaneous Proposed Sites, Newspaper Clippings 1927-1975
56/3 Montlake, East Lynn and 19th Avenue 1947
56/4 Newport Park 1956-1957
56/5 Oak Lake School 1956-1957
56/6 Pier 91 Pool 1970-1971
56/7 Queen Anne Hill Sites 1963-1966
56/8 Rainier Beach Sites 1928-1944
56/9 Seneca Street Dead End 1969-1970
56/10 Sound View Terrace 1970
56/11 Spring Hill Park 1905-1932
56/12 Star Lake 1928-1930
56/13 Stevens Street Southwest Greenbelt 1969
56/14 Summit Playground 1934-1938
56/15 Twenty-eighth Avenue Northeast at Northeast 68th Street 1946-1947
56/16 Viewpoints, Miscellaneous: City Officials View Trips 1962
56/17 Water Tower Site, Shearwater Housing Project 1964-1965
56/18 West Woodland Recreation Center 1937-1948
56/19 Westlake Park 1958-1969
56/20 Westlake Park, Draft Environmental Impact Statement 1975
56/21 Westlake Park, Newspaper Clippings 1975-1976

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Subseries VI:  Subject Files, 1876-1979
2.7 cubic ft.

The Subject Files include information about Parks Department programs and projects and City-wide activities that impact the department. The most extensive files relate to beautification and open space programs, Forward Thrust, the Seafair Gold Cup Races, and Depression Era activities. Other subjects include airport planning, bicycle trails, bond issues, comprehensive planning, cultural events, sports and recreation, schools and youth programs, and zoning.

Records in the Subject Files include correspondence, maps and drawings, inventories, copies of legislation, reports and studies, newspaper clippings, and speeches.

Container(s)
Description
Dates
Box/Folder
56/22 Airports, Report on Airport Sites in the City of Seattle 1946
56/23 Beautification 1969-1970
56/24 Beautification, Emergency Work Orders 1969-1970
57/1 Beautification, Urban Beautification Program Application 1970
57/2 Capital Improvement Plan 1962-1967
57/3 Capital Improvement Program, Park Bond Issue Preliminary Studies 1967
57/4 Central Business District 1963-1967
57/5 City Council 1963-1967
57/6 City Engineer, Work Done for 1931-1959
57/7 City Light, Skagit 1958-1962
57/8 City Planning 1961-1966
57/9 Civil Defense 1963-1964
57/10 Civil Works Administration 1933-1934
57/11 Comprehensive Planning, Background 1884-1965
57/12 Comprehensive Planning, Background 1965-1974
57/13 Facilities and Recreation Planning 1953-1955
57/14 Fort Lawton Park Study, Conclusions to Need Analysis 1964
57/15 Forward Thrust: Annual Report of the Parks Department re Forward Thrust Development Project 1968-1969
58/1 Forward Thrust: Bond Issue 1968
58/2 Forward Thrust: Developing a Capital Improvement Plan for King County, Part One Background 1967
58/3 Forward Thrust: Developing a Capital Improvement Plan for King County, Part Two Analysis 1967
58/4 Forward Thrust: Developing a Capital Improvement Plan for King County, Part Three Recommendations 1967
58/5 Forward Thrust: Developing a Capital Improvement Plan for King County, Part Four Analysis and Recommendations 1970
58/6 Forward Thrust: Forward Thrust at the Halfway Mark 1974
58/7 Forward Thrust: Forward Thrust Work 1968-1970 - A Report to the Residents of King County 1970
58/8 Forward Thrust: Forward Thrust Work 1968-1970 - A Report to the Residents of King County 1972
58/9 Forward Thrust, Miscellaneous Materials 1966-1969
58/10 Forward Thrust, Miscellaneous Materials 1968-1969
59/1 Forward Thrust, Resolutions and Ordinances, Forward Thrust Bonds 1967
59/2 Forward Thrust, Selected Speeches on Forward Thrust and Election Results 1968
59/3 Gold Cup Races 1954-1958
59/4 Gold Cup Races 1959-1963
59/5 Gold Cup Races 1962-1967
59/6 Gold Cup Races 1954-1970
59/7 Gold Cup Races, Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the 1975 Seafair Unlimited Hydroplane Races 1975
59/8 Gold Cup Races, Newspaper Clippings 1957-1975
59/9 Golf 1960-1967
59/10 Greater Seattle Athletic Association 1959-1965
59/11 Greater Seattle, Incorporated 1962-1965
59/12 Health Department 1961-1965
59/13 Human Rights Commission 1964-1965
60/1 Lanham Act 1944-1946
60/2 Local Improvement Districts 1876-1959
60/3 Mayor's Office 1957-1967
60/4 Music in the Park 1915-1965
60/5 Music in the Park, Newspaper Clippings 1961-1965
60/6 National Parks and Recreation Conferences in Seattle 1909-1968
60/7 National Recreation Association, Pacific Northwest District 1962-1965
60/8 Newspaper Clippings 1978
60/9 Newspaper Clippings 1978
60/10 Newspaper Clippings 1978
60/11 Newspaper Clippings 1979
60/12 Northwest Parks Association 1960-1968
60/13 Open Space and Urban Beautification in 1969: A Progress Report 1969
60/14 Outdoor Recreation and Open Space Plan 1965
61/1 Parks - Schools Joint Use 1919-1970
61/2 Police 1961-1964
61/3 Property: Legal Opinions and Legislation 1916-1968
61/4 Property: Legal Opinions and Legislation 1916-1970
61/5 Public Work Reserve Projects 1942
61/6 Puget Sound Governmental Conference 1962-1964
61/7 Quarterly Budget Adjustment Requests 1964-1967
61/8 Recreation 1965
61/9 Recreation, Classification Studies 1962
61/10 Recreation Director, Search for a New Director 1964-1965
61/11 Recreation Director, Willard H. Shumard 1962-1963
61/12 Recreation Director, Willard H. Shumard 1963-1966
62/1 Recreation Survey 1961-1962
62/2 Safety Committee Reports 1961-1962
62/3 Seattle Handicapped Center 1962-1967
62/4 Seattle Shoreline Inventory 1973
62/5 Seattle 2000 Commission: Goals Statement from Task Forces 1973
62/6 State Development Funds 1946-1953
62/7 Street Trees Ordinance Drafts 1912
62/8 Summer Youth Corps Program 1964
62/9 University Grounds 1911
62/10 Urban Renewal 1959-1968
62/11 WERA / CWA / WPA Projects 1933-1936
62/12 Welch, Douglass, Miscellaneous Materials 1959-1968
63/1 Welch, Douglass, Newspaper Articles About Park Board 1954-1960
63/2 Welch, Douglass, Newspaper Articles About Park Board 1961-1965
63/3 WPA Projects 1935-1941
63/4 WPA, Training of WPA Workers in the Field of Recreation 1937
63/5 Zoning 1958-1959

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Subseries VII:  Parks Naming Files, 1971-1983
0.2 cubic ft.

The Parks Naming Files consist primarily of correspondence to and from the Board of Park Commissioners, City Council, City Comptroller, Park Naming Committee, and Parks Superintendent suggesting names for parks and parks facilities. Also included are petitions, drawings, newspaper clippings, and press releases.

Container(s)
Description
Dates
Box/Folder
63/6 Alvin Larkins Park 1974-1979
63/7 Arboretum, Donald G. Graham Visitors Center 1986
63/8 Coe Elementary School, Coe Play Park 1982
63/9 Good Shepherd Center/Meridian Playground 1976-1979
63/10 International Children's Park 1979
63/11 Market Park 1978-1979
63/12 Montlake Bicycle Trail (Bill Dawson) 1982
63/13 Parks Facilities Naming 1971-1983
63/14 Parks Naming Suggestions 1982
63/15 Rainbow Point 1978-1979
63/16 Regrade Park 1978
63/17 Sunset Place Park 1980
63/18 Twelfth and West Howe 1982

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Subseries VIII:  Photographs, 1891-1975
3.6 cubic ft.

The photographs have been physically removed from the Sherwood files and integrated with the Archives Photograph Collection. Although separated, the photographs are included in the Sherwood Guide. They have been scanned, cataloged, and indexed and are included in the online photograph index on the Seattle Municipal Archives web site.

The photographs collected by Sherwood include approximately 2,400 images documenting roughly 140 properties, facilities, and events that have been administered by the Department of Parks and Recreation. The images document sports and recreation on Seattle’s playgrounds, parks landscaping, the construction of parks facilities, and the City’s boulevards.

Secondarily, the images document leisure time activities, the City’s social history, and Works Projects Administration endeavors. They depict the physical development of parks, such as the dredging of Green Lake and the draining of Dahl Field, as well as elements or activities that no longer exist, such as the Licton Springs health spa and the Potlatch Parade.

Among the largest files of images are Green Lake, Lake Washington Boulevard, Leschi Park, Lincoln Park, Ravenna Park, Sayres Park, Seward Park, Volunteer Park, Woodland Park, and Woodland Park Zoo. The images are arranged alphabetically by name of park or facility.

A substantial number of the photographs collected by Sherwood were created by one of three well known local studios: those of Asahel Curtis, Frank H. Nowell, and Webster and Stevens.

Asahel Curtis (1874-1941) came to Seattle with his family in 1888, and six years later he established a photographic studio. Unlike his more famous brother, Edward, he did not consider himself an artist. Curtis was a commercial photographer, and his clients were businessmen, promoters, and government agencies. He was also commissioned by a newspaper to photograph the Klondike Gold Rush. Curtis' life work was a monumental survey of the Pacific Northwest, comprising over 60,000 photographic plates and negatives.

Frank H. Nowell (1864-1950) went to Nome, Alaska in 1900, where he opened his first studio. Between 1901 and 1908, Nowell created a photographic chronicle of the Territory. In 1908 he was appointed the Official Photographer of the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition in Seattle. Following the Exposition, Nowell remained in Seattle and opened a new studio.

Ira (Ike) Webster (c.1870-1942) and Nelson Stevens (c.1875-1938) were the founders of the studio that carried their names until 1981. They came to Seattle in 1899 from their hometown of Portland, Michigan, and initially worked in the studios of other photographers. In 1903 they opened their own studio and from 1906 to 1928 were the exclusive photographers to The Seattle Times (one of the region's principal daily newspapers). Seattle's Museum of History and Industry holds 55,000 negatives produced during the early years of the firm.

Container(s)
Description
Dates
Box/Folder
150/1 Alki Beach and Playground 1907-1966, n.d.
150/2 Ammersfoordt Beach n.d.
150/3 Armeni Boat Ramp 1965-1968, n.d.
150/4 Armeni Boat Ramp 1965-1968, n.d.
150/5 Atlantic City 1952-1962, n.d.
150/6 Bagley Viewpoint 1916, n.d.
150/7 Ballard Playground and Field House 1911-1965, n.d.
150/8 Ballard Pool 1969
150/9 Powell Barnett Park 1970-1972
150/10 Bayview Playground 1938-1964
150/11 Beacon Hill Playground n.d.
150/12 Belvedere Place 1965-1966, n.d.
150/13 Bhy Kracke Park 1971
150/14 Bitter Lake Playground 1959-1961, n.d.
150/15 Brighton Playfield 1936
150/16 Broadway Playfield 1908-1939
150/17 Carkeek Park 1954-1955, n.d.
150/18 Carkeek Park 1954
150/19 Carkeek Park 1937-1967, n.d.
150/20 Cascade Playground 1936-1938
150/21 Cheasty Boulevard n.d.
150/22 City Hall Park 1913-1963, n.d.
150/23 Cleveland Playground 1965
150/24 Collins Field House and Playfield 1908-1965, n.d.
150/25 Colman Park and Playground 1937-1965
150/26 Colman Park and Playground 1937-1965
150/27 Columbia Park 1931-1937, n.d.
150/28 Dahl Playfield n.d.
150/29 Dahl Playfield
150/30 Day (B.F.) Playfield 1913, n.d.
150/31 Delridge Playfield 1936-1969
150/32 Denny Park 1903-1964, n.d.
150/33 Denny Park, Parks Dept. Administration Building ca. 1950
150/34 Denny Park, Parks Dept. Administration Building ca. 1950
150/35 Denny Park, Parks. Dept. Administration Building ca. 1950
151/1 Denny Park, Parks Dept. Administration Building ca. 1950
151/2 Denny-Blaine Park 1903, n.d.
151/3 Denny-Blaine Lake Park ca. 1905, n.d.
151/4 Denny (O.O.) Park 1903
151/5 Discovery Park 1903
151/6 Duwamish Head n.d.
151/7 Edwards (Myrtle) Park 1965, n.d.
151/8 Fairmount Park 1929
151/9 First Avenue South Ramp ca. 1955
151/10 Franklin Quarry ca. 1910
151/11 Freeway Park 1967
151/12 Frink Park 1907-1913
151/13 Froula Playground n.d.
151/14 Garfield Playfield 1934, n.d.
151/15 Garfield Playfield 1965, n.d.
151/16 Gas Works Park 1911-1966
151/17 Gas Works Park 1911-1966
151/18 Genesee Playfield 1936-1965, n.d.
151/19 Georgetown Playfield 1936-1969
151/20 Gilman Playground 1965, n.d.
151/21 Golden Gardens 1940-1960, n.d.
151/22 Golden Gardens 1940-1960, n.d.
151/23 Golden Gardens 1936-1963, n.d.
151/24 Golden Gardens 1936-1963, n.d.
151/25 Golf, Snohomish County 1960
151/26 Green Lake 1900-1966, n.d.
151/27 Green Lake 1900-1966, n.d.
151/28 Green Lake 1900-1966, n.d.
151/29 Green Lake 1900-1966, n.d.
151/30 Green Lake 1895-1964, n.d.
151/31 Green Lake 1895-1964, n.d.
151/32 Green Lake 1895-1964, n.d.
151/33 Green Lake 1895-1964, n.d.
151/34 Green Lake 1895-1964, n.d.
151/35 Green Lake 1895-1964, n.d.
152/1 Haller Lake Playground 1965-1969
152/2 Hamilton Viewpoint 1948
152/3 Hamilton Viewpoint n.d.
152/4 Hamlin Park 1956
152/5 Harborview Park n.d.
152/6 Harrison Street Mini Park n.d.
152/7 Hiawatha Playfield 1911-1915, n.d.
152/8 Hiawatha Playfield 1911-1915, n.d.
152/9 Hiawatha Playfield 1911-1915, n.d.
152/10 Highland Park 1936-1964, n.d.
152/11 Hing Hay Park n.d.
152/12 Hughes (E.C.) Playground 1946, n.d.
152/13 Hutchinson Playground 1913-1963
152/14 Hutchinson Playground 1913-1963
152/15 Interbay Field 1903-1967
152/16 Interbay Field 1903-1967
152/17 Interbay Field 1929-1962, n.d.
152/18 Interlaken Boulevard 1909-1936, n.d.
152/19 Interlaken Boulevard 1909-1936, n.d.
152/20 Jackson Park 1927-1971, n.d.
152/21 Jackson Park 1927-1971, n.d.
152/22 Jackson Park 1927-1971, n.d.
152/23 Jefferson Park 1913-1967, n.d.
152/24 Jefferson Park 1913-1967, n.d.
152/25 Jefferson Park 1913-1967, n.d.
152/26 Jefferson Community Center 1965-1970, n.d.
152/27 Judkins Park 1953-1965, n.d.
152/28 Judkins Park 1953-1965, n.d.
153/1 Kerry Park Viewpoint 1936-1969
153/2 Kinnear Park 1901-1913, n.d.
153/3 Kinnear Park 1901-1913, n.d.
153/4 Kinnear Park 1904-1910, n.d.
153/5 Kinnear Park 1904-1910, n.d.
153/6 Kinnear Park 1904-1910, n.d.
153/7 Lake City Playground 1961
153/8 Lake View Park 1913-1966
153/9 Lake Washington Boulevard 1910-1956, n.d.
153/10 Lake Washington Boulevard 1910-1956, n.d.
153/11 Lake Washington Boulevard 1910-1956, n.d.
153/12 Lake Washington Boulevard 1910-1956, n.d.
153/13 Lake Washington Boulevard 1910-1956, n.d.
153/14 Lake Washington Boulevard 1910-1956, n.d.
153/15 Lake Washington Boulevard 1910-1956, n.d.
153/16 Lake Washington Boulevard 1948
153/17 Lake Washington Boulevard 1948
153/13 Lake Washington Boulevard 1948
153/19 Lake Washington Boulevard 1948
153/20 Lakewood Moorage 1961, n.d.
153/21 Laurelhurst Community Center 1934, n.d.
153/22 Laurelhurst Community Center 1934, n.d.
153/23 Lawton Park 1955
153/24 Leschi Park 1895-1962, n.d.
153/25 Leschi Park 1895-1962, n.d.
153/26 Leschi Park 1895-1962, n.d.
153/27 Leschi Park 1895-1962, n.d.
153/28 Leschi Park 1895-1962, n.d.
153/29 Leschi Park 1895-1962, n.d.
153/30 Leschi Park 1923-1949, n.d.
153/31 Leschi Park 1923-1949, n.d.
153/32 Leschi Park 1923-1949, n.d.
154/1 Licton Springs 1913-1974, n.d.
154/2 Licton Springs 1913-1974, n.d.
154/3 Licton Springs 1913-1974, n.d.
154/4 Licton Springs 1913-1974, n.d.
154/5 Lincoln Park 1934-1969, n.d.
154/6 Lincoln Park 1934-1969, n.d.
154/7 Lincoln Park 1934-1969, n.d.
154/8 Lincoln Park 1934-1969, n.d.
154/9 Lincoln Park 1934-1969, n.d.
154/10 Lincoln Park 1934-1969, n.d.
154/11 Lincoln Park 1931-1936, n.d.
154/12 Lincoln Park 1931-1936, n.d.
154/13 Lincoln Park 1931-1936, n.d.
154/14 Lowman Beach 1936
154/15 Madison Beach 1936-1967, n.d.
154/16 Madison Beach 1936-1967, n.d.
154/17 Madison Beach 1903-1967, n.d.
154/18 Madison Beach 1903-1967, n.d.
154/19 Madison Pool 1972
154/20 Madrona Park and Beach 1890-1972, n.d.
154/21 Madrona Park and Beach 1890-1972, n.d.
154/22 Madrona Park and Beach 1948-1956, n.d.
154/23 Madrona Park and Beach 1948-1956, n.d.
154/24 Madrona Playground 1965-1967, n.d.
154/25 Magnolia Boulevard and Playfield 1900-1956, n.d.
154/26 Magnolia Boulevard and Playfield 1939-1948, n.d.
154/27 Magnuson Park n.d.
154/28 Maple Leaf 1937
154/29 Matthews Beach 1952-1962, n.d.
154/30 McCurdy Park/Museum of History and Industry n.d.
154/31 McGraw Square n.d.
154/32 Meadowbrook Pool and Playfield 1959-1975, n.d.
154/33 Miller Playfield 1955-1958, n.d.
154/34 Montlake Playfield 1934-1967, n.d.
154/35 Montlake Playfield 1934-1967, n.d.
154/36 Montlake Playfield 1934-1967, n.d.
155/1 Mt. Baker Park and Boulevard 1910-1913, n.d.
155/2 Mt. Baker Park and Boulevard n.d.
155/3 Park Department Productions 1919-1957, n.d.
155/4 Parson's Gardens 1956, n.d.
155/5 Passage Point 1963-1969
155/6 Pinehurst Playground 1961
155/7 Pioneer Square 1895-1960, n.d.
155/8 Pioneer Square 1895-1960, n.d.
155/9 Pioneer Square 1939-1960, n.d.
155/10 Pioneer Square 1939-1960, n.d.
155/11 Prefontaine Place 1968
155/12 Pritchard's Island 1936-1937
155/13 Queen Anne Boulevard 1903-1936
155/14 East Queen Anne Playground 1911-1951, n.d.
155/15 West Queen Anne Playfield 1936-1965, n.d.
155/16 West Queen Anne Playfield 1936-1965, n.d.
155/17 Rainier Beach Community Center 1952-1969
155/18 Rainier Playfield 1966
155/19 Ravenna Park 1909-1958, n.d.
155/20 Ravenna Park 1909-1958, n.d.
155/21 Ravenna Park 1909-1958, n.d.
155/22 Ravenna Park 1909-1958, n.d.
155/23 Ravenna Park 1895-1958, n.d.
155/24 Ravenna Park 1895-1958, n.d.
155/25 Red Bard Ranch 1970, n.d.
155/26 Riverview Playfield 1966
155/27 Rizal Park n.d.
155/28 Roanoke Park n.d.
155/29 Rodgers (David) Park 1936-1965, n.d.
155/30 Rodgers (David) Park 1935-1936, n.d.
156/1 Rogers Playground 1910-1969
156/2 Ross Playground 1911
156/3 Roxhill Playground 1953-1969
156/4 Salmon Bay Park ca. 1910
156/5 Sandal Playfield 1968-1974
156/6 Sayres Park 1960-1965, n.d.
156/7 Sayres Park 1960-1965, n.d.
156/8 Sayres Park 1960-1965, n.d.
156/9 Sayres Park n.d.
156/10 Sayres Park n.d.
156/11 Sayres Park n.d.
156/12 Sayres Park n.d.
156/13 Sayres Park n.d.
156/14 Schmitz Park 1913-1915
156/15 Schmitz Park 1948-1954, n.d.
156/16 Seward Park 1910-1938, n.d.
156/17 Seward Park 1910-1938, n.d.
156/18 Seward Park 1910-1938, n.d.
156/19 Seward Park 1910-1938, n.d.
156/20 Seward Park 1910-1938, n.d.
156/21 Seward Park 1923-1962, n.d.
156/22 Seward Park 1923-1962, n.d.
156/23 Seward Park 1923-1962, n.d.
156/24 Seward Park 1935, n.d.
156/25 Snoqualmie Ski Area 1937-1938, n.d.
156/26 Snoqualmie Ski Area 1937-1938, n.d.
156/27 Soundview Playfield 1959-1961
156/28 South Park Playfield ca. 1910
156/29 South Seattle Playground 1965, n.d.
156/30 Spring Street Mini Park 1971
156/31 Sunrise Terrace Park ca. 1950
156/32 Sunset Hill Park 1935, n.d.
156/33 Tilikum Place 1911-1968, n.d.
156/34 Tilikum Place 1975, n.d.
156/35 Union Station Square 1929
156/36 University Playfield 1913, n.d.
156/37 Van Asselt Playfield 1937-1938
156/38 Victory Heights Playground 1961
156/39 View Ridge Playground 1950-1955, n.d.
157/1 Volunteer Park 1904-1909
157/2 Volunteer Park 1909
157/3 Volunteer Park 1914-1961, n.d.
157/4 Volunteer Park 1910-1932, n.d.
157/5 Volunteer Park 1903-1961, n.d.
157/6 Volunteer Park 1903-1961, n.d.
157/7 Volunteer Park 1903-1961, n.d.
157/8 Volunteer Park 1903-1961, n.d.
157/9 Volunteer Park 1909-1935, n.d.
157/10 Volunteer Park 1909-1935, n.d.
157/11 Volunteer Park 1909-1935, n.d.
157/12 Volunteer Park 1909-1935, n.d.
157/13 Volunteer Park, Seattle Art Museum 1950, n.d.
157/14 Wallingford Playfield 1965-1971
157/15 Washington Park 1903-1936, n.d.
157/16 Washington Park 1903-1936, n.d.
157/17 Washington Park 1934-1972, n.d.
157/18 (Martha) Washington School 1966-1975
157/19 West Seattle Recreation Center: Camp Long 1937-1969, n.d.
157/20 West Seattle Recreation Center: Camp Long 1937-1969, n.d.
157/21 West Seattle Recreation Center: Camp Long 1937-1969, n.d.
157/22 West Seattle Golf Course 1936-1939
157/23 West Seattle Golf Course 1936-1939
157/24 West Seattle Golf Course 1936-1939
157/25 West Seattle Stadium 1936-1961, n.d.
157/26 West Seattle Stadium 1936-1961, n.d.
157/27 West Seattle Stadium 1936-1961, n.d.
157/28 West Seattle Stadium 1936-1961, n.d.
157/29 West Seattle Stadium 1936-1961, n.d.
158/1 Westlake Square 1917-1966, n.d.
158/2 Westlake Square 1917-1966, n.d.
158/3 Westlake Square 1917-1966, n.d.
158/4 Woodland Park 1891
158/5 Woodland Park 1891-1936, n.d.
158/6 Woodland Park 1902-1912, n.d.
158/7 Woodland Park 1904-1912, n.d.
158/8 Woodland Park 1902-1910, n.d.
158/9 Woodland Park 1902-1910, n.d.
158/10 Woodland Park 1913-1971, n.d.
158/11 Woodland Park 1913-1971, n.d.
158/12 Woodland Park 1913-1971, n.d.
158/13 Woodland Park 1913-1971, n.d.
158/14 Woodland Park 1910-1967, n.d.
158/15 Woodland Park 1910-1967, n.d.
158/16 Woodland Park, Rose Garden n.d.
158/17 Woodland Park, Rose Garden n.d.
158/18 Woodland Park Zoo 1914, n.d.
158/19 Woodland Park Zoo 1914, n.d.
158/20 Woodland Park Zoo 1911-1914
158/21 Woodland Park Zoo 1911, n.d.
158/22 Woodland Park Zoo 1934-1975, n.d.
158/23 Woodland Park Zoo 1934-1975, n.d.
159/1 Woodland Park Zoo 1934-1975, n.d.
159/2 Woodland Park Zoo 1934-1975, n.d.
159/3 Woodland Park Zoo 1934-1975, n.d.
159/4 Woodland Park Zoo 1934-1975, n.d.
159/6 Woodland Park Zoo 1934-1975, n.d.
159/7 Woodland Park Zoo 1917-1956, n.d.
159/8 Woodland Park Zoo 1934-1949, n.d.
159/9 Woodland Park Zoo 1950
159/10 Woodland Park Zoo 1950
159/11 Woodland Park Zoo 1950
159/12 Woodland Park Zoo 1891, n.d.
159/13 Potlatch Parade 1911
159/14 Potlatch Parade 1911
159/15 Potlatch Parade 1911
159/16 Potlatch Parade 1911
159/17 Potlatch Parade 1911
159/18 Parks and Recreation Department Staff 1903-1974
159/19 Billboards 1965-1966
159/20 Bond Issues 1958
159/21 Frederick and Nelson Window Displays 1967
159/22 King County Courthouse 1927
159/23 Swing Seat from Playgrounds n.d.
159/24 Seattle Mayors 1923-1929
159/25 Unidentified Aerial Photographs 1946-1964, n.d.
159/26 Unidentified Photographs 1913, n.d.
159/27 Unidentified Photographs 1968, n.d.
159/28 Unidentified Photographs 1956-1957, n.d.
159/29 Miscellaneous Photographs 1934-1936, n.d.
159/30 Miscellaneous Photographs 1934-1936, n.d.

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Subjects

This collection is indexed under the following headings in the online catalog. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons, or places should search the catalog using these headings.

  • Personal Names :
  • Sherwood, Donald N., 1916-1981  ( collector)
  • Corporate Names :
  • Forward Thrust and Capital Improvement Program (Seattle, Wash.)
  • Geographical Names :
  • Seattle (Wash.)
  • Subject Terms :
  • Beaches--Washington (State)--Seattle
  • Community centers--Washington (State)--Seattle
  • Golf courses--Washington (State)--Seattle
  • Parks--Planning--Washington (State)--Seattle
  • Parks--Washington (State)--Seattle
  • Playgrounds--Washington (State)--Seattle
  • Sports & recreation facilities--Washington (State)--Seattle
    • Form or Genre Terms :
    • Photographs
    • Other Creators :
    • Olmsted Brothers--Correspondence
    • Seattle (Wash.). Department of Parks and Recreation

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