Park History

Lake Calhoun 1902

Parks, Lakes, Trails and So Much More: An Overview of the Histories of MPRB Properties is a veritable encyclopedia of Peculiar Park Particulars.

The overview contains profiles of each of the 182 park properties in the Minneapolis park system, from 0.06-acre Chowen Park to 740-acre Wirth Park. The histories were researched and written by David C. Smith, author of the book, City of Parks that was commissioned for the MPRB’s 125 anniversary in 2008.

Enjoy a stroll back in time through the hundreds of stories of what is today the premier park system in the country. For example:

When was Maude Armatage elected the first woman Park Board Commissioner and what made that date particularly fitting?
Where is The Mall? (Hint: It’s NOT in Bloomington.)
Why did the Park Board purchase Lake Nokomis?
How does the Matthews Park Recreation Center generate electricity?
Who was Edward Foote Waite and why was a park named after him?
What do Charles Webber, that park’s namesake, and John Deere (the man, not the tractor) have in common?

Primary sources for all park histories were the Annual Reports and Proceedings of the Minneapolis Board of Park Commissioners 1883-1968 and the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board 1969-2007.