Seattle Parks Superintendent's Subject Files, 1936-1993 Overview of the Collection Creator Seattle (Wash.). Dept. of Parks and Recreation Title Seattle Parks Superintendent's Subject Files Dates 1936-1993 (inclusive) 19361993 Quantity 55.8 cubic feet, (140 boxes) Collection Number 5802-01 Summary Records related to the administration of the parks system and recreation programs. Repository Seattle Municipal Archives Seattle Municipal Archives Office of the City Clerk City of Seattle PO Box 94728 98124-4728 Seattle, WA Telephone: 206-233-7807 Fax: 206-386-9025 [email protected] Access Restrictions Records are open to the public. Languages English Historical Note The Department of Parks and Recreation maintains the City's parks, shorelines, and boulevards; and administers community centers, public golf courses, and other athletic and cultural facilities. Seattle's first park was established in 1884 after David Denny donated land to the City for that purpose. At that time, a three-member park committee, with limited authority, was created to manage the nascent park system. A Board of Parks Commissioners was established in 1890 with control over all public parks and authority to appoint a Parks Superintendent. In 1896, the City Charter created the position of Superintendent of Streets, Sewers and Parks. The Parks Department became a separate entity in 1904. In 1926, a City Charter amendment abolished the position of Superintendent, distributing its responsibilities between the Head Gardener and the Landscape Architect. A 1948 City Charter amendment required the Board of Park Commissioners to appoint a park superintendent to administer the department. In 1967, another City Charter Amendment reconstituted the Board as an advisory body to the Mayor and City Council, changed the agency name to Department of Parks and Recreation, and placed fiscal and operational administration under the superintendent. In 1902 the City hired the Olmsted Brothers, the country's premier landscape architectural firm, to design a parks and boulevards system. Although not all of the plan was implemented, the Olmsted legacy is evident in many of Seattle's parks and boulevards. The City acquired significant amounts of property for park purposes following the turn of the 20th Century, but in 1926 further acquisition was limited by a City Charter amendment that stipulated only money in the Park Fund could be used for that purpose. However, Seattle Parks Superintendent's Subject Files, 1936-1993 1 http://archiveswest.orbiscascade.org/ark:/80444/xv89434 in the 1970s the Forward Thrust Bond issue, along with federal grants and the Seattle Model City Program, supported the largest expansion of the Park system in Seattle history. These programs funded more than 70 new parks and park facilities. The Department manages over 6,000 acres of park land, over two dozen community centers, five municipal golf courses, the Aquarium, and many other recreational and athletic facilities. Content Description Correspondence, memoranda, reports, and other materials related to the administration of the parks system and recreation programs. Records deal with acquisition, improvement, and management of park property and facilities; department policies and procedures; development of special projects and programs, and community activities in the parks. Use of the Collection Preferred Citation [Item and date], Superintendent's Subject Files, Record Series 5802-01. Box [number], Folder [number]. Seattle Municipal Archives. Administrative Information Detailed Description of the Collection The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection. 5802-01: Seattle Parks Superintendent's Subject Files, 1936-1993 Container(s) Description Dates Box/Folder 1/1 Alki Beach 1949-1953 1/2 Alki Natatorium 1949-1953 1/3 Alki Playground 1949-1953 1/4 Ballard Playground 1949-1952 1/5 Beacon Hill Playground 1950-1953 1/6 Brighton Playground 1950-1953 Seattle Parks Superintendent's Subject Files, 1936-1993 2 http://archiveswest.orbiscascade.org/ark:/80444/xv89434 Container(s) Description Dates 1/7 Broadway Playground 1949-1953 1/8 Colman Playground 1949-1951 1/9 Colman Pool 1949-1953 1/10 Collins Playground 1949-1950 1/11 Cleveland Playfield 1951-1952 1/12 Camp Long 1950-1952 1/13 Central School Playground 1953 1/14 Creative Dramatics 1949 1/15 Day (B.F.) Playground 1949 1/16 Delridge Playground 1949-1953 1/17 Denny (O.O.) Playground 1951-1953 1/18 East Green Lake Beach 1951-1953 1/19 East Queen Anne Playground 1950 1/20 East Beacon Hill Playground 1951 1/21 Garfield Playfield 1950-1953 1/22 Playgrounds, General 1952-1953 1/23 Playgrounds, General 1949-1952 1/24 Golden Gardens Beach 1950-1953 1/25 Beaches, General 1949-1953 1/26 Georgetown Playground 1949-1952 1/27 Green Lake Playground 1947-1953 Seattle Parks Superintendent's Subject Files, 1936-1993 3 http://archiveswest.orbiscascade.org/ark:/80444/xv89434 Container(s) Description Dates 1/28 Green Lake Beach (West) 1949-1953 1/29 Hiawatha Playground 1949-1953 1/30 Highland Park Playground 1950-1953 1/31 Hughes (E.C.) Playground 1950-1953 1/32 Interbay Playground (New) 1949-1953 1/33 Jefferson Playground 1949-1953 1/34 Joint School, Park 1953 1/35 Lakewood Playground 1952 1/36 Laurelhurst Playground 1949 2/1 Laurelhurst Playground 1950-1952 2/2 Lawton Playground 1949-1953 2/3 Lincoln Playground 1950-1953 2/4 Lower Woodland Playground 1949-1953 2/5 Loyal Heights Playground 1948-1953 2/6 Madrona Playground 1950-1951 2/7 Madrona Beach 1949-1953 2/8 Magnolia (West) Playground 1949 2/9 Magnolia (West) Playground 1949 2/10 Magnolia (West) Playground 1949 2/11 Magnolia (West) Playground, High School Basketball 1953 2/12 Magnolia (East) Playground 1949-1950 Seattle Parks Superintendent's Subject Files, 1936-1993 4 http://archiveswest.orbiscascade.org/ark:/80444/xv89434 Container(s) Description Dates 2/13 Maple Leaf Playground 1952 2/14 Magnolia Swimming Pool, Proposed 1952 2/15 Matthews Beach 1950-1952 2/16 Mercer Playground 1951-1953 2/17 Miller Playground 1950-1953 2/18 Montlake Playground 1950-1953 2/19 Mount Baker Beach 1952-1953 2/20 Music (One) 1949-1953 2/21 Music (Two) 1949-1952 2/22 Music (Three) 1951-1952 2/23 Music (Four) 1949-1952 3/1 Music (Five) 1949-1950 3/2 Music (Six) 1949 3/3 Music (Seven) 1948-1949 3/4 Music (Eight) 1947-1952 3/5 North End Pool, Proposed 1952-1953 3/6 North Park Community Center 1950 3/7 Playgrounds, Proposed 1939-1953 3/8 Playground Shops 1953 3/9 Pritchard Beach 1949-1953 3/10 Queen Anne Bowl Playground 1949-1953 Seattle Parks Superintendent's Subject Files, 1936-1993 5 http://archiveswest.orbiscascade.org/ark:/80444/xv89434 Container(s) Description Dates 3/11 Rainier Beach Playground 1949-1953 3/12 Rainier Playground 1949-1953 3/13 Ravenna Playground 1949-1951 3/14 Rogers Playground 1950 3/15 Ronald (J.T.) Playground 1952 3/16 Ross Playground 1951-1952 3/17 Seward Park Beach 1950-1952 3/18 South Park Playground 1950-1953 3/19 South Seattle Playground 1951 3/20 Tennis 1950-1953 3/21 University Playground 1953 3/22 Van Asselt Playground 1951-1953 3/23 Viewridge Playground 1950-1953 3/24 Wallingford Playground 1950-1953 3/25 Washington Irving Playground 1940-1953 3/26 West Queen Anne Playground 1949-1952 3/27 Waldo J. Dahl Playfield, Wedgwood 1947-1964 4/1 Zoo Correspondence 1951 4/2 Zoo Correspondence 1951 4/3 Zoo Correspondence 1951-1952 4/4 Zoo Correspondence 1952 Seattle Parks Superintendent's Subject Files, 1936-1993 6 http://archiveswest.orbiscascade.org/ark:/80444/xv89434 Container(s) Description Dates 4/5 Zoo Correspondence 1952 4/6 Zoo Correspondence 1953 4/7 Zoo Correspondence 1953 4/8 Zoo Correspondence 1953 4/9 Zoo, Dead Animals 1949 4/10 Zoo Correspondence 1949-1951 4/11 Zoo Correspondence 1950 4/12 Zoo Correspondence 1950 4/13 Zoo Correspondence 1949-1950 4/14 Zoo Correspondence 1948-1949 4/15 Zoo, TV and Miscellaneous 1951 5/1 A Plan for Swimming Pools, City Planning Commission 1960 5/2 Aquarium 1968 5/3 Arboretum 1965-1968 5/4 Arboretum 1962-1965 5/5 Arboretum 1965-1966 5/6 Arboretum 1964-1965 5/7 Arboretum 1962-1965 5/8 Arboretum, Capital Improvements 1963-1966 5/9 Arboretum, Capital Improvements 1963-1964 5/10 Arboretum, University Committee Report 1967 Seattle Parks Superintendent's Subject Files, 1936-1993 7 http://archiveswest.orbiscascade.org/ark:/80444/xv89434 Container(s) Description Dates 5/11 Arboretum 1963-1967 5/12 Arboretum 1967 5/13 Beacon Hill Tracts, Seattle Freeway 1964 5/14 Betterments 1965-1969 5/15 Budget, General 1963-1965 5/16 Burbank Property, Mercer island 1965 5/17 Capital Improvement Priorities 1965 5/18 Capital Improvement Program 1962-1963 5/19 Capital Landscape Service (Proposed) 1958-1959 6/1 Don Armeni Memorial Public Boat Launch 1963-1964 6/2 Don Armeni Memorial Public Boat Launching Ramp and Park 1963-1965 6/3 Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 1964 6/4 Excise Tax 1953-1965 6/5 Green Lake, Pollution 1958-1967 6/6 Green Lake, Pollution, Photos - 6/7 Interbay, Invitation to Bid 1963 6/8 Interbay Playfield 1963-1964 6/9 Interbay Playfield 1962-1963 6/10 Labor Relations 1969 6/11 Leschi Playground 1962-1963 6/12 Lincoln Park, Bishop Claim 1963-1964 Seattle Parks Superintendent's Subject Files, 1936-1993 8 http://archiveswest.orbiscascade.org/ark:/80444/xv89434 Container(s) Description Dates 6/13 Martha Washington School Site 1956-1963 6/14 Moorages 1957-1961 6/15 North Acres Park 1959-1964 6/16 NRPA Congress, Host Committee 1968 6/17 Park Board Agendas 1963-1964 6/18 Park Bonds Fund 1963 6/19 Parks and Recreation Coordinating Council, Full Council