Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board
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| Board overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | 1883 |
| Jurisdiction | City of Minneapolis |
| Employees | 500 full-time 1,300 part-time |
| Annual budget | $111 million |
| Board executive |
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| Website | minneapolisparks |
| Area | 6,804 acres (27.53 km2) |
| Visitors | 23 million |
| Paths | 102 miles (164 km) |
| Golf courses | 7 |
| Facilities | 179 |
The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board (MPRB) is an independent park district that owns, maintains, and programs activities in public parks in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It has 500 full-time and 1,300 part-time employees and an $111 million operating and capital budget.
The Minneapolis park system has been called the best-designed, best-financed, and best-maintained in America. Minneapolis was rated the #1 park system in the country for the fifth year in a row by the Trust for Public Land in 2017.
The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board was created by an act of the Minnesota State Legislature and a vote of Minneapolis residents in 1883. Charles M. Loring was elected the first president of the board. Loring convinced landowners to donate property around Lake Calhoun, Lake Harriet and Lake of the Isles, as well as on Minnehaha Creek.
Loring hired Horace Cleveland to create the original plan for Minneapolis parks in 1883, Cleveland's finest landscape architecture, preserving geographical landmarks and linking them with boulevards and parkways. Loring and Cleveland were instrumental in creating Minnehaha Park, with its falls as a centerpiece.
Theodore Wirth was superintendent from 1906 to 1936 and oversaw the expansion of Minneapolis parks from 1,810 acres to 5,241. Wirth was an advocate of active recreation in all city parks and put up signs saying "Please Walk on the Grass." Wirth also promoted neighborhood parks for the whole city, his plans called for a playground within one-quarter mile of every child and a recreation center within one-half mile of all residents. In 2017, 97% of all residents live within a 10-minute walk of a park.
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