Seattle Department of Parks and Recreation
 |
|
| Department overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | 1887 |
| Jurisdiction | City of Seattle |
| Headquarters | 100 Dexter Ave N Seattle, WA 98109 United States 47°37′09″N 122°20′31″W / 47.619195°N 122.341928°WCoordinates: 47°37′09″N 122°20′31″W / 47.619195°N 122.341928°W |
| Department executive |
|
| Key document | |
| Website | seattle |
Seattle Parks and Recreation, officially the Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR), is the department of government of the city of Seattle, Washington, responsible for maintaining the city's parks, open space, and community centers.
The total area of the properties maintained by the department is over 6,200 acres (25 km2), which makes up approximately 11% of the total area of Seattle. Of those 6,200 acres (25 km2), 4,600 acres (19 km2) are developed.
As of 2007, the department managed 450 parks, 485 buildings, and 22 miles (35 km) of boulevards. Facilities include 185 athletic fields, 122 children's playgrounds, four golf courses, 151 outdoor tennis courts and an indoor tennis center, 26 community centers, two outdoor and eight indoor swimming pools, as well as viewpoints, fishing piers, boat ramps, the Volunteer Park conservatory, the Washington Park Arboretum, the Seattle Aquarium, and the Woodland Park Zoo.
The department's 2007 operating budget was US$117 million. Its largest park is Discovery Park in Magnolia, and its oldest park Denny Park in South Lake Union.
Seattle Parks and Recreation is run by a superintendent and advised by a volunteer Board of Park Commissioners.
The Seattle Board of Park Commissioners was established in 1887 to oversee the city's first park, known at that time as Seattle Park. Originally the Seattle Cemetery, the site was donated in 1884 by Seattle pioneer David Denny; today it is Denny Park. In 1892 the position of Park Supervisor was created, with E.O. Schwagerl being the first to hold the office. There was no budget at the time to purchase parks, but Schwagerl envisioned parks extending north along the Lake Washington shore from the Bailey Peninsula (today's Seward Park) to Madison Park with a boulevard along roughly the northern third of this, from Leschi to Madison Park.
...
Wikipedia