Tacoma's Parks
Tacoma's Parks

Author: Melissa McGinnis

Publisher: Arcadia Publishing

Published: 2007

Total Pages: 134

ISBN-13: 9780738548968

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When civic benefactor Clinton P. Ferry donated a graceful, elliptically shaped plot of land in 1883 for the first park in Tacoma, he hoped his adopted hometown would do him proud and become a veritable city of parks. The young community did not disappoint. Landmarks such as Wright Park, Lincoln Park, and Point Defiance Park graced the landscape by 1900, a testament to Tacomas appreciation for beauty, conservation, and recreation, which continues to this day. In 1907, residents voted to establish the Metropolitan Park District of Tacoma, Washingtons first independent parks municipality, to act as steward of these civic treasures. A century later, Metro Parks Tacoma embraces some 57 parks covering 2,700 acres, as well as swimming pools, sports complexes, community centers, and recreational programs for all ages.

Tacoma's Wright Park
Tacoma's Wright Park

Author: Melissa McGinnis

Publisher: Arcadia Publishing

Published: 2008

Total Pages: 132

ISBN-13: 9780738559322

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The origins of Wright Park date to 1886, when the Tacoma Land Companythe real estate agency of the Northern Pacific Railwaydonated 27 acres of land to the newly incorporated and booming young railroad town of Tacoma on the condition that it become a city park. A hilly, logged, and brambly parcel of land, the acreage was nonetheless enthusiastically received by citizens of Tacoma. Named in honor of Charles Barstow Wright, the president of the Tacoma Land Company, Wright Park and its surrounding streets and avenues soon became the early address of distinction for Tacomas grand residences as well as many educational, religious, and medical institutions. Now, more than a century later, Tacomas landmark Wright Park is the recipient of renewed citizen investment and appreciation, as this photographic retrospective demonstrates.

Tacoma's Point Defiance Park
Tacoma's Point Defiance Park

Author: Melissa McGinnis

Publisher: Arcadia Publishing

Published: 2012

Total Pages: 130

ISBN-13: 0738595918

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For more than a century, the citizens of Tacoma have valued Point Defiance Park as a forested refuge and an urban oasis. The community treasures its history and ecology as the crown jewel of the city's public spaces. Today's park amenities are designed to foster appreciation for the rich historic and environmental heritage of "Tacoma's Great Pride" and serve an estimated two million visitors annually.