A City at Work: Images from the Seattle Municipal Archives Photo Collection

Parks Activities: Introduction

In The 1950 Department of Public Parks Annual Report, Superintendent Paul V. Brown wrote, "All work, work, work, and worry, worry, worry, would make for a dull people and a dreary city. . . . the intent and purpose of the [Parks] Board [is]to provide types and varieties of public recreation facilities, services and opportunities that would best promote the general welfare, including protection and enhancement of the physical beauty of the City." The Parks Department has offered or facilitated a variety of recreational activities for more than a century, and these have included, among other things, sports, play, contests, performing and visual arts, instruction, festivals, celebrations, and cultural events.

Display Board Donated by Foster & Kleiser, 1965. [Item No: 30987]

The Archives' best source of images covering Parks sports and recreation is the Ben Evans Recreation Program Collection, with almost 500 pictures viewable at the Photograph Collection Index. Other recreation photos are available on the Index and at the Seattle Municipal Archives.

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