Journal #3: Land History

Washington Park was designed by Reinhard Schuetze, a German landscape archtitect, and aco DeBoer who designed the park around a portion of City Ditch between the years 1899 and 1908. In 1897, three years after the area was annexed by Denver, Mayor Thomas McMurray initiated condemnation proceedings on land south of Smith Lake to create a park that incorporated the lake. Washington Park was named after the 100th anniversary of George Washington's death. Landscape architects Saco Rienk DeBoer and Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. later added their own contributions to the park including a boating pavilion and an evergreen grove just north of the park. The park was generally completed by the 1920's. Its design was influenced by city planner Kessler, the Olmsted Brothers and philanthropist Margaret Brown.

Photo credits