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City Recreation history
City Recreation company history timeline
The City was incorporated on April 4, 1850.
In 1850, the Hugh Dimond family bought the land from the Peraltas.
The early stages of park development, for the city of Atlanta, date back to the antebellum era with the 1858 debut of the city’s first public park.
The City of Phoenix's original town site was founded as farming homestead in 1867 by Jack Swilling, a Civil War veteran who was stationed in Arizona during the war.
Many years later, the park was sold by the state in 1870.
In 1871 the Maricopa County was formed by splitting the Yavapai County, and the growing Phoenix town site was now a central community in the valley.
In 1876, the city developed a park around the grounds of city hall.
The structure which was built in 1877, has been preserved as a museum and contains displays of many original family possessions of the period.
In 1879, Hugh Dimond built a playhouse for his son out of the original adobe bricks from the Peralta house.
1880 Baxter Square Park is purchased, becoming Louisville's first park.
Then in the 1880's the population grew fivefold.
Regarded as the city’s only park, it was sold in 1881 after the success of the annual International Cotton Exposition to a cotton manufacturer.
In 1882, the first Parks Commission was established to oversee the direction of the city parks and playgrounds.
From humble beginnings, City Council created the Department of Parks in 1889.
1890 Board of Parks Commissioners of the City of Louisville established by law and vote of the people.
The Des Moines Parks and Recreation Department was established in 1892.
Work on the boulevard system began in 1893 with the development of Independence and Gladstone Boulevards.
Acquisition of properties began in earnest when, in 1895, the city approved a charter amendment to give the Park Board power to condemn land, issue bonds and receive special taxes.
In 1896, Swope deeded to the city more than 1,300 acres, which became the park that bears his name and the largest park in the system.
Specifically, Mayor Livingston Mims (elected in 1901), not only endorsed many civic improvements (such as allocating more money to parks), he encouraged the development of smaller neighborhood parks.
By the turn of the century, the city continued to acquire park land with the purchase of 185 acre Piedmont Park from the Cotton States and International Exposition Company in 1904.
White was the logical choice, having returned in 1906 from a six-year business sojourn in the East during which he became an expert on park development while working in many major Eastern cities.
Funding The center and park site were purchased from the Leon deFremery family by the City Council in 1907 for $135,000.
In 1908 the Olmsted Master Plan for Spokane proposed an ambitious development that called for four massive new parks, five smaller local parks, 11 playfields, numerous parkways, and major improvements to 10 existing parks.
Today with 150 recreation centers, Ann Street Recreation Center (near City Hall) being the first, opened its doors in 1908.
The first playgrounds opened through the department in 1909 at Mims and Joyner Parks.
Reform mayor William Jay Gaynor appointed reform–minded Charles Stover to serve as Manhattan Parks Commissioner in 1910, and the city began to link parks, active recreation, and social progress.
The playground opened in June 1910, and served as a neighborhood family center.
In 1910, control of directing play facilities was consolidated when the department created the Playground Director’s position.
Stover established the first Bureau of Recreation in 1910, and his tenure was notable for dozens of upgraded and newly built playground sites, and the attention the Parks Department paid to cultural and recreational programs for children, from track meets to folk dancing.
The Bureau of Recreation continued the efforts of the department to address the city's recreation needs, and Lee's 1912 report boasted, “The development of the grounds now under course of construction will be an additional gain to playground work in this City.
Children's camps and family camp as a municipal recreation service began in 1913.
The site of this playhouse is where the now existing "Boy Scout Hut" stands (note: The structure has been damaged by fire and is pending repairs). In 1917, the City of Oakland Parks Department purchased 12 acres of land along the Sausal Creek to be used as a park site.
Camp High Sierra in the Mammoth region opened to families in 1924 and has proved popular to this day with generations of the same family members attending the camp.
Then came the local camps; Griffith Park Boys Camp opened in 1925 and a year later Hollywoodland Girls Camp opened.
In 1925, the first patent for South Mountain Park was secured by presidential decree.
The clubhouse was used as headquarters for the City WPA Recreation Service Project during the late 1930’s.
In 1933, the City Charter was amended to form the Parks, Playground and Recreation Board.
1934 Olmsted firm will no longer be under contract, except for special projects.
Year–round recreation became one of Parks Commissioner Robert Moses' goals after assuming responsibility of a citywide Parks Department in 1934.
One of the first large public–private initiatives of the Moses administration was the “Learn to Swim” programs at pools across the city in the summer of 1934, which served several thousand adults and children.
The commitment to recreation is perhaps best expressed in the example of the nine “War Memorial Playgrounds” that were built in 1934.
The original park area was purchased from the Central Bank of Oakland in 1935.
In the Staten Island Greenbelt, the 18,000 square-foot facility is the first public recreation center built in Staten Island since the Cromwell Center in Tompkinsville opened in 1936.
The federal government through its W.P.A. programs developed the park site (1936-39).
1938 Iroquois Amphitheater, constructed by WPA labor, opens.
By 1938 the City was sponsoring organized recreation activities for the community and had a volunteer recreation commission that received an annual budget of $8,830 from the City’s general revenue fund.
1939 – Douglass Pool was built for about $10,000.
In 1941, W. Clarence Harris became the first full-time recreation director for the City.
Charlie Vettiner becomes director of Jefferson County Playground and Recreation Board, succeeding Ray Baer, who served from 1944.
1944 Jefferson County Playground and Recreation Board begins, with funding from Fiscal Court and free use of County Board of Education school sites.
1946 Jefferson Memorial Forest's initial tracts acquired.
At the beginning of 1946, Parks officials noted that children played checkers, handball, horseshoe pitching, jacks, paddle tennis, and shuffleboard, and participated in table tennis contests and outdoor track meets.
In 1947, after the war ended, voters approved a bond issue for parks and playgrounds for $12.5 million.
Under the supervision of the Oakland Recreation Department, the clubhouse reopened in 1948 as a settlement house type of community center, with a resident director.
A Department of Parks and Recreation was created as a part of the Home Rule Charter of the City of Columbia, passed in 1949.
1950 – Doctor Frank E. Dexheimer Shelter in Cosmo Park was completed.
The Opening Day Brochure, March 30, 1951 explained, “Experience has taught the Park Department that, although the park system has been greatly expanded, its present program is decidedly weak in one respect.
The first, St Mary's Recreation Center in historic St Mary's Park in the Bronx was completed in 1951.
The facility was originally known as the Brownsville Boys' Club, and had been opened in 1953 after years of planning by a group of public–minded Brooklynites under the guidance of Abe Stark, President of the City Council of New York.
In June 1955, the development of Dimond Recreation Center was spearheaded by an active neighborhood committee interested in, community improvement with a specific desire that a center building be erected which would provide program facilities for all age groups.
A proposal in 1955 to build an old-age center near the Ramble in Central Park was rejected, and a contribution by the Florina Lasker Foundation withdrawn, when bird enthusiasts protested the plan.
A recreation center was built at St John's Park in 1956, and a center was eventually built on the planned site in Crotona Park, but other centers fell by the wayside.
The modern type Dimond Recreation Center was opened in September 1957 in the wooded ravine adjacent to the Lions Pool site.
1958 – Kiwanis Club donated 20 acres south of Russell School.
A field house built on the site was Oakland's first recreation building and remained standing until 1958, when it was raised in anticipation of current playground improvements.
1959 – Disposal of Christmas trees was started.
1961 – E. F. Heidman “loaned” 10 acres for Khoary League ballfields.
1961 – Three ballfields were built near West Junior High.
1962 – Voters again rejected purchase of Gordon Tract (Grindstone Park) by 3,236 against to 2,136 for.
1963 – A private group purchased the Gordon Tract for $114,500 to hold it for park use.
1964 – The present Parks and Recreation Department was established on June 1 with the passage of the Home Rule Charter for Columbia.
1964 Waverly Park acquired by County.
1964 – The Athletic Club was constructed and the City purchased 3.2 acres north of Douglass Pool for $17,000.
1965 – The American Legion Post agreed to build a ballfield on their property and construction started on Hickman Pool.
Funding The present center/studio building - constructed and furnished in 1965 at a cost of $180,000 from federal and local funds.
1967 – The second (east) shelter was built in Kiwanis Park for $6,000.
1968 City and County parks and recreation departments merged, forming Metropolitan Park and Recreation Board ("Metro Parks"). First Director is Charlie Vettiner.
By 1968 the department had 2,201 acres devoted to park use (note the 1968 park plan recommended immediate acquisition of 846 acres to bring total park acreage to 3,164, acres).
1969 – Richard L. Green became director.
1969 – Nifong Park was acquired for a total of $104,500, of which $52,250 was Federal money.
1970 Metro Parks is headed by Carl Bradley.
In addition to the Center, a unique award winning Children’s Theatre was at a cost of $11,500 but was subsequently destroyed by fire in 1970 and not replaced.
1971 – 55 acre Albert-Oakland was acquired for $90,000, of which $45,000 was Federal money.
On May 4, 1974, Spokane's Expo '74 World's Fair opened to the public.
1974 Major tornado damage occurs in Cherokee and George Rogers Clark parks.
1974 – 27 acre Fairview Park was acquired for $102,500, with $51,250 being Federal grant money.
1976 – Rockbridge Neighborhood Park (3 acres) was bought for $31,500, of which $10,000 was Federal money.
1977 Metro Parks is headed by Bob Kirchdorfer.
1977 – Oakwood Hills (8 acres) was acquired for $83,000, of which $10,000 was Federal money.
1977 – Valleyview Park (8 acres) was bought for $24,000, of which $10,000 was Federal money.
In 1978, the Department of Parks and Recreation was reorganized to include on Director as administrative head and three superintendents who are responsible for the management of specific aspects of the department.
1978 – Rock Hill Park (5 acres) was obtained by a Community Development Block Grant for $18,000, with another $10,000 for improvements.
1978 – Brown’s Station Park (6 acres) was bought for $20,000, of which $7,500 was Federally funded.
In 1979, the departmental logo was created by a Adamsville Recreation Center facility manager.
1992 Metro Parks is headed by Brigid Sullivan.
1995 Otter Creek Park becomes a division of Metro Parks.
1998 The Parks Department manages 112 parks, 12,600 acres, 9 golf courses, 14 swimming pools, and 19 community centers!
2000 South Louisville Community Center opens as newest recreation facility in Metro Parks system.
2001 56-acre Thurman Hutchins Park opens.
2002 Louisville Extreme Park and 130-acre Miles Park open; Fairmount Falls Park acquired.
2003 Metro Parks becomes a department of Louisville/Jefferson County Metro Government, as City and County governments merge.
2004 Louisville Tennis Center reopens with new operator after falling into disrepair two years before.
2005 Mayor Abramson and Humana co-founder David A. Jones unveil City of Parks expansion and improvement initiative.
2006 Wallace Roberts & Todd selected by 21st Century Parks to develop master plan for the Floyds Fork Greenway Project, part of the City of Parks initiative.
2007 Louisville Metro Parks became one of only 73 parks and recreation agencies in the nation to be accredited by the Commission for Accreditation of Park and Recreation Agencies.
2008 A September windstorm does heavy damage to dozens of parks and the Olmsted Parkways, while leaving most community centers without power.
An ice storm in January 2009 also does major damage and requires extensive work in the parks and parkways.
Two major PlaNYC projects are in design and should go into construction in 2009—a recreation center at Ocean Breeze Park on Staten Island and the McCarren Pool and Recreation Center in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.
2010 Metro Parks unveils new aquatics plan focusing on outdoor, low-cost, low-maintenance spraygrounds.
New facilities opened in Shelby, Wyandotte, Petersburg and LaPorte parks, and four more open during 2011.
Also new is the Eva Bandman Cyclocross Venue, which will host the 2013 World Championships, the first time this event will be held outside of Europe.
2013 Iroquois Park becomes host of the annual Jack O'Lantern Spectacular, created by Passion For Pumpkins, Inc. and operated as a fundraiser for the Louisville Metro Parks Foundation.
In 2015, a new, state-of-the-art playground is installed at California Park thanks to the partnership.
2017 A new cricket field at Hays Kennedy Park is established and dedicated in the name of Indian superstar Sunil Gavaskar.
2019 Dana Kasler is named director of Parks and Recreation.
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City Recreation competitors
| Company name | Founded date | Revenue | Employee size | Job openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hesperia Recreation Park District | 1984 | $810,000 | 50 | - |
| Parks and Recreation | - | $190,000 | 8 | - |
| Charleston Parks Conservancy | 2006 | $1.6M | 15 | - |
| YMCA of Memphis | 1855 | $50.0M | 560 | 65 |
| Elmhurst Park District | - | $5.2M | 75 | 5 |
| Boys & Girls Clubs of Northwest New Jersey | 1970 | $5.0M | 125 | 12 |
| Chico Rec | - | $4.7M | 28 | - |
| Massanetta Springs | 1995 | $1.6M | 15 | - |
| South Suburban Parks and Recreation | 1959 | $4.4M | 50 | 47 |
| Monmouth County Park System | - | $480,000 | 50 | - |
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