Elm Park may be old, but it was not the first park in the U.S.
WORCESTER � Many Worcesterites claim their beloved Elm Park as the first public park in the U.S. However, this is not exactly the case.
The confusion may have something to do with the inscription at the gates of the park, which reads: "This section of Elm Park containing 27 acres deeded to the city of Worcester March 17 and March 20 1854 by Levi Lincoln and John Hammond was the first purchase of land for a public park in the United States."
But Elm Park was not the first public park in the United States. In fact, there are several other contenders for that title. Boston Public Garden was established in 1837 when Horace Gray petitioned for the land to become the first public botanical garden in the U.S., but it was not until April 26, 1856, that the Boston City Council sanctioned the land for that use.
According to the City of New York Parks and Recreation, Bowling Green Park located in Lower Manhattan was built in 1733 and is considered the oldest public park in New York City. Manhattan's Central Park and Brooklyn's Washington Park are also among the oldest public parks.
Bushnell Park in Hartford also claims to be the oldest public park. According to the park's website, the land was approved for public expenditure on Jan. 5, 1854, making it the first municipal park in the nation.
Although Elm Park was one of the first of its kind, it has undergone several makeovers since its establishment. Now located between Park Avenue, Highland, Russell and Elm Streets, it has come a long way since its humble beginnings.
The cost of the land, $11,257, brought opposition from citizens who believed it was too much to pay for "a swamp on the outskirts of the village."
In 1873 work began on the park, and ponds were built to act as natural drainage for the marshland. An extensive variety of trees and flowers were planted and walking paths were constructed. The park was completed in 1882.
In the early days, Elm Park, originally known as the Common, was little more than a swamp used as a pasture and dumpsite. Thanks to Edward Winslow Lincoln, who eventually served as the main architect for the park, the area known today as Elm Park took shape decades after the land was purchased. Lincoln urged the city to provide money to renovate the park, arguing that the rapidly growing city needed more open space. In 1882 Lincoln was granted funding and the title of Worcester's first parks commissioner.
Elm Park became a favorite place for carnivals and circuses, in addition to being a popular place for ice skating, walking and other recreation. In 1888, a steam yacht named "Mystery" was also moored in what is now Lincoln Pond for "ladies and children on pleasant afternoons."
By 1888 the city had bought Newton Hill as an extension to the park. By the turn of the century, tennis courts, located at Newton Square, were added to the park.
In 1909, Olmsted Brothers-Landscape Architects, legacy of renowned landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted (landscaper of Central Park in New York and the Biltmore Estate grounds in Asheville, N.C.), was hired to evaluate Worcester parks. Their directions for improvements at Elm Park included the addition of bridges and walking paths, new curbing for the ponds, more plantings and new locations for a baseball field, tennis court and playground.
More than 60 years later, influenced by the original Olmsted design, the park received a major refurbishment, aimed at revising the park to its old glory. After these renovations, including horticultural improvements and the restoration of two historic bridges, the park was rededicated on April 30, 1971. It was honored as a National Historic Landmark and in 1982 was listed in the National Historic Register of Historic Places.
Today, the park is undergoing another rebirth.
Worcester has allocated $1 million for park renovations, and the state is funding another $900,000 to make repairs to the playground, install light poles, replace benches and picnic tables and refurbish pond walls.
The red arching bridge that connects one side of the park to the other, once considered a modern improvement to the park, is now faded, boarded up and inaccessible. Caution tape quarantines several areas.
Although construction vehicles turn up clouds of dust along the dirt paths criss-crossing the park, the constant beep, beep, beep of the backhoe and roar of a bulldozer does not seem to bother the teens fishing in Lincoln Pond, cyclists taking a rest under the shade of a nearby weeping willow, or children toddling on picnic blankets.
The Fire Alarm and Telegraph Building, in the Newton Hill section of Elm Park, built in 1925, is also in line for refurbishment. The building, listed in the National Register of Historic Places, has been transferred to Spencer Savings Bank, which will finance renovations and have a retail office on the second floor. The first floor, with work financed by local foundations, will be designated as community space and managed by Preservation Worcester.