Our historic places make our community special and offer experiences and information that help make the past real. Take your own journey into the past at these historic places:

	BROWNS POINT LIGHTHOUSE PARK - 1901 On December 12, 1887, two years before Washington became a state, a fixed white light lens lantern was placed on a white post on Point Brown.
	CHARLOTTE'S BLUEBERRY PARK - 1994 Farmed since 1929, the last private owners of this 53 acre piece of property were Lars and Gina Berg who ran Berg's Blueberry Farm from 1952 until 1968.
	FERRY PARK - 1883 Tacoma's first park, just a little over one-half acre, was donated by C.P. and Evelyn Ferry on May 14, 1883 to show how the European custom of small parks scattered throughout the residence districts added charm.
	FIRE BOAT - 1929
	FORT NISQUALLY - 1833 Fort Nisqually was the first European settlement on Puget Sound. The Hudson's Bay Company (HBC) of London, a vast fur trading enterprise chartered by King Charles of England in 1670, established it in 1833.
	FRANKLIN PARK - 1937 Franklin Park covers more than 20 acres. The majority of the land was a gift to the Metropolitan Park District of Tacoma from the West End Playground Association in 1937.
	JACK HYDE PARK - 1972 Jack Hyde Park was initially purchased by the City of Tacoma from the Tacoma Boatbuilding Company in 1972. The park expanded to five acres with additional land purchases in 1973 and 1976.
	KANDLE PARK - 1961 In 1955, Leona Maude Kandle left the bulk of her estate to the Metropolitan Park District of Tacoma for the establishment of a public playground "for girls and women as well as boys and men".
	LINCOLN PARK - 1889 The Tacoma Land Co. donated 40 acres of land for use as a park to the City of Tacoma. In 1901 the Park Commissioners changed the name from South Park to Lincoln Park in honor of President Abraham Lincoln.
	MANITOU PARK - 1915 The Metropolitan Park District purchased 10 acres in what was the extreme southwestern corner of the city. At the time, Manitou Park was considered to be one of the best tourist camps along Pacific Highway.
	MCKINLEY PARK - 1901 The Tacoma Land and Improvement Company donated 22 acres on the east side of the City.  Landscaping crews transformed the rough, steep hill into a scenic park where a natural spring fed a lily pond and pool.
	NEIGHBORS' PARK - 2006 In the early 1990s, what is now Neighbors' Park was a single vacant lot with significant issues of blight and crime; but, with the care of watchful neighbors the space has grown into a safe, vibrant park.
	NORTH SLOPE HISTORIC DISTRICT PARK - 2002 Originally purchased by Tacoma City Light in 1951, the Substation remained in active service until 1983. The North End Neighborhood Council secured funds and the City of Tacoma became the owner.
	OLD TOWN PARK - 1940 Job Carr is one of the most noted founding fathers of Old Town Tacoma. A replica of his home, Tacoma's first residence, now serves as the Job Carr Cabin Museum at Old Town Park.
	POINT DEFIANCE PARK - 1888 U.S. President Grover Cleveland signed a bill granting Tacoma the right to use these 640 acres, an undeveloped federal military reservation, as a city park.
	POINT DEFIANCE PARK PAGODA - 1914 Inspired by Japanese architecture when it was built in 1914, the Pagoda is the focal point of Point Defiance Park's Japanese Garden. It was originally a waiting room for streetcars.
	POINT DEFIANCE PARK LODGE - 1899 The Point Defiance Lodge was a private home during most of its more-than-100-year history. Built in 1898 for Superintendent of Parks Ebenezer R. Roberts, his daughter Trillium would later recall her days growing up in the Lodge with the beauty of Point Defiance for a backyard.
	PORTLAND AVE. PARK - 1937
	PUGET PARK - 1888 On March 17, 1888 Allen C. Mason donated the first section of Puget Park "to the uses of the public forever." Additional land was later donated by Charles S. Reeves and others.
	RUSTON WAY - 1968
	SOUTH PARK - 1951
	SOUTH PARK COMMUNITY CENTER - 1941
	SWAN CREEK PARK - 1956 Local Native Americans used Swan Creek and the surrounding property for hunting and holding councils up until the mid-19th century. At one time the land was part of the Puyallup Reservation.
	TITLOW PARK - 1926
	TITLOW BEACH LODGE - 1926
	WAPATO PARK - 1888/1920 Wapato Lake was formed approximately 15,000 years ago during the retreat of the Fraser Ice Sheet. The Native American name for the lake was "Wappato" for a wild plant (sagittaria latifolia) that grew in profusion around the lake.
	W.W. SEYMOUR BOTANICAL CONSERVATORY - 1908
	WRIGHT PARK - 1886 The Tacoma Land Company's president, Charles B. Wright, donated approximately 20 acres to be developed as a public park.