{"nrhp_refnum":"70000096","name":"Elm Park","other_names":[],"category":"structure","location":{"address":"Elm Park","address_restricted":false,"city":"Worcester","county":"Worcester County","state":"MA","lat":42.26758053450007,"lon":-71.81969079107597,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1970-07-01","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Community Planning and Development","Landscape Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"Elm Park is a public park in Worcester, Massachusetts, made up of the original park bounded by Elm, Russell, Highland and Park streets, deeded to the city in 1854, and the Newton Hill addition of 1888. It was developed in 1874 under Edward Winslow Lincoln.","why_significant":"The nomination notes that Elm Park is claimed to be the first public park in America, a claim contested by Central Park in New York and others. It argues the park is also significant as a state-level first and as a local landmark in park development. Edward Winslow Lincoln made it a model with ponds, walks and mixed native and foreign plantings, and it grew into a park system of over 1000 acres.","narrative":"Elm Park is a public park in Worcester, Massachusetts, with two parts: the original park bounded by Elm, Russell, Highland and Park streets, deeded to the city in 1854 by Levi Lincoln and John Hammond, and the 1888 addition of Newton Hill. About 20 acres of the hill were later used for a high school and about 8 acres for street widening. The park was developed in 1874 under Edward Winslow Lincoln, the city's Commissioner of Shade Trees and later of Parks, who gave it ponds, walks and a mix of native and foreign trees and shrubs. A plaque claims it was the first public park in America, though Central Park in New York and other places dispute this. The listing rests on its standing as a state first and a local model of park design. From the original 28 acres grew a park system of over 1000 acres, and park records direct that Lincoln's plan be preserved.","period_of_significance":"19th Century","architect_builder":"Edward Winslow Lincoln (Commissioner of Shade Trees, later Parks)","architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"Listed as in good condition, unaltered, on its original site, occupied and in use as a park; owned by the City of Worcester.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:53.603765-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/23/7934/63793423/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/70000096.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/70000096/b3320550e1-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/70000096/b3320550e1-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"JoeyBagODonuts","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:WorcesterElmParkwithBridge.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">JoeyBagODonuts</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:WorcesterElmParkwithBridge.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63793423","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elm_Park_(Worcester,_Massachusetts)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5366301"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/worcester-county/elm-park-70000096/"}