Washington Park

Washington Park is a roughly 150-acre public park in southwest Springfield, Illinois, and the first project of the Springfield Pleasure Driveway and Park District, formed in 1900. The district bought land that included a small private park at the end of a streetcar line and hired landscape architect Ossian Cole Simonds to plan it. Work began in June 1901. Simonds kept the hills, ravines, creeks and mature trees, built two lagoons by damming a creek, and laid out curving drives and a maple-lined entrance boulevard on Williams Boulevard. Trees removed during construction were reused for bridges, fence posts and benches. A 1903 pavilion and a streetcar shelter by architect George Helmle remain among the buildings. The park is listed for its landscape architecture, as an early example of Simonds's Prairie style of design. The period of significance runs from 1901 to 1907, when his plan was fully carried out. Later additions include a carillon, botanical garden and maintenance buildings.