Theodore Wirth Park is the largest park managed by the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board. The park land is shared by Minneapolis and the neighboring suburb of Golden Valley. The 742-acre (3.00 km2) park includes two golf courses (an 18-hole course and a 9-hole par 3 course), Wirth Lake, Birch Pond, and other amenities. It forms a significant portion of the Grand Rounds Scenic Byway, linking the Chain of Lakes area with the Victory Memorial Parkway.
The park that became known as Theodore Wirth Park was established in 1889 with an initial acquisition of 66 acres (270,000 m2). The park currently occupies 759 acres (3.07 km2), which is 90% of the size of New York City's Central Park at 843 acres (3.41 km2). It was eventually named for Theodore Wirth, who was superintendent of Minneapolis parks for 30 years from 1906 to 1936.
A geographic marker at one corner of the park grounds, at Wirth Parkway and Golden Valley Road, marks the 45 degrees latitude line, exactly halfway between the equator and the North Pole. The badly weathered plaque was refurbished around 2006.
Famous quotes containing the words theodore and/or park:
“Where there is no vision, the people perish.”
—Bible: Hebrew Proverbs 29:18.
President John F. Kennedy quoted this passage on the eve of his assassination in Dallas, Texas. Quoted in Theodore C. Sorenson, Kennedy, epilogue (1965)
“The park is filled with night and fog,
The veils are drawn about the world,”
—Sara Teasdale (1884–1933)