The Foundation for Minneapolis Parks has unveiled its new book "City of Parks: The Story of the Minneapolis Park System" to commemorate the 125th anniversary of the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board (MPRB). Available for $39.95 online and through the MPRB headquarters office, the book is the first account of park history since Theodore Wirth’s memoir was published in 1945.

City of Parks tells the stories of how Minneapolis acquired its revered parks and how the park system became an important contributor to the quality of life in all parts of the city.

Inspired by Horace Cleveland and guided by Charles Loring and William Folwell, the park board created a system of parks connected by parkways – today’s Grand Rounds – along the most scenic features of the city. But the board also acquired neighborhood parks that became centers of community life and planted the trees that shade city streets.

City of Parks relates in fascinating detail the contributions of individuals whose names grace today’s parks: Maude Armatage, Eloise Butler, George Brackett, Francis Gross and many others. In addition the book chronicles the successes we know about and the failures we’ve forgotten of prominent park superintendents, such as William Berry, Theodore Wirth, Charles Doell and Robert Ruhe.

City of Parks tells the stories of the public spaces that have become so important to Minneapolis:

·Parks that were once private gardens, garbage dumps and cemeteries
·Park Board-operated airport, golf courses and zoo
·Lakes that disappeared or were made bigger, smaller or deeper
·Redevelopment of an industrial riverfront

Since the Park Board was founded in 1883, it has battled landowners, mayors and city councils, freeway planners and permicious beetles that wiped out many of the city’s elm trees. The stories are both inspiring and instructional as Minneapolis looks to understand its past and anticipate its future.

City of Parks is available only online at www.minneapolisparks.org and www.foundationforminneapolisparks.org (news and event), or at the Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board, 2117 West River Road, Minneapolis, MN 55411 from 8 am – 4:30 pm weekdays. City of Parks features 243 pages of captivating stories and images. The 8.75 x 10.75 hardcover book is available for $39.95. All proceeds benefit The Foundation for Minneapolis Parks.