[Mpls] Parks are for the masses

[Joan Berthiaume]

Theodore Wirth  coined the phrase "Parks are for People".  Public access to all parks and all park buildings was a big part of the Wirth philosophy.  He would have approved when hundreds of people took advantage of this rare opportunity to visit the  historic Theodore Wirth Home and Administration Building on Saturday, October 8, 3954 Bryant Avenue South in Lyndale Farmstead Park.

Grandson Theodore J. Wirth (Ted), a park builder like his grandfather and his father, hosted this event for the Minneapolis Parks Legacy Society.

People were waiting at the door for several hours before the tours began.  

They were greeted at the front door by Boy Scouts who explained Theodore Wirth's impact on our legacy of parks and recreation.  They also told the story of Wirth's revolutionary plan to have playgrounds within six blocks of every child's home in Minneapolis. 

Tour guides throughout the house explained the rich history of the Wirth era (1906 - 1947) in Minneapolis. 

Wirth's office and his drafting room were furnished to recreate their earlier visual character. Ted, who spent many summers staying with his grandfather,  told about his grandfather's work days in those rooms.  Within those walls and on those drafting tables Theodore Wirth implemented his DREAM ...    That Minneapolis should be known as a Garden City and become the Number One Rated Park System in the Nation. People enjoyed seeing and learning about how and where our parks were created.

 Because of Wirth's outstanding accomplishments, he gained international acclaim for Minneapolis and for himself. 

Wirth's dream is the legacy of today's Minneapolitan's. 

But there is so much more to know about Wirth's influence on the Minneapolis Park System..

Ted Wirth established the Minneapolis Parks Legacy Society.  In 2002 the Society accomplished recognition for the Theodore Wirth Home and Administration Building to be placed on the National Register of Historic Places.  

One of the Society's goals is to protect this historic home and take responsibility for accurate  interpretation of the historic era of Theodore Wirth that has been identified and recognized by the National Park Service.   

Using the park board's agreements with the Stevens House and the Ard Godfrey House as the precedent, the Society has asked the Minneapolis Park Board for permission to create an interpretive learning center within the building - as a service to the public  - at no cost to the Park Board.
        
We thank all of you for coming to the Wirth House!

Joan Berthiaume
Co-founder
Minneapolis Parks Legacy Society