Seattle (Wash.). Dept. of Parks and Recreation.

Seattle's first park was established in 1884 after David Denny donated land to the city and at that time a three-member park committee with limited authority was created to manage the nascent park system; a Board of Parks Commissioners was established in 1890 with control over all public parks and authority to appoint a Parks Superintendent; in 1896 the city charter created the position of Superintendent of Streets, Sewers and Parks; the Parks Department became a separate entity in 1904; in 1967 a charter amendment reconstituted the Parks Board as an advisory body and placed fiscal and administrative control of the parks under the superintendent.