- Theodore Wirth Park
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 convert|742|acre|km2|sing=on park includes twogolf course s (an 18-hole course and a 9-hole par 3 course), Wirth Lake, Birch Pond, and other amenities. It forms a significant portion of theGrand Rounds Scenic Byway , linking the Chain of Lakes area with theVictory Memorial Parkway .The park that became known as Theodore Wirth Park was established in 1889 with an initial acquisition fo 66 acres. The park currently occupies 759 acres, which is 90% of the size of
New York City 'sCentral Park at 843 acres. It was eventually named forTheodore 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 theNorth Pole . [http://www.mnmuseumofthems.org/45th/Mpls.html] The badly-weathered plaque was refurbished around 2006.External links
* [http://www.byways.org/browse/byways/2243/places/12691/ America's Byways: Theodore Wirth Park]
* [http://www.minneapolisparks.org/default.asp?PageID=4&parkid=255 Minneapolis Park & Recreation Board: Theodore Wirth Park]
* [http://www.minneapolisparks.org/documents/parks/TheodoreWirthMap.pdf Detailed Map of Theodore Wirth Park]
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