Brandywine Park was the first city park established by the city of

Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington ( Lenape: ''Paxahakink /'' ''Pakehakink)'' is the largest city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish settlement in North America. It lies at the confluence of the Christina ...

. It is located on the banks of Brandywine Creek, between Augustine Road and North Market Street. The park was established in 1886, and was designed by Samuel Canby, the city's parks commissioner, in consultation with

Frederick Law Olmsted Frederick Law Olmsted (April 26, 1822August 28, 1903) was an American landscape architect, journalist, social critic, and public administrator. He is considered to be the father of landscape architecture in the USA. Olmsted was famous for co- ...

. Although initially laid out as a bucolic park with winding paths and roadways, it has since expanded to include active recreation facilities. The park is approximately 178 acres and it spans both the north and south banks of the Brandywine. Much of the park has been preserved as a mix of wilderness and open space with walking trails and scenic views of the creek and surrounding woods. The open space section of the park includes two formal gardens, a rose garden and a

cherry blossom A cherry blossom, also known as Japanese cherry or sakura, is a flower of many trees of genus ''Prunus'' or ''Prunus'' subg. ''Cerasus''. They are common species in East Asia, including China, Korea and especially in Japan. They generally ...

garden. The

Brandywine Zoo Brandywine Zoo is a small zoo that opened in 1905 in Brandywine Park in Wilmington, Delaware, United States. It is located on the banks of the Brandywine River. The zoo is managed by the Delaware Division of Parks and Recreation and supported ...

was created in 1905 and now occupies 4.75 acres of the park. Brandywine Park also includes active recreational facilities including playgrounds, athletic fields, and Baynard Stadium. The park was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1976. It is a unit of Delaware's

Wilmington State Parks Wilmington State Parks is a state park located in Wilmington, Delaware. Open year round, the park is approximately of land mostly situated along the Brandywine Creek. The state park is made up of a group of smaller parks that are administrativ ...

References

National Register of Historic Places in Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington, Delaware Parks on the National Register of Historic Places in Delaware {{Delaware-NRHP-stub

See also

References