Springfield, Illinois
Springfield is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Illinois. Its population was 114,394 at the 2020 United States census, which makes it the state's List of cities in Illinois, seventh-most populous cit ...
, listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
. Located at 1400 Williams Boulevard, the park features walking trails, a botanical garden, large duck pond, rose garden, carillon, and carillon concerts. The park was purchased for city use in 1900, and construction began in 1901. Substantial drainage and dredging were required to turn the wetland portions of the future park into ponds and grassy space. Washington Park is operated by the Springfield Park District.
Components of park
Washington Park Botanical Garden
The Washington Park Botanical Garden includes a conservatory and
botanical garden
A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens. is ...
. It is open daily during the afternoons; admission is free.
The garden consists of outdoor plantings, a
greenhouse
A greenhouse is a structure that is designed to regulate the temperature and humidity of the environment inside. There are different types of greenhouses, but they all have large areas covered with transparent materials that let sunlight pass an ...
(9,000 square feet), and a conservatory. In all it contains over 1200
species
A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...
, including over 150 species of tropical plants. Outdoor gardens include a
cactus
A cactus (: cacti, cactuses, or less commonly, cactus) is a member of the plant family Cactaceae (), a family of the order Caryophyllales comprising about 127 genera with some 1,750 known species. The word ''cactus'' derives, through Latin, ...
rock garden
A rock garden, also known as a rockery and formerly as a rockwork, is a garden, or more often a part of a garden, with a landscaping framework of rocks, stones, and gravel, with planting appropriate to this setting. Usually these are small ...
, and a
rose
A rose is either a woody perennial plant, perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred Rose species, species and Garden roses, tens of thousands of cultivar ...
garden (5,000 plants).
Thomas Rees Memorial Carillon
The
carillon
A carillon ( , ) is a pitched percussion instrument that is played with a musical keyboard, keyboard and consists of at least 23 bells. The bells are Bellfounding, cast in Bell metal, bronze, hung in fixed suspension, and Musical tuning, tu ...
, operated by the Springfield Park District, contains 67 bells built by Petit & Fritsen. Concerts are held year round every Sunday and on Wednesday evenings during summer months. Tower tours are available daily.
Velasco Tennis Center
The Velasco Tennis Center is a tennis facility located in the park. The facility contains 12 courts with six being lighted and a pro shop. It is the home venue for the UIS Prairie Stars men's and women's tennis teams.