September 2010 - Parks & Recreation - 109

Home of a Parks Visionary
The Minneapolis Parks Legacy Society welcomes NRPA to Theodore Wirth's House

heodore Wirth (18631949) coined the phrase
" Parks are for the people. " As the new Superintendent of Minneapolis
Parks, he was renowned for removing " Keep Off The Grass " signs and
replacing them with " Please Walk On
The Grass " signs. A landscape architect and pioneer in public park planning, Wirth believed that landscapes
in parks could accommodate welldesigned active recreation amenities
without detracting from the beauty of
parks. By his direct influence on his
staff, on professional organizations,
and on his own family, Theodore Wirth
became a powerful force in parks and
recreation planning.
Nestled into the heart of the Minneapolis Park System, the Theodore
Wirth Home and Administration Building is respected by the National Park
Service with recognition on the National
Register of Historic Places. The Minneapolis Park Commissioners built Theodore Wirth's home to lure him from
Hartford, Connecticut, so he could focus
his artistic skills on Minneapolis parks
as superintendent. Completed in 1910,
the historic home includes Wirth's design studio and private office - the actual location where Wirth revised previous
plans and then applied his visionary ideals to create parks that would be both
beautiful and useful for the public. Rated among the best in the country since
1928, the Minneapolis Park System has
served as a model for park planners
from around the world.
Wirth's creativity was contagious.
The excitement generated from his design studio dominated the Wirth household for the next 36 years and inspired
his progeny. Learning at first on Theodore's own drafting table, his sons
Conrad L. Wirth (1899-1993) and Walter L. Wirth (1902-1958), as well as his

grandson and namesake Ted J. Wirth,
FASLA (1927-2009), carried forth his
bold mandate to create parks for the
people. They followed in his footsteps to
imprint the Wirth's park ideals onto municipal parks, state parks, and national
parks for the next 100 years.
The 1898 founding of the American
Institute of Park Executives (AIPE) is
the date from which N R PA marks its
beg i n ni ngs. T heodore Wir th was a
fou ndi ng member of A IPE, ser vi ng
once as director and three times as
president. Wa lter L . Wi r t h, Superi ntendent of Sa lem, Oregon, Parks,
ser ved A IPE t w ice as director a nd
twice as president. W hen Conrad L.
Wirth retired as the longest serving
director of the National Park Service,
he secured fu nding from the Rockefel ler Brothers Fou ndation for the
purpose of melding together all professional parks-related organizations.
Conrad represented state parks in the
process of establishing the National
Recreation and Park Association.

www . N R P A . O R G

The Minneapolis Parks Legacy
Society will host NRPA at the
Wirth House for tours as follows:
■■ NRPA

Remembers Its Historic Wirth
Roots is a Leisure Tour departing from
the Convention Center at 1:30PM on Monday, October 25.

Description: A guided tour on the
Grand Rounds Park ways along the
Chain of Lakes to the Wirth House.
■■ Blueprint for Excellence is an OSI CUE

on Tuesday, October 26, departing from
the Convention Center at 8:30 am.
Description: A guided tour of the Grand
Rounds River Road Parkway to Minnehaha Falls and to the Wirth House.
Copies of Theodore Wirth's important book, Minneapolis Park System, 18831944 will be on sale at the Wirth House
during all tours. $130.00.
Theodore Wirth's historic home and
design studio are located in Lyndale Farmstead Park at 3954 Bryant Avenue South.
-by Joan Berthiaume,
Co-founder with Ted J. Wirth, FASLA.
Minneapolis Parks Legacy Society

SEPTEMBER 2010

Parks & Recreation 107

September 2010 - Parks & Recreation

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of September 2010 - Parks & Recreation