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Point Defiance Park
Point Defiance Park in Tacoma, Washington, United States, is a large urban park. The 760-acre (3.1 km2) park includes Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium, the Rose Garden, Rhododendron Garden, beaches, trails, a boardwalk, a boathouse, a Washington State Ferries ferry dock for the Point Defiance-Tahlequah route to Vashon Island, Fort Nisqually, an off-leash dog park, and most notably about 400 acres of old-growth forest. It receives more than three million visitors every year. Point Defiance Park is maintained and operated by Metro Parks Tacoma.
Point Defiance Park offers something for all its visitors, both wildlife and people. Not all the wild animals are confined inside Zoo & Aquarium. From high bluffs overlooking the Tacoma Narrows people can watch bald eagles feed on salmon runs passing through on the strong tidal currents. Their calls can be heard from their nests in the old growth forest that is preserved and make up the northern 400 acres (1.6 km2) of the park.
In winter, sea lions migrating from California feed in the swirling tides beneath the Gig Harbor overlook on the northernmost point of the peninsula. Harbor seals are abundant near on the east facing beach approaching the point. Seal pups are frequently observed north of Owen Beach in late summer and early fall (humans and their dogs should keep their distance to avoid spooking the pups). The park also provides habitat for mule deer, red foxes, coyotes, pileated woodpeckers, Douglas squirrels, western fence lizards, garter snakes, and raccoons. Point Defiance’s beaches and bluffs are also a good place to spot the occasional humpback whale or orca.
Point Defiance Park began as a military reservation after the Wilkes Expedition visited Puget Sound in the 1840s to map the bays and estuaries. Wilkes is thought to have said that with a fort positioned at the point, and at Gig Harbor across the narrows, one could "defy" the world. The high cliffs and prominent location were never used for military operations. In 1888, President Grover Cleveland authorized its use as a public park after an appeal from Tacoma residents. It was the city's third park, after Wright Park and Ferry Park, and required the completion of a streetcar line under the provisions of the federal land transfer. In 1903, a waterfront pavilion and bandstand was completed. By 1907 a seaside resort designed by Frederick Heath offered heated saltwater bathing in a pavilion called the Nereides Baths located on a bluff above the boathouse.
In 1905, President Theodore Roosevelt signed legislation giving city full title to park. The park's first superintendent, Ebenezer Roberts, asked schoolchildren in 1895 to donate rose clippings to start a rose garden; today gardens have expanded to include native plants, herbs, iris, dahlia, and fuchsia; volunteers contribute time and plants.[citation needed] The Point Defiance Zoo was established in 1891 with three animals—two deer and a possum—and later grew into a large complex. An adjoining aquarium opened in 1933. Five Mile Drive was constructed in 1913 to provide a scenic driving route around the park.
Fort Nisqually is a living history replica of an Hudson's Bay Company outpost from the 19th century when the English trading company had trading forts stretching from Fort Vancouver on the Columbia River, Fort Nisqually on south Puget Sound near the Nisqually River and continuing to the Far North to Fort Yukon on the Yukon River in Canadian territory which later became the state of Alaska. In recent years, Fort Nisqually programs invite community members, including local tribal members, to a weekend of re-enacting — in period dress — this early period of trade and travel through the region by dugout cedar canoe.
In 1964, Point Defiance Park was home to the fairytale and nursery rhyme based attraction known as Never Never Land. Created by Alfred Petterson, the park featured various figurine characters from fables such as Humpty Dumpty, Jack and Jill, and the Little Red Riding Hood. The park brought in visitors until 2001 when Metro Parks shut down operations. In September 2021, nearly a decade after several figurines were destroyed in an arson fire, they were put up for auction. The money that was raised was used to support Metro Parks's historical assets and public art.
The American Planning Association designated Point Defiance Park as a 2011 Great American Place.[citation needed] In 2019, the city's second-division soccer team renamed itself to Tacoma Defiance in reference to the park.
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Point Defiance Park
Point Defiance Park in Tacoma, Washington, United States, is a large urban park. The 760-acre (3.1 km2) park includes Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium, the Rose Garden, Rhododendron Garden, beaches, trails, a boardwalk, a boathouse, a Washington State Ferries ferry dock for the Point Defiance-Tahlequah route to Vashon Island, Fort Nisqually, an off-leash dog park, and most notably about 400 acres of old-growth forest. It receives more than three million visitors every year. Point Defiance Park is maintained and operated by Metro Parks Tacoma.
Point Defiance Park offers something for all its visitors, both wildlife and people. Not all the wild animals are confined inside Zoo & Aquarium. From high bluffs overlooking the Tacoma Narrows people can watch bald eagles feed on salmon runs passing through on the strong tidal currents. Their calls can be heard from their nests in the old growth forest that is preserved and make up the northern 400 acres (1.6 km2) of the park.
In winter, sea lions migrating from California feed in the swirling tides beneath the Gig Harbor overlook on the northernmost point of the peninsula. Harbor seals are abundant near on the east facing beach approaching the point. Seal pups are frequently observed north of Owen Beach in late summer and early fall (humans and their dogs should keep their distance to avoid spooking the pups). The park also provides habitat for mule deer, red foxes, coyotes, pileated woodpeckers, Douglas squirrels, western fence lizards, garter snakes, and raccoons. Point Defiance’s beaches and bluffs are also a good place to spot the occasional humpback whale or orca.
Point Defiance Park began as a military reservation after the Wilkes Expedition visited Puget Sound in the 1840s to map the bays and estuaries. Wilkes is thought to have said that with a fort positioned at the point, and at Gig Harbor across the narrows, one could "defy" the world. The high cliffs and prominent location were never used for military operations. In 1888, President Grover Cleveland authorized its use as a public park after an appeal from Tacoma residents. It was the city's third park, after Wright Park and Ferry Park, and required the completion of a streetcar line under the provisions of the federal land transfer. In 1903, a waterfront pavilion and bandstand was completed. By 1907 a seaside resort designed by Frederick Heath offered heated saltwater bathing in a pavilion called the Nereides Baths located on a bluff above the boathouse.
In 1905, President Theodore Roosevelt signed legislation giving city full title to park. The park's first superintendent, Ebenezer Roberts, asked schoolchildren in 1895 to donate rose clippings to start a rose garden; today gardens have expanded to include native plants, herbs, iris, dahlia, and fuchsia; volunteers contribute time and plants.[citation needed] The Point Defiance Zoo was established in 1891 with three animals—two deer and a possum—and later grew into a large complex. An adjoining aquarium opened in 1933. Five Mile Drive was constructed in 1913 to provide a scenic driving route around the park.
Fort Nisqually is a living history replica of an Hudson's Bay Company outpost from the 19th century when the English trading company had trading forts stretching from Fort Vancouver on the Columbia River, Fort Nisqually on south Puget Sound near the Nisqually River and continuing to the Far North to Fort Yukon on the Yukon River in Canadian territory which later became the state of Alaska. In recent years, Fort Nisqually programs invite community members, including local tribal members, to a weekend of re-enacting — in period dress — this early period of trade and travel through the region by dugout cedar canoe.
In 1964, Point Defiance Park was home to the fairytale and nursery rhyme based attraction known as Never Never Land. Created by Alfred Petterson, the park featured various figurine characters from fables such as Humpty Dumpty, Jack and Jill, and the Little Red Riding Hood. The park brought in visitors until 2001 when Metro Parks shut down operations. In September 2021, nearly a decade after several figurines were destroyed in an arson fire, they were put up for auction. The money that was raised was used to support Metro Parks's historical assets and public art.
The American Planning Association designated Point Defiance Park as a 2011 Great American Place.[citation needed] In 2019, the city's second-division soccer team renamed itself to Tacoma Defiance in reference to the park.