In 1908, the Olmsted Brothers, sons of the famous Fredrick Law Olmsted, submitted a report to Spokane’s first Board of Parks Commissioners regarding a wide variety of recommendations for the City. Though not published until 1913, this report - essentially a parks-oriented master plan for the community - formed the foundation of much of what we now enjoy as Spokane’s parks system, plus many other features including Northwest Boulevard and High Drive Boulevard. Their primary recommendation? The formation of four “large parks,” with the greatest, the “Gorge Park,” anchoring them all. Download and review Friends of the Falls’ transcription of the Olmsted Report, formatted to match the original published copy donated to the group.

Olmsted Report (1.2 Mb, Acrobat® file)