Seward Park

Seward Park holds the title of the first permanent, municipally built playground in the United States. It opened on October 17, 1903, in response to the extreme overcrowding of the surrounding tenement district. Social reformers Lillian Wald and Charles Stover founded the Outdoor Recreation League to create this space, arguing that children living in such tight, urban conditions deserved a designated area for play and fresh air. On its inaugural day, thousands of local children flooded the gates, eager to use the new facility.