Tenney Park

Designed by O.C. Simonds, the founder of the Prairie School of landscape architecture, Madison's first city park emphasizes naturalistic placement of native plant species. The design created lagoons to symbolize prairie rivers and meadows to symbolize the prairie landscape. The lagoons surround a designed island, accessed by five bridges. During expansion (1908-1910) Nolen introduced active elements including playing fields, a sand beach, and playgrounds. The success of the park triggered an era of park philanthropy with residents contributing to additional park development.<br><br>Designated May 08, 1995