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Patterson Park, one of the oldest public parks in the nation, has a fascinating history. William Patterson donated the first six acres for a ‘public walk’ in 1827. Significant historic activities occurred on this site dating from the early 19th century when citizen soldiers deterred the British in the war of 1812. Between 1861 and 1864, the Park was used as a Civil War encampment for Union troops from New York, Wisconsin and Maine.

Frederick Law Olmsted’s philosophy that the urban park should provide sanctuary from the harsh realities of urban industrialization and offer opportunities for social encounters and recreation directly influenced John H. B. Latrobe – artist, architect, inventor, activist and member of the Baltimore Park Commission. Latrobe and his fellow commissioners oversaw the construction of promenades, installation of fountains, creation of a Boat Lake and architectural additions such as the conservatory and the Pagoda, which reflected the era’s interest in the exotic.

For almost two hundred years, the 155-acre park has been one of Baltimore’s most intensively used greenspaces, playing a vital role in the lives of the people of Southeast Baltimore. Its environmental significance may not be as obvious, but to those who treasure the Chesapeake Bay, its significance is well known - Patterson Park is situated in the Chesapeake Bay’s Patapsco Watershed, near Baltimore’s Inner Harbor.

Since 2002, Audubon Maryland-DC’s Patterson Park Initiative has been actively involved in the community, providing education programming in schools, recreation centers and in Patterson Park itself. From our current storefront office adjacent to the Park, we are a model program for Vision 2020, Audubon’s bold and ambitious campaign to establish nature centers across the United States, reach one in every four school children, and bring over one million acres of land under conservation.

In the past year, Audubon’s Patterson Park staff provided 55 after school programs, 59 school programs, 16 Tiny Tot preschool programs, and 23 family programs. Additionally, Patterson Park area residents have special opportunities to attend overnight educational programs at our 950-acre Jean Ellen duPont Shehan Audubon Sanctuary in Bozman, Maryland and our 400-acre farm at the Pickering Creek Audubon Center in Easton.

Patterson Park is truly an urban oasis. Majestic trees, acres of open grass meadow and a large community garden provide a rich diversity of habitats. Noted photographer Middleton Evans is planning a book on Patterson Park’s “Miracle Pond.” He has documented a wide variety of wildlife in the two-acre pond and its fringing wetland. His pictorial journal of six pairs of wood ducks in this unusual urban setting, throughout their courting and nesting season, is the highlight of the book. Monthly Audubon bird walks in the Park have introduced neighbors to Yellow Bellied Sapsuckers, Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Baltimore Orioles, Downy Woodpeckers, Rufous-sided Towhees, American Goldfinches, Black-Crowned Night Herons and Chimney Swifts. Over 120 species have been recorded in the Park – quite an impressive testimonial to the vitality of this small, but beautiful oasis in Baltimore.

Click here for the Spring 2007 Program Schedule (616 kb).