Pope Park is a public park in Hartford, Connecticut.[1]
Land for the park was donated to the city in 1895 by Colonel Albert Augustus Pope for use by his employees and city residents.[2] Pope was the founder of Pope Manufacturing Company, which built automobiles and bicycles, including the Columbia bicycle. The park was landscaped by the Olmsted Brothers design firm starting in 1898.
The Olmsted Brothers completed the park in 1903, which was the year of Frederick Law Olmsted's death; his son and nephew completed the work. Originally the park's western boundary was defined by the Park River, which was straightened and diverted underground beneath the park in the 1940s. The park consisted of laid out in three sections:
The Olmsteds conceived Pope Park as part of a system of seven parks to be built as a ring around the perimeter of Hartford. Other parks in this system included Goodwin Park, Keney Park, Riverside Park, and Colt Park.
Interstate 84 was built through Pope Park in 1969, cutting off Pope Park West from the Lower Mead.
In 2002, a new Master Plan was commissioned by the Friends of Pope Park; most of this work was completed by 2009. Pope Park Drive, which had bisected the Hollowmead, was removed, and paths were resurfaced and redesigned.
In 2016, Pope Park was to undergo a major cleanup to remove litter, waste and overgrown vegetation.[3]