Franklin Park (also known as Franklin Square) was donated by David Davis, William F. Flagg and William H. Allin, April 26, 1856, and was named after current Bloomington mayor Franklin Price.
The purpose of the park was “to be used as a place of public resort, pastime, and recreation for citizens and strangers forever…no building whatever to be erected on it.” The 2.7-acre park spans the 300 and 400 blocks of E. Walnut and E. Chestnut Streets and the 900 blocks of Prairie and McLean Streets. About 30 houses surround the park, many retaining their original architectural features. Styles include Queen Anne Victorian, Georgian Revival, Romanesque, Bracketed Italianate, and Richarsonian. Franklin Park was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1976 and was made a local historic district in 1979.
The Franklin Park Collection consists of one box with eleven folders. It contains newspaper articles, studies, assessments, proposals, booklets and personal writings.
