Series 160-467: Photograph files, 1948-1998

The King County Parks System photograph collection visually documents park and recreation facilities and programs in King County from 1948 to 1998. The collection's seven subseries reflect the activities of King County Parks across this time period: (1) Park sites and facilities (including former and proposed county parks, and municipal parks located within King County); (2) regional trails; (3) swimming pools; (4) recreation programs; (5) major local or regional events sponsored by King County Parks (including Junior Olympics, Washington Games for Disabled Youth, Marymoor Heritage Festival, the Return to Newcastle, and the King County Fair); (6) administrative and staff photographs; and (7) photographs of miscellaneous subjects. Photographic formats include black-and-white prints and negatives, color prints and negatives, 35mm color slides, and glass slides (color and black-and-white). Specific topics prominently represented by images include: 1950s recreation programs for women, girls and disabled youth; facilities and programs developed in partnership with local school districts (1950s-1970s); facilities, particularly swimming pools, developed through the Forward Thrust capital improvement program (1968); recreation and leisure programs in the 1990s; and the development of regional parks and trails (1970s-1990s). Aerial photographs, mostly from c.1969-1975, are present for many park sites and their adjacent neighborhoods. Arrangement within each subseries is alphabetical by name of park, facility, event, or type of recreational program; administrative photographs are arranged chronologically. Images have not generally been described individually; many images may also be protected by copyright. The photograph files were originally located within King County Parks' history files but were separated from that series (Series 468) because of the formats of their record material. Also separated from the history files were oral history audiotapes and transcripts (Series 50). For pre-1948 images of King County park facilities and structures, see Series 400, Public Works Photograph Files.