Salem Government #11: Waldo Park

605 Summer Street NE

Waldo Park on September 9, 2006

This giant sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum) was planted in 1872 by Judge William Waldo, son of an 1842 pioneer. During his life Waldo worked to preserve the tree, and after his death others stepped in to save it as the city and its street system threatened it. The Salem City Council declared this 12 foot by 20 foot piece of land Waldo Park in 1936. Ripley's Believe It or Not! cited it as the World's Smallest Park, though Portland's tiny Mill Ends Park took over that distinction in the 1970s. As of April 1998, at 126 years of age, the tree had a circumference of 22 feet and a height of 85 feet.

Historical Photos:
Portrait of William Waldo (Oregon State Library)

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