'' (). Point Defiance Park began as a military reservation after the
Wilkes Expedition visited Puget Sound in the 1840s to map the bays and estuaries. Wilkes is thought to have said that with a fort positioned at the point, and at Gig Harbor across the narrows, one could "defy" the world. The high cliffs and prominent location were never used for military operations. In 1888, President
Grover Cleveland authorized its use as a public park after an appeal from Tacoma residents. It was the city's third park, after
Wright Park and Ferry Park, and required the completion of a
streetcar line under the provisions of the federal land transfer. In 1903, a waterfront pavilion and
bandstand was completed. By 1907 a seaside resort designed by
Frederick Heath offered heated saltwater bathing in a pavilion called the Nereides Baths located on a bluff above the boathouse. In 1905, President
Theodore Roosevelt signed legislation giving city full title to park. The park's first superintendent, Ebenezer Roberts, asked schoolchildren in 1895 to donate rose clippings to start a rose garden; today gardens have expanded to include native plants, herbs, iris, dahlia, and fuchsia; volunteers contribute time and plants. The
Point Defiance Zoo was established in 1891 with three animals—two deer and a possum—and later grew into a large complex. An adjoining aquarium opened in 1933.
Fort Nisqually is a
living history replica of an
Hudson's Bay Company outpost from the 19th century when the English trading company had trading forts stretching from
Fort Vancouver on the
Columbia River,
Fort Nisqually on south Puget Sound near the
Nisqually River and continuing to the Far North to
Fort Yukon on the
Yukon River in Canadian territory which later became the state of
Alaska. In 1964, Point Defiance Park was home to the fairytale and nursery rhyme based attraction known as Never Never Land. Created by Alfred Petterson, the park featured various figurine characters from fables such as
Humpty Dumpty,
Jack and Jill, and the
Little Red Riding Hood. The park brought in visitors until 2001 when
Metro Parks shut down operations. In September 2021, nearly a decade after several figurines were destroyed in an arson fire, they were put up for auction. The money that was raised was used to support Metro Parks's historical assets and public art. The American Planning Association designated Point Defiance Park as a 2011 Great American Place. In 2019, the city's second-division soccer team renamed itself to
Tacoma Defiance in reference to the park. The park opened Frank Herbert Trail and Dune Peninsula in July 2019 to honor science fiction writer
Frank Herbert, known for his
Dune novels, who was born in Tacoma. Dune Peninsula is a to the east of the ferry terminal that was previously home to an
ASARCO copper smelter. The smelter, which included a smokestack, closed in 1993 and was designated as a
Superfund site by the
United States Environmental Protection Agency due to its heavy contamination with arsenic and other pollution. Over of dirt was used to clean up its site prior to opening as part of the park. == Features and recreation ==