Friends of Discovery Park is an all-volunteer group formed in 1974 to defend the integrity of Discovery Park and to create and protect there an open space of quiet and tranquility, a sanctuary where the works of man are minimized. Over the years, FRIENDS has vigilantly resisted a host of proposals by various interests for "just a piece of Discovery Park." If only half of them had been successful, there would have been no park land left. Instead, this unique wild park would be a golf course or an anti-ballistic missile base.



The majority of FRIENDS' membership does not live in Magnolia. Folks from all over Seattle have been advocates for Discovery Park from its very beginnings. Of the 25 environmental, civic and community groups that made up Judge Voorhees' Citizens for Fort Lawton Park, only one was represented by a Magnolia resident. Those who worked tirelessly to create this park under nearly impossible odds included: Thomas O. Wimmer, Mike Ruby, Calhoun Dickinson, Edith Lobe, Pat Emerson, Tony Puma, Dr. Greg Dash, Brock Evans, Anne Mack, Max Hollenbeck and a host of others. Past presidents of the FRIENDS hail from Wallingford, South Seattle, Lake City, Ballard, Green Lake, and Capitol Hill.