This is the story of Bellevue's extraordinary Downtown Park. Classic, traditional urban parks that draw inspiration from the great central parks of the world have become increasingly rare--particularly in emerging, edge cities throughout the United States. Bellevue's Downtown Park is the product of extraordinary leadership, innovative financing, creative partnerships and a design for the ages. It has helped define and shape a central business district, while simultaneously influencing the development of an entire park system. It has become a landmark and a source of pride and identity for the entire community. There are very few emerging, suburban cities that have had the foresight to acquire and develop a signature urban park within their downtown core. This book describes how this park was acquired, designed and developed over a period of thirty five years and why this was such a monumental achievement for both the City of Bellevue and the urban park movement within the United States. Lee Springgate was the Director of Parks and Community Services for the City of Bellevue from 1978 through 1999. He was intimately involved in the acquisition and development of over 1,000 acres of park land, including the Bellevue Downtown Park. The Bellevue park system received over 47 state and national awards during his tenure and was widely regarded as a model for emerging, edge city park systems. After retiring from the City of Bellevue, he operated his own consulting firm, taught university level classes, lectured across the United States and wrote several books. He resides in Port Ludlow, Washington with his wife, Jean.