Highland Park was acquired by the City in 1925 largely due to the efforts of Commissioner of Parks Herman Wenzel. Undeveloped when it was purchased, within seven years Highland Park featured an 18-hole golf course, 10 tennis courts, a picnic area, football and baseball grounds. It also sported a stadium seating 2,700 people, an artificial "swimming hole" and a new clubhouse/reception facility proclaimed the best of its kind in the Northwest. Most of those facilities, either rebuilt or renovated, still stand today.