Gwynns Falls/Leakin Park in Baltimore, Maryland — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)
A Name Before a Place
Photographed by Christopher Busta-Peck, March 18, 2008
1. A Name Before a Place Marker
Leakin Park had a name before it had a place. At his death in 1922 John Wilson Leakin left the city several downtown properties to be sold so land could he purchased for apark. The city deferred action because of existing leases, the Great Depression, and a controversy over whether the park should be a large natural area in the outer city or a smaller inner city park. Finally, Baltimore officials followed the advice of landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted and acquired the Thomas Winans' Crimea estate in the 1940s. Today Leakin and Gwynns Falls Parks constitute one of the largest natural woodlands in an east coast city.
This valley ... is considered by all who view it as one of the very best bits of scenery near Baltimore.
Olmsted Brothers, Report and Recommendations on Park Extension for Baltimore, 1926.
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John Wilson Leakin, 1857-1922
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Leakin Park offers opportunities for area children to learn in a natural setting.
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The Crimea estate purchase included Thomas Winans' summer mansion (below), other buildings, open fields, and steeply sloped woodlands.
Erected by Gwynns Falls Trail Council.
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in this topic
this page online
Location. 39° 18.27′ N, 76° 41.674′ W. Marker is in Baltimore, Maryland. It is in Gwynns Falls/Leakin Park. It can be reached from North Franklintown Road. Marker is just off the parking lot, to the west. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 4500 N Franklintown Rd, Baltimore MD 21229, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Central Maryland. It is also in the American Mid-Atlantic and in the Chesapeake Bay Region. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region, North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once one of the original Thirteen Colonies and also the Antebellum South.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Leakin Park at Winans Meadow (within shouting distance of this marker); Crimea Estate (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); Crimea Mansion (approx. Ό mile away); Crimea (approx. Ό mile away); a different marker also named Orianda House (approx. Ό mile away); Norman Van Allan Reeves (approx. 0.3 miles away); Chapel (approx. 0.4 miles away); Gateway to Leakin Park (approx. 0.4 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Baltimore.
Another marker is no longer nearby. Orianda House (was about 300 feet away but has been replaced with another marker now near it).
Also see . . . Gwynns Falls Trail Council. (Submitted on March 17, 2008, by Christopher Busta-Peck of Shaker Heights, Ohio.)
Photographed by Christopher Busta-Peck, March 18, 2008
2. Marker location
Credits. This page was last revised on March 3, 2025. It was originally submitted on March 17, 2008, by Christopher Busta-Peck of Shaker Heights, Ohio. This page has been viewed 2,832 times since then and 33 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on March 19, 2008, by Christopher Busta-Peck of Shaker Heights, Ohio.
